Red and pink blooms cover aged bushes growing in the spring time in a home garden dedicated to one of the most popular flowers on the planet. Close-up macro photos detail garden Roses at various stages of development, from fresh buds to fully open displays; and a happy bee is captured collecting pollen. Roses are an excellent way to experiment with contrast on bright and sunny days to pull out the most detail as possible without blurring between the petals.

Each year, in a locally curated flower garden, white and red Lily flowers transform foliage into a colorful show for a quiet neighborhood. Close-up macro photos of the Lilies show details of the petals, stamen, and pollen during bloom in late spring. Early stage and full blooms together, in the northern United States, may indicate the summer season is right around the corner. The petal shape and blooming cone of Lilies gives an impression of sophistication and elegance complimenting hobby gardens.

Small, purple daisy flowers with thin ray florets and a dense central flower disc, Wild Fleabane is a vital food resource for  Monarch butterflies  in the north after spring and summer migration. While it may look like a common weed before flowering, fleabane is a great way to attract butterflies with fairly robust, colorful, and clustering flowers. Increasing the footprint of this pretty Asteraceae is potentially a way to naturally improve butterfly populations in areas of thinning or lost habitat.

In a carefully curated garden in Florida, stunning purple and white African Daisy flowers catch the attention of onlookers with a sunflower-like appearance and vibrant blue central flower disc. The color combination certainly projects an exotic impression, especially when a larger bush is in full bloom. Even though the above flowers were found in a warm climate, African daisies can be grown further north in gardens after last frost in the early spring.

In gardens and woodlands, symbols associated spring cheer, yellow daisy flowers bring smiles with bright and plentiful blooms. The photos here, including close-up macros with smooth bokehs, are from home gardens and in the wild displaying different types of the classically iconic flower in natural settings. From the Asteraceae family, yellow daises are sometimes referred to as Black-eyed Susan when the central flower disc is darkened like a coneflower.

With smooth white petals layered in a circular pattern with a budding yellow center, the common Daisy flower can be identified in the wild with relative ease. Daisies symbolize a number of pleasant emotions for many and have a knack for cheering people up with an elegantly pure and simple design. Macro views of a wild Daisy above showcase the white ray flowers and yellow central disc flowers in detail with close-up views. A small bee and insect are present and provide a glimpse into their tiny world.

A favorite and pretty flower for many gardeners, Dahlias are known for large blooms which bring colorful fun to outdoor areas year after year. Tuber bulbs produced by the plant make it easy to grow new Dahlia plants each season in colder climate 3-6 zones, while warmer 8-10 zones provide the opportunity for the flowers to come back each year without digging and resewing. The red/yellow and pink/purple varieties shown here were potted from replanted tubers originally, to easily bring the plants inside each year instead of regrowing.

Commonly found in woodlands and fairly abundant in local wilderness areas of Illinois, Yellow Coneflowers are a bright and cheerful flowering plant easily recognized by a sunflower or daisy-like petal configuration. Under the right conditions, yellow Echinacea flowers thrive in the wild and may be found together in large clumps which stand out on the green backdrop of forests and bush trails.

Found growing in the wild and gardens alike, Echinacea is known for its colorful blooms with daisy-like characteristics. Purple coneflowers are fairly common and make an excellent subject for practicing close-up macro photography on the flower head. Occasionally, during pollination season,  cone flowers also provide the chance to image insects working their magic at close range.

A beautiful and picturesque trail at Porcupine Mountains State Park, the Little Union Gorge, takes hikers through peaks and valleys of the Little Union River for a diverse display of plant life and water features. For the long exposure photographs pictured here, an adjustable neutral density filter and tripod were used under low light near dusk for vibrant colors, dark contrast, and smooth water - creating a strong urge to revisit in the future.