Dilly Dilly

 

Here are a couple of shots of some lavender flowers as they emerge in my garden.

We used to have a massive lavender plant in our front garden, planted in an old chimney stack. It was so large it would beat against our window when the wind was blowing. I was a beautiful display of colour and so fragrant. No one else had lavender in our street and it was nice to see people stop to admire it and to take in the scent.

Sadly it got so old and woody so it has been replaced with some younger plants which are just now coming into their own.

They are such beautiful flowers, and the scent is so relaxing, it is no wonder that lots of hotel rooms use pictures of lavender to soothe their guests.

Dilly Dilly

So the title of the blog is a reference to a song that harks back to when my daughter was very small and that I heard in a movie over the weekend and which perfectly fits with the subject of this post.

We have always, or for as long as I can remember had a lavender plant in out front garden, at times it has become large and unruly and needed pruning right back. In the last year we have had to replace it so at present it is just a small bush but even so it has been full of beautiful fragrant flowers.

I love lavender because of the colour, the furry texture of the tiny buds and the fact that they attract so many pollinators. They also remind me of hotels for some reason. 

Lavender Blue Dilly Dilly

One of my favourite lenses is my Canon 100mm 2.8 USM Macro lens but for a while it had been out of action so I sent it off for repair. The day I got it back I couldn't wait to try it out again so went out to the front garden and took these shots of a lavender plant we have growing in an old chimney pot.

Lavender is such a wonderful plant, such vibrant colour and heady perfume that has relaxing properties. Close up you can see the delicate little buds with their furry covering.

I am so glad to have my lens back so I can get up close once more.

Down Memory Lane

Yesterday I said that today would be a landmark post and the reason for that is this is my 1,000th post. 

I started my blog just over three years ago and while I haven't been able to post every single day I have done my best and I am really pleased that I have reached this milestone. I am also grateful that so many people have taken time to look at the pictures I share and from time to time the comments that you make. 

I have had a tough time choosing pictures for today; should it be a grand landscape or a colourful flower? perhaps something abstract or a stunning macro image? or how about a street photo, something architectural or one of my favourite wildlife shots? I have so many to choose from. I thought about selecting a few of my favourite pictures from past posts but rather than do a retrospective I decided to select something new but with a nostalgic theme.

These three shots were taken during a recent visit to the National Waterways Boat Museum at Ellesmere Port where there is a row of cottages decorated and furnished to reflect the styles of different periods in history. One of the cottages really caught my attention because I recognised lots of the furnishings from my grandparents home, although they never had these flying ducks which are classic decor from post war living rooms up and down the country. Many years ago I bought some wooden ducks and similar flying hippos which were rather fun but not quite as classic as these.

I love the second picture, more precisely I love the glazed pots with their metallic shimmer contrasted against the pastel shade of the wall.

The third image is the interior of an old telephone box. In an age when just about everybody has a mobile phone there are lots of people who will wonder what this was all about. As a child we were lucky enough to have a telephone at home and I can still remember our number (Fareham 5970) and while our telephone was a bit more modern than the one in the picture my grandparents phone was just the same and I always liked the feel of it in my hands when making a call. I also remember my grandparents had a party line and how odd it would be to pick up the handset to make a call to find that somebody else was in the middle of a call. 

Selecting these pictures has helped bring lots of nice memories, looking back can be fun but it should also serve to remind us about how far we have come and to value everything that we have.

Coming In To Land

Today I have taken a break from my #canadianadventure pictures and gone for something closer to home.

In front of my house we have a really spectacular lavender plant growing and as well as producing a bumper crop of fragrant seeds it is a big draw for various species of bees and butterflies right through the summer months. Even now when the flowers are past their best there are always loads of bees to be seen but it takes a great deal of patience to get a decent shot because they're always on the move. I was really pleased to catch this one just as it came in to land, even with a fast shutter the wings are still little more than a blur.

