Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Globe Artichoke

I took a number of photos of this fascinating Globe Artichoke flower that was growing in the gardens at the Calgary Zoo, on 25 September 2012. When I walked around to the other side of the plant, the bokeh from some distant flowers was so colourful - posted some of these shots a long time ago. "The globe artichoke is a variety of a species of thistle cultivated as a food. The edible portion of the plant consists of the flower buds before the flowers come into bloom. The budding artichoke flower-head is a cluster of many budding small flowers (an inflorescence) together with many bracts, on an edible base. Once the buds bloom the structure changes to a coarse, barely edible form. The uncultivated or wild variety of the species is called a cardoon. It is a perennial plant native to the Mediterranean region." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artichoke

I'm embarassed to say that I need to look up to see if the flower comes before or after the Globe Artichoke is ready to eat! It really is a magnificent flower. Photographed at the Calgary Zoo on 25 September 2012.

Having problems uploading my photos this morning! A few days ago, I posted a photo of this gorgeous Globe Artichoke, in landscape format. I found it so hard to decide what shape to post it in, as cropping to a square would have meant cutting off a lot of the glorious bokeh background. So, today, I'm posting another shot taken the same day, but making it square, for a closer look. Also took a number of photos with the grass behind it, creating a plain green background. However, a plain background really looks very boring compared to this colourful richness.

These plants always fascinate me - a Globe Artichoke, growing at the Calgary Zoo, on 8 September 2012. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artichoke

I took this photo with the intention of cropping to a square, like I do with so many of my images. However, I just couldn't bear to discard the beautiful colours in the bokeh, so here it is in its original form. Taken at the Calgary Zoo on 25 September 2012. Sad to see the flowers already over when I returned a few days later. It snowed lightly yesterday late afternoon, but nothing settled in my part of the city, thank goodness, but this morning I'm going to have to scrape the ice off my car windshield. It's -5C (23F) right now, but it is supposed to soar to a balmy 8C (46F) this afternoon. Snow is hardly a surprise in October, but the later it arrives, the happier most people are - except for the skiers. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artichoke

These Globe Artichokes fascinate me and I was delighted when I discovered that the Calgary Zoo had several of them in their garden. Taken on 25 September 2012.