Elegance

 This was a lovely magnolia with the most amazing display of flowers but unlike many other varieties this one didn't have any fragrance. It really is quite elegant though.

Magnolia

 This is a good time of year to see some wonderful magnolia specimens. I have always been fascinated by the way the flowers emerge from their furry cocoons  long before the leaves develop. I love the delicate colours and what I hadn't realised until last weekend was just how fleshy the petals are.

Bursting Into Life

Canon 100mm 1:2.8   ISO 125    f/3.5   1/160 sec

Canon 100mm 1:2.8   ISO200   f/5.6   1/125 sec

Canon 100mm 1:2.8   ISO 200   f/5.6   1/80 sec

So these were taken a few weeks ago so by now these trees at Ness Gardens will be in full bloom but I think the buds are so beautiful they deserve a post of their own.

The first picture is a fluffy Magnolia bud, it is so soft and tactile and really beautiful and is a lovely prelude to the wonderfully lush blossoms that follow.

The second and third images show the buds of Hamamelis Intermedia "Jelena". They are fascinating flowers with yellow tendrils that look almost like strips of tissue paper but are really soft to the touch.

I don't really know much if anything about plants and gardening but I do know there is so much beauty to see throughout the year and as much as I long for the spring and summer months when we get so much variety and colour I also love to look for photo opportunities such as these all year round.

Majestic

Majestic really is the perfect adjective for these Magnolia flowers. I love these flowers they emerge from a beautiful furry bud and they bloom for just a short time. I love the colour and the shapes in these pictures and in the third shot we have one of nature's hearts which I always love to find and share. These flowers were also particularly fragrant adding to the beauty something which can't be shared in the image.

One thing which has always puzzled me is the colour "magnolia" and I remember as a child my parents picking magnolia paint when they were doing a spot of decorating at home. It just looked white to me, I thought it was just  a fancy name and I didn't realise then that there was a plant which had given the paint its name. But then when I look at the different varieties of Magnolia I see a whole variety of colours and shades and it bothers me that "Magnolia" isn't a colour. It's like saying "Rose" or "Peach" are colours, they're not. Perhaps it's just me, because I don't see colours the way other people do, maybe I'm just being pedantic because I can deal with precise colours like red, green, pink, yellow etc or even shades of those colours (even if my perception of them is different) but if someone describes a colour to me in terms of Magnolia or Rose it means nothing to me because I can't visualise it. 

Anyway I'm not quite sure why I went into that since the purpose of the blog is to share my photos but you have more than you bargained for with a little insight into my mind. If that freaks you out just scroll back to the images and normal service will be resumed.

Pink Sunrise

I have decided to take a break from the waterfalls for now, I still have a few pictures from that day out to share but maybe another day... For today (and tomorrow) however I wanted to share a splash of spring colour. Visitors to my blog will know that I love photographing flowers and spring is a great time to get some early colour.

The second day during my recent week off I got up at 4 am and set off for Snowdonia in North Wales to capture some early morning shots of the mountains at dawn. I have got some great images to share in the days ahead. 

After my trek up the mountain and back I decided to stop off at Bodnant Gardens to see what I could see. I was a little disappointed to be honest because there were only a few different varieties in bloom although there was lots of fresh new growth and a profusion of greens.

The first flowers to see were the tulips at the top of the page, the bright sun really shows the flowers off at their best.

The next picture is of a Magnolia coming into bloom, the tree as a whole was loaded with flowers and was a spectacular sight but I felt that this individual flower made a great picture.

The next image is of a Hyacinth, I think they were getting to be past their best but I managed to find this specimen in a sheltered spot and so it was not too badly damaged by the wind. Again the sun helps to bring out the rich colour of this delicate flower.

The final picture today is my favourite from today's selection. It was a tiny flower, no more than a few inches tall and it was growing in the shaded border in a trellised walkway. The main feature of that part of the garden will be different varieties of Clematis and this little gem will probably be seen by very few visitors and so i was thrilled to spot it and get a few shots. It is a variety of Muscari called Pink Sunrise, which after my early start and the sunrise I had enjoyed seemed very apt indeed.

Not the Hanging Gardens...

Another large helping of photos for today, these are from Powis Castle and gardens.  One of the main notable features of the gardens are the well manicured topiary. As you can see they are sculpted into fairly random shapes and they are impressive in scale and size.

At this time of year there is a good display of Magnolia and as can be seen in the last picture lots of grape hyacinth.  The cottage in the final picture can be rented as a holiday home, it looks like a lovely place but if you were staying there you would have to put up with the castle visitors during the day.  Of course in the evening after the visitors have gone you would have uninterrupted access to the gardens.

I really like the sixth picture looking out from the orangery, it was a cool place to rest for a while and I like the view.  I also like the shot of the arch and its' shadow, I can imagine how beautiful it will look later in the summer when it is in full bloom, perhaps I will go back to get some pictures then.