Today's entry was contributed by Tamar Yadin of Israel, whose brother Ofir sent it along as a suggestion. Tamar is quite the creative person, with a real eye for design – her web site (currently only works in Internet Explorer) showcases her photographs and other works. Thank you, Tamar (and Ofir!).

Known commonly as poppy anemone, windflower or crown anemone, Anemone coronaria is native to the Mediterranean. Tamar and Ofir both communicated to me that the wild populations of this anemone are on the decline in Israel due to increasing urbanization and agriculture; populations of it are now found mainly in the north of the country, near Galilee. Tamar also added that it is now a protected plant in Israel.

The colour of flowers in wild plants of the species is highly variable, ranging from white and pink through red and purple to blue (Google image search for A. coronaria). Whenever you see an attractive flowers with variability, you can be near certain that generations of domestication (i.e., plant breeding) will have produced a number of cultivars as a general rule. Anemone coronaria is no exception. As an example, Anemone coronaria [De Caen Group] is a popular group of hybrids originally bred in France.

Photography resource link: New Year's Resolutions for Photographers care of Bob Johnson at Earthbound Light. Bob also has oodles of other photography tips. Discovered via the weblog static photography.