Helenium 'Mardi Gras' with its skirt-like bloom... Summer, 2009

An earlier post shows one of the many pollen gatherers that I so enjoyed watching collect pollen from these blossoms all summer long. The flower itself fascinates me because only a single row of anthers opens each day... providing a long period of pollen availability for each tiny blossom. (This image and the other images that will be included in my gallery show are in a set on Flickr that may be viewed as a slide show if you care to have a look.)