Delicate with a cast iron constitution....Galanthus Nivalis ( snowdrops )

[Clicker]

The first patch of snowdrops  are flowering on the banks of my pond  but I just could not get into a position to get the right angle to photograph them as  the banks were steep and  slippery and I risked falling into it  so I picked just  3 with a few leaves and brought them indoors  and decided a still life  would be a suitable  way to display them ... What amazing  little plants they are . Did you know that the leaves contain a  protein  with  a substance similar to antifreeze which stops ice crystals forming on them and damaging the cells . The frost  may well cause the  slender stems  to keel over  but the minute the temperature rises  they  spring back up again ! The leaves have hardened tips too that help them penetrate   frozen ground ... isn't Mother Nature  just  awesome  !

Tough little beggars ... appearances can be deceptive .

 

  Competing  here with an equally fragile  glass version that  I watched being  made  in a little studio in Wales a couple of years ago ...

 

[CMunzel]

What a lovely study of Snowdrops flowers live and crafted in glass. I like the black background in each. Will you print a set and frame? Thanks for the info about their survival in frost: all new to me and I love learning these facts. 

[Denis]

I too like these, the glass one is terrific, and sets off the real live version brilliantly as they sit in your victorian Ink bottle

[Clicker]

Thanks Cheryl and Denis ... I took them in my kitchen  with the sun  peeking through a closed  curtain ..  with  a piece of painted board  behind them , under exposed  (and lightened selectively in Photoshop )and used  a wide open aperture on my 35mm prime .  ... it's all  about trying to find ways  to display ordinary things ...   some experiments work... most don't