DESKTOP 549 - DARK FOREST

This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
and also part of the Weekend in Black and White meme.

DESKTOP 548 - FERN

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

DESKTOP 547 - SCARLET PIMPERNEL

Scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis; also known as red pimpernel, red chickweed, poorman's barometer, poor man's weather-glass, shepherd's weather glass or shepherd's clock) is a low-growing annual plant. Scarlet pimpernel flowers are open only when the sun shines. The native range of the species is Europe and Western Asia and North Africa. The species has been distributed widely by humans, either deliberately as an ornamental flower or accidentally.
 
A. arvensis is now naturalised almost worldwide, with a range that encompasses the Americas, Central and East Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, Malesia, the Pacific Islands, Australasia and Southern Africa. Traditionally included in the family Primulaceae, the genus Anagallis was placed in the family Myrsinaceae until that family was included in Primulaceae in the APG III system.
 
This common European plant is generally considered a weed and is an indicator of light soils. The origin of the pimpernel name comes from pympernele [1400–50]; late Middle English, derived from Middle French pimprenelle, Old French piprenelle; Vulgar Latin *piperīnella= Latin piper pepper + -īn- -ine + -ella diminutive suffix. It is most well known for being the emblem of the fictional hero the Scarlet Pimpernel.

Scarlet pimpernel has weak sprawling stems growing to about 50 cm long, which bear bright green ovate sessile leaves in opposite pairs. The small orange, red or blue flowers are produced in the leaf axils from spring to autumn. The petal margins are somewhat crenate and have small glandular hairs. Blue-flowered plants (A. arvensis forma azurea) are common in some areas, such as the Mediterranean region, and should not be confused with the related Blue pimpernel, Anagallis foemina, sometimes ssp. foemina.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 546 - CREEK

This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 545 - LIGHT TRACKS

A very long exposure and a hand-held camera at night gives lots of interesting light tracks...

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 544 - HAWKWEED FLOWERS

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme.

DESKTOP 543 - MURRAY RIVER

The Murray River is Australia's longest river at 2,508 kilometres in length. The Murray arises in the Australian Alps, draining the western side of Australia's highest mountains and, for most of its length, meanders across Australia's inland plains, forming the border between the states of New South Wales and Victoria as it flows to the northwest, before turning south for its final 500 kilometres into South Australia, reaching the ocean at Lake Alexandrina.

HAPPY AUSTRALIA DAY!

This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
and also part of the Shadow Shot Sunday meme.

DESKTOP 542 - FLOWERPOTS

This post is part of the Weekend in Black and White meme.

DESKTOP 541 - SUNFLOWERS AT SUNSET

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

DESKTOP 540 - WILD STRAWBERRY

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

DESKTOP 539 - SUMMER ROSE

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 538 - BRISBANE STREETS BEACH

A major feature within the Southbank Parkland in Brisbane City is its man-made beach, which is 2,000 square metres of free-formed concrete surrounded by 4,000 cubic metres of sand. The sand surrounding the beach is sourced from the Rous Channel in Moreton Bay and every year the beach is topped up with an additional 70 tonnes to ensure that it is kept in pristine condition. Almost half of the lagoon area sits on reclaimed land that was once the Brisbane River.
 
The Streets Beach was designed by Desmond Brookes International. It was constructed by Fletcher Jennings Construction and Water and Industrial Engineering. Construction commenced in February 1991 and was complete by June 1992. The beach has received awards including the 1999 Moreton Bay region's cleanest beach in the Keep Australia Beautiful Council's Clean Beach Challenge and the 2001 Environmental Protection Agency's Keep Australia Beautiful Clean Beach Challenge, Friendliest Beach Award.
 
The beach area comprises a lagoon with enough water to fill five Olympic swimming pools, with sand beaches, palm trees, rocky creeks and subtropical trees and exotic plantings. The beach is patrolled seven days a week by lifeguards. The lagoon contains chlorinated fresh water that is recirculated every six hours at up to 125 litres per second. Water for the beach is pumped through two large sand filters and chemically treated before being pumped back into the pools. Dredge pump and self-propelled sifting machines clean the adjoining pools.

This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 537 - A RED, RED ROSE

This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme,
and also part of the Our World Tuesday meme,

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

DESKTOP 536 - MORNING GLORY

This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Inspiring Photography meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme.

DESKTOP 535 - LINDOS, GREECE

Lindos (Greek: Λίνδος) is an archaeological site, a town and a former municipality on the island of Rhodes, in the Dodecanese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Rhodes, of which it is a municipal unit. It lies on the east coast of the island. It is about 50 km south of the town of Rhodes and its fine beaches make it a popular tourist and holiday destination. Lindos is situated in a large bay and faces the fishing village and small resort of Haraki.

This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

DESKTOP 534 - FOREST

This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

DESKTOP 533 - GREEN BLACKBERRIES

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.
and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

DESKTOP 532 - MONTBRETIA

Montbretias belong in the the Iridaceae family of bulbs, the Crocosmias having originated in Southern Africa. Montbretia is a hardy member of the Crocosmia group and is very easy to grow. Crocosmia × crocosmiiflora (Montbretia) is a garden hybrid of C. aurea and C. pottsii, first bred by Victor Lemoine in 1880.
 
The variety illustrated here is ‘His Majesty’. The orange flowers are trumpet shaped and appear alternately along the stems. The leaves are long and narrow. Some people call this a "wild gladiolus", but the wild gladiolus is pinkish in colour.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 531 - AFTER THE RAIN

This post is part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 530 - WATERLILY

This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme,
and also part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.

DESKTOP 529 - MANDALA

This post is part of the Monday Mellow Yellows meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme.

DESKTOP 528 - SUMMER GLADE

This is a lovely glade in the Dandenongs, in Melbourne, Australia.
 
This post is part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme, 
and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

DESKTOP 527 - TWILIGHT ON THE YARRA

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

DESKTOP 526 - FERN & SKY

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme,
and also part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

DESKTOP 525 - OLEANDER

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

DESKTOP 524 - ZINNIAS

This post is part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 523 - SUMMER ROSE

This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme,
and also part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

DESKTOP 522 - CHINA PATTERN

This post is part of the Blue Monday meme.

DESKTOP 521 - CYPRESS CONES

This post is part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Photo of the Week meme,
and also part of the I Heart Macros meme,
and also part of the Weekend in Black and White meme.

DESKTOP 520 - YARRA RIVER

Boats moored on the Yarra River at the Kew Boathouse, Melbourne.

This post is part of the Weekend Reflections meme,
and also part of the Weekly TopShot meme,
and also part of the Scenic Weekends meme.

DESKTOP 519 - GARDEN SCENE

This post is part of the Friday Greens meme.

DESKTOP 518 - SUNSET SILHOUETTE

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

DESKTOP 517 - HYDRANGEA

Hydrangea (common names hydrangea or hortensia) is a genus of 70-75 species of flowering plants native to southern and eastern Asia (China, Japan, Korea, the Himalayas, and Indonesia) and the Americas. By far the greatest species diversity is in eastern Asia, notably China, Japan, and Korea. Most are shrubs 1 to 3 meters tall, but some are small trees, and others lianas reaching up to 30 m (98 ft) by climbing up trees. They can be either deciduous or evergreen, though the widely cultivated temperate species are all deciduous.

There are two flower arrangements in hydrangeas. Mophead flowers are large round flowerheads resembling pom-poms or, as the name implies, the head of a mop. In contrast, lacecap flowers bear round, flat flowerheads with a center core of subdued, fertile flowers surrounded by outer rings of showy, sterile flowers.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.