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Last year’s hoar frost made icy little sculptures out of many of my garden plants. The one you see here is Gaura lindheimeri. (Now known as Oenothera lindheimeri, but I still call it by it’s old name. There are too many plant name-changes to keep up with these days!) This plant carries on flowering until late in the year, so frequently ends up covered in frost.
The area where the gaura is growing stays in the shade for much of the day in winter, so the frost lasts here for a long time. That gives me plenty of opportunities for taking photographs, but means that the sun doesn’t reach the frost to make it sparkle. So photography here is a bit of a compromise. Perhaps I should consider the effect of sun on frost when planting!
Eventually the frost will go, changing the look of the flower again. This time the petals are likely to be left translucent and looking very fragile indeed. (They usually wilt quickly after being frosted.) The drops of melted frost give an interesting texture to the flower – you can see right through the petals to the drops that are actually on the other side. ❄
Ann Mackay: Inspired by Nature 
Seeing drops through translucent petals is a nice effect.
Have you considered flash or another artificial light source to make frost sparkle when sunlight doesn’t reach your subject?
Lindheimer’s gaura is native right here in central Texas (as are several other gaura species).
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You’re right, Steve, a bit of flash would be helpful. I need to see if I have something that would work with my current camera… 🙂 You have beautiful native plants – I could be quite envious!
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As I may well have said before, you’ll have to come and see our floral bounty in person one of these days.
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That would be good!
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Interesting to note the after-effect of frost, Ann!
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Yes, it’s intriguing to see how translucent petals can become after the frost has gone. Very destructive to the flower though!
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I’ve sometimes seen flowers with translucent petals after rain, but I’m sure I’ve never seen this post-frost effect: partly because I’m not at all fond of the cold, and often don’t force myself out on mornings when photos like this might be possible! This is a lovely image. I noticed the wash of pink that suggests the flower was aging a bit anyway. I’m glad you captured this before it gave up the ghost, so to speak!
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Yes, by this stage the flowering is just about over. Any remaining buds probably wouldn’t have opened so late in the year. It’s good to have something than can flower into the winter, even if it does end up looking rather ghostly! 🙂
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How interesting that the aftereffects of the frost create that dainty and surreal look.
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It was a good opportunity for a photograph – nature is generous! 🙂
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[…] This summer’s extra rain brought us plenty of flowers. The Triteleia laxa (also known as Brodiaea) ‘Queen Fabiola’ in the top photograph is long-gone for this year. It is a perennial bulb and will come back into flower again from late next spring. However, in the photo below, the gaura (Oenothera lindheimeri) is still in full flower and will be for a long while yet. (It can flower well into the winter and often ends up covered in frost. You can see one of my frosty photos of it here.) […]
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