This lovely African Daisy 3D is a lovely flowering plant that gives good continual flowering throughout summer, but if the weather get too hot it might stop flowering until it gets a little cooler, the one I have has done that but it is a mass of buds again. After leaving it in the planter to over winter and then giving it a good prune it has surprised me by being full of flowers again.
Tags: African Daisy '3D' Daisy 3D Osteospermum '3D' Osteospermum Flower Close Up Macro Flowering Plant Continual Flowering Summer Hot Stop Flowering Buds Over Winter Prune
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The red panda is a specialised bamboo feeder and has strong, curved and sharp semi-retractile claws standing inward for grasping narrow tree branches, leaves and fruit. Like the giant panda it has a false thumb which is an extension of the wrist bone. When descending a tree, head first, the red panda rotates its ankle to control its descent and is one of the few climbing species to do so. The red panda is territorial and lives on its own except during the breeding season, they only make a few sounds like twittering, tweeting and whistling, and they like sleeping and resting on tree branches or in tree hollows during the early hours of the day and they increase their activity during late afternoon and early evening. They eat mostly bamboo, but they may also eat small mammals, birds, eggs, flowers and berries. The red panda can reproduce when they are about 28 months old, and a few days before they give birth she will start gathering items to make a nest with and has and she will have between one to four cubs. After the birth she will clean the cubs and by doing this she is then able to easily recognise each cub by its own smell. Photograph taken at Selwo Zoo, Estepona, Spain.
Tags: Red Panda Panda Claws Semi-retractile Claws False Thumb Sounds Twittering Tweeting Whistling Sleeping Tree Branch Activity Reproduce Selwo Zoo Estepona Spain Smell Own Smell Cubs
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I have grown these plants from seed for the first time this year and it was lovely to see the vibrant vivid blue colours with the middle of the flower white and yellow. They flower from July though to September and the species is hermaphrodite and it is pollinated by bees and other flying insects and it is self fertile. This plant grows very well in dry areas of the garden which is great bonus but the drawback is that the flowers only last a day and therefore it is better to have a few plants in the same pot to hopefully give you a good display over a period of time.
Tags: Convolvulus Flower Macro Close Up Seed Seeds Vibrant Vivid Blue July September White Yellow Star Hermaphrodite Pollinated Bees Flying Insects Self Fertile Dry Areas Drawback Only One Day Plant In Groups Display
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The Ladybird is a gardeners best friend as they eat aphids that eat the plants we try very hard to grow and look lovely in our gardens and parks. The seven spotted ladybird is the most common in Europe, the bright colours of the Ladybird warns predators that they are distasteful and they also have another defence mechanism because when handled they release a pungent yellow substance from their joints that is foul tasting. They hibernate in hollow plant stems and sometimes clustering together in large groups.
Tags: Ladybird Ladybug Seven Spotted Seven Spotted Ladybird Macro Close Up Helpful Friends Aphids Common Europe Predators Distasteful Release Pungent Yellow Substance Joints Foul Tasting Cluster Hibernate Hollow Plant Stems Insect
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Cornflowers are an annual plant with grey-green branched stems, the flowers are most commonly an intense blue colour but you can get these plants with pink and white flowers, the flower-heads are 1.5 to 3cm in diameter, with a ring of a few large, spreading ray florets surrounding a central cluster of disc florets. In the past it often grew as a weed in crop fields, hence its name but unfortunately it is now endangered in its native habitat by agricultural intensification, particularly over-use of herbicides destroying its habitat. Luckily these lovely plants can be grown from seeds and they are very good as a cut flower for the home and if you dry the flowers they keep their natural colour.
Tags: Pink Cornflower Centaurea spp Pink Cornflower Close Up Macro Annual Intense Blue White Ray Florets Disc Florets Weed Weed Crop Field Crop Seeds Cut Flower Natural Colour
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