In the garden

WARNING - there are photos of spiders later in this posting, so if you don't like spiders you should probably skip this one.

When I was in Brisbane over Christmas, I spent a bit of time wandering around the garden with my camera and macro lens, looking for interesting things to photograph. I love finding patterns in interesting plant foliage and flowers, and I also like spiders and other creepy-crawlies. I know, I'm a bit strange :-)

Anyway, I'll start with some of the plant photos I took, so as not to startle those people who don't like spiders.

This orchid was in bloom, with lovely sprays of gold and purple flowers. I love the complexity of orchid flowers.

I love the abstract look of this hibiscus flower. The macro lens has a very small depth of field when you're close up, so it's impossible to have the whole flower in focus.

The rolled-up leaves at the centre of this plant make an interesting pattern.

I think this is a different coloured hibiscus. The veins in the furled-up flower bud are really pretty.

The colour of the flowers on this bromeliad is so striking - the pink stems really stand out from the powdery mauve buds.

And now, transitioning into insects and other critters. I love these little blue butterflies. They actually have a 'false head' at the back end of their wings, complete with false antennae. When they're sitting still they will often wiggle these around, hoping to persuade predators to go for that end instead of the real head.

There were lots of these spiders around the garden. They really are beautiful when you look at them close up.

This was a different kind of 'garden spider'. I love its yellow elbows/knees.

And finally, a really cute little jumping spider, which I spotted while I was photographing the butterfly. It was lurking in the background as if it wanted to leap onto the butterfly, but I think it would have been outmatched because it was much smaller than its potential prey. It really was only about 3 or 4 mm long.

Here you can see all 8 of its eyes, looking in all directions, as it prepares to make a mighty leap off the twig.

Next time, back to some spinning and knitting progress photos.