This is one of the most common of all plants in ranching country, but how often do we take the time to look at it this way…
Harebells, Bluebells of Scotland; the blue bells seem to be everywhere around here this time of year, but a few, just a very few, are not blue.
Montana Outdoors 
ooooooh…that royal purple color… awesome!
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Comment by Stacey — July 22, 2009 @ 7:40 pm
The color on this blossom is much richer than usual, but perhaps it’s because this one is growing at a high elevation in the forest instead of in a valley field. It looks happy to be there.
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Comment by montucky — July 22, 2009 @ 8:31 pm
I could never be a good flower identifier. They don’t look the same to me–aside from the color. And the purple one is gorgeous.
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Comment by Candace — July 23, 2009 @ 12:32 am
I think I may have been misleading. The blossom in the first photo is much darker purple than the typical Alfalfa blossom which is almost pink. Those are the first white Harebells I’ve ever seen. My favorite plant book did mention that there are rarely white ones though.
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Comment by montucky — July 23, 2009 @ 3:58 pm
Oh, I see, I took it the wrong way. Well, good, they don’t look alike then 🙂
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Comment by Candace — July 23, 2009 @ 10:05 pm
Again, you knocked this one out of the park! Lovely lovely. I’m running out of adjectives where your work is concerned.
Thanks for visiting my blog and leaving all those very kind remarks. You made my day! 😀
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Comment by Iona — July 23, 2009 @ 3:00 am
Thanks, Iona! There are just a lot of lovely flowers around here.
I enjoy your blog very much and read it often, although I don’t always comment.
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Comment by montucky — July 23, 2009 @ 4:00 pm
i remember in nebraska, mostly there was corn, but you could find patches of alfalfa…the only really green i’d ever seen at that age…
i love the smell of it still. i wouldn’t care if it never bloomed. the look and smell of it are enough to make me giddy.
beautiful macro. thank you.
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Comment by catnapping — July 23, 2009 @ 1:15 pm
Yes, it’s a great smell although it can be rough on someone who has hay fever as I used to when I was a kid helping put up hay. It’s a very important plant around here. Thanks for the visit!
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Comment by montucky — July 23, 2009 @ 4:01 pm
Just catching up on the last few days. Love the flowers but especially the butterfly. Such detail.
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Comment by SuzieQ — July 23, 2009 @ 1:29 pm
Thanks SuzieQ. Those butterflies are favorites of mine too!
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Comment by montucky — July 23, 2009 @ 4:03 pm
Such intensity in that purple. Wonder if ‘hares’ have anything to do with the name harebells. If it’s anything like around my garden, maybe it’s because the darn rabbits think I’m their specialty food supplier!
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Comment by Bo Mackison — July 23, 2009 @ 2:32 pm
From the website Alchemy-works, “Some folk in the British Isles believed that these flowers would ring to warn hares of nearby foxes (thus, they are harebells), but another rabbity connection is that witches utilized the sap of this plant to change themselves into hares, so consider this plant for shapeshifting.”
I’ll trade a few of your rabbits for a whole bunch of our deer!
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Comment by montucky — July 23, 2009 @ 4:10 pm
Spectacular color on those harebells, Terry. We always need to stop and take time to admire the weeds around us for they are beautiful as well.
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Comment by edvatza — July 23, 2009 @ 5:15 pm
Right you are, Ed! I usually have great difficulty distinguishing between flowers and weeds.
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Comment by montucky — July 23, 2009 @ 9:57 pm