I'm loathe to admit it, but I've only now looked at the Flickr Botany Photo of the Day Group Pool of images for the first time since I left for vacation and returned. All I can say is: “Wow! What great photographs!”

Today's photos are contributed via Flickr by Wontolla65 from The Hague, Netherlands. The original photographs, taken in Noordwijkerhout and Voorhout, can be seen here and here. Many thanks for sharing these swaths of colour!

There is big money in flower production. According to An Overview of the BC Floriculture Industry, the worldwide trade in floriculture was 7.9 billion USD in 2001. The Netherlands is the hub of the industry: over half of global exports of flowers either originated domestically from the Netherlands or were imported to the Netherlands, brokered and then resold. Colombia, the second largest exporter, accounted for 7.5% of total exports.

However, competition is increasing around the globe. The industry has recently become established in several African countries and China. The role of the Netherlands in the global marketplace is shifting from a reliance on production toward the brokerage role (taking advantage of the supply networks they've established). For more, see this chapter from “The World Cut Flower Industry: Trends and Prospects”.

Photography resource link: Not just for techies, Camerahacker.com provides some reviews and tips in addition to hacks like building a bicycle camera mount (which I won't do) or making a pinhole lens for SLR cameras (which I'm considering).