Monday 12 November 2007

Purple Agapantha Flower (Agapanthus africanus)

Purple Agapantha Flower Blooming
agapantha flower - purple Agapanthus africanus flowers buds blossoming blooming
As it's Spring time here in Australia, all the flowers are blossoming and the trees are growing fruit. One of the variety of flowers blooming here at the moment is the Agapantha flower, properly called the Agapanthus africanus. These purple flowers are just starting to bud - when they have opened they will turn into a loosely hanging bunch of bright purple blossoms.

The photo shown above depicts an agapantha flower that is just beginning to blossom - the left half has started to unfold while the right section is still a bud. The green of the flower blend in with the green grass in the background, and contrasts nicely with the purple blossoms just beginning to peek out of the flower. A this photo was taken with an aperture of F4.9, the background remains out of focus, thus keeping the attention drawn to the flower itself.

It was overcast when I took this photo, so the picture has a very soft look to it. There was still enough sunlight available for me to avoid using a tripod, but there weren't any hard shadows on the underside of the flower - perfect lighting conditions. I'll try to track this flower for you and get some pictures of it when it's fully developed - in the meantime you might want to check out last Summer's agapantha shots.

This photo taken with the Fujifilm S9600 digital camera.
Shutter speed 1/280, F4.9, ISO 100

13 comments:

  1. David, gorgeous photo and I looove that I'll see spring when we're heading into winter. Purple colors on the landscape are my favorite. What a great discovery!!! So many blossoms.

    I've added your link to my blog.

    Hugs, JJ :D

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  2. Thanks JJ, I was hoping that these Summer photos would be a nice break for you folk over the other side of the earth.

    I'll get a photo up of the agapantha flowers as soon as they are fully opened.

    See you later,

    David

    p.s. I've added your blog link too. Thanks!

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  3. wonderful one captured at its birth! Blossoming is like giving birth.

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  4. Hi merging point,

    Yes, it does look like it's giving birth. Just waiting to burst forth from the petals enclosing it. Today I went out to have a look at this flower and it has fully blossomed out, a brilliant purple flower.

    See you later,

    David

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  5. Hi kmf,

    Thanks for your comment, great to see that people are enjoying the photos here. Good luck with your photography,

    David

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  6. This is a lovely flower. I wonder if it would grow in Oklahoma. Does it have a fragrance? I'll have to check it out in the garden catalogs. Lovely blog. TM

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  7. Hi TM,

    I'm not sure if the agapantha flower grows in Oklahoma, but I presume it would. It doesn't really have a fragrance, it's just the appearance which makes it nice.

    Thanks for visiting :)

    Cheers,

    David

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  8. David very nice photo. I didn't know that there is spring now in Australia, how nice, I love spring. In here the fall is almost behaving like spring, we have warm one, so when I was trimming bushes down for winter, all of them had buds coming out - I guess some got confused. I felt bad cutting it down, but hey winter would freeze it anyway. Anna :)

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  9. Hi anna,

    Thanks for your comment. Sounds like you're having a very interesting autumn in your part of the world. Should be a great time for getting photos!

    Cheers,

    David

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  10. 2 Dec 2007 ... In keeping with this tradition, I have chosen the purple Agapantha (agapanthus africanus) flower for today's post. ...

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  11. Thank you your photo of the agapantha has put a name to the plant i didnt know in our garden. we live in the south of england, u.k and have a lovely plant which is just about to flower. So thank you for your lovely photos on here it is nice to put a name to this beautiful plant.
    Jane :)

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  12. Hi Anonymous,

    Glad this helped you identify the flower. Everyone knows the name of these Agapanthas in Australia, but sounds like they're not so well known in the uk. Thanks for the info, hope you can drop round again soon.

    Have a nice day,

    David

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