Another Lavender Fix

So on Sunday I posted a few shots of some beautiful lavender and I decided to post a couple more today because I really like them a lot, almost as much as the bumblebee in the first picture that was busily collecting pollen.

It was very difficult capturing the bee because it was moving around such a lot, I particularly like the sheen, and the clarity of the veins in the wings which look so crisp.

Lavender Blue...

For one reason or another I haven't been able to post anything for a few days and I have really missed being able to share something with you. On Friday I had planned a night camping and even though the weather was awful I was really looking forward to it and I was so disappointed when my plans fell through at the last minute.

I haven't had much opportunity to get out and get some fresh pictures so this morning I went into my mother-in-laws' garden and took a few shots of the flowers in bloom. Here then are a few really lovely pictures of the lavender which was in full fragrant bloom. I love the rich colour, so evocative of the heady scent and also reminiscent of pictures I have seen in hotel rooms when I have had to stay away.

Dog Rose, Lavender and more

I'm sure that by now you know how much I love flowers and summer colour, and here are a few shots of some of the colourful varieties I spotted around Williamson Park in Lancaster recently.

They are from top to bottom:

• Dog Rose
• Hydrangea
• Lupin
• Lavender (two varieties)
• Blue Daisy or Kingfisher Daisy

Enjoy!

Close up on Clematis

The Clematis in the pictures above is currently in full bloom in my back garden.  I have taken a series of pictures getting progressively closer and revealing more detail of the flowers.  When looking at the mass of flowers which form the backdrop to the garden it is easy to miss the intricate detail, so I hope that you like the view I have given you today.

The final picture is of course not Clematis at all, but is a variety of Lavender.

Over the next few days I will be showing some more pictures of flowers and plants so come back for some more colour and fine detail...

From Florence

If you have been a follower of my photo-blogging efforts you will have noticed an absence of posts over the past two weeks.  This was due to the fact that my phone broke while on holiday and I had been relying on that to do my posts.  It is good to be able to get back to blogging and sharing some of the pictures I took while away.

Today I am starting with a few shots from Florence which was the next stop after Venice on my European road trip...

You may well have expected a few pictures of il Duomo or Ponte Vecchio and of course I have taken plenty of pictures of those and other landmarks however I thought the pictures above give a flavour of Florentine style and colour.

I thought the sign for the pharmacy was worth sharing because it is so classy and stylish and not something you would normally expect to see.

The lavender is of a variety not normally seen in the UK and again I really liked the colour.

The last two pictures are of the garden and entrance to the hotel I stayed in (The Monna Lisa) which was a former renaissance palace with a long history which was reflected in every part of the hotel. (Do check out the link to see more pictures of the hotel and read something of it's history)

I have had a fantastic time away although it is good to be back home and in contact with everyone once again.  I look forward to sharing more of the pictures and stories of the trip with you, the paintings on the ceiling and the stone floor in the last picture are all original dating back to the 16th century.

Making Honey

At the front of my house I have a lovely lavender plant growing in an old chimney stack.  It has been growing for years and it every summer it is a mass of fragrant blossom, and blossom attracts the bees.

Taking photos of bees is not  at all easy as they rarely stay still long enough to get a really sharp image. 

Today's pictures were from my first attempt to photograph bees using my 100mm Macro lens.  I have to be honest most of the shots I took that day were rubbish but I have managed to pick a couple that I am relatively happy with.  This summer I hope to get a bit more practice.

Summer flowers

It's been another grey day and plans to get out and take some new pictures didn't quite work out so I decided to post a few summery pictures again.  

These were taken in July at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Gardens.  I had a really nice day there and although I have posted pictures from there already these different views show off different aspects of the place.  Two of the pictures were taken in the water gardens and the other is outside of Fountains Hall which has a lovely display of English Lavender.

Tomorrow's picture will also be from Fountains Hall but with a very different theme.  For today enjoy these summer views...