This summer, the spiders have been busy spinning plenty of webs in our garden. While enjoying the garden, I noticed one spider crawling around the mint plant. I headed inside to retrieve my camera and tripod so that I could make some images. By the time I returned, the spider had crawled away. However, nearby was a large expanse of web, probably the result of its labors. There was even a bee caught in the webbing — probably several days old — and maybe it was a tasty treat for the spider.
Spider Web On Mint
One area of the web had trapped some pollen. Probably from cosmos flowers that are growing nearby.
Spider Web And Pollen
This year the cosmos grew like crazy. Probably the result of the long hot summer. Earlier in the season, the bees visited the spiraea bushes. Now that they have finished flowering, the bees have moved to the cosmos flowers. Here is one bee that visited the cosmos flower which I was photographing.
Cosmic Bee
Last year, I harvested the seeds from the dead heads of the cosmos flowers, as I do every year. These were then sprinkled in all the flower beds. This year, we were rewarded with a hedgerow of cosmos plants that have grown to a height of 5 to 7 feet. This reminded me of the roadsides in South Africa, where the cosmos also flower (during April in the southern hemisphere). In previous years, we have had colder weather, and even snow, that put an early end to the flowering season.
Pink Cosmos In A Hedgerow
The breeze started to blow the flower heads, making photography difficult, so I took my gear inside. Earlier in the morning, I had attempted to pick up a plant that had collapsed. Unfortunately, it broke. So I pruned the branches and put in a vase. I took the opportunity to make some images of these flowers. Here is a close up showing some detail from the pink petals.
Cosmos Petals
I also setup the camera low down so that I could shoot underneath the flowers, where the flower was lit by sidelight from the window. This flower came from the same plant as the pink flower above. However, the petals are mainly white with pink streaks.
Below The Cosmos
That concluded the cosmos photo session. Now was time to attend to repairs of the garden fence.