Trailing Ice

 This I believe is Delosperma cooperi a Hardy Ice Plant or Trailing Ice Plant. It is a stunning magenta coloured flower that just caught the light perfectly  for this shot.

I am not sure why it has the name Ice Plant given that it blooms in the summer and loves full sun but I guess the name is not really important.

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.

New Shoots

Canon 100mm 1:2.8     ISO 200     f/3.5    1/200sec

By now these buds will be fully open and the sapling will no doubt be awash with leaves. I am not 100% certain but I think these are Sycamore buds. (If you know for sure please let me know in the comments).

I love the shape of these buds and the way the green and red scales open out as the leaf emerges in a blush of colour. There is so much detail in the newly forming leaf, it is quite amazing when you look closely at it. Looking at the second image it looks a bit like marine life, a shrimp or a barnacle perhaps. Or is that just my imagination?

Rough Exterior

Canon 100mm 1:2.8  ISO 200 f/3.5 1/200sec

Photography in a garden doesn't have to be about flowers and bright colours. There is so much more to see and texture is just as important as colour as you can see from this really nice abstract image of bark. I don't know what tree this is but I really like this image.

Pink And Blue

Here are two more lovely shots of flowers from Ness Gardens to bring a bit of much needed colour.

The first is a Hydrangea, in France they are called Hortensia and in Brittany they are really abundant and they have Hortensia festivals to celebrate the summer blooms. Often the petals can get battered and discoloured so I was really pleased to see this perfect flower.

I don't know what the flower in the second shot is so if anyone knows please leave a comment for me. I love the tiny flowers with the little buds that open out to these delicate tendrils.

There is so much beauty in this world.

Blue Fortune

This flower is a variety of Lamiaceae called Agastache "Blue Fortune"

I wanted to post something full of colour and to try to tempt Spring to arrive because the weather has been dreadful recently and there is another icy blast on the way so I think this is a much needed floral treat.

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.

Cows and Skunks

So when you saw the title of today's post were you expecting mammals? 

Well the first shot is of some emerging Cowslips one of my favourite wildflowers. They used to be extremely rare and I remember the first time I saw them growing on the bank of a dyke in Lincolnshire back in 1979. It was lovely to see these growing in the meadow at Ness Gardens.

The next flower is a Marsh Marigold, so no animal reference there but what a lovely flower it is and a great close up of the centre. As the name suggests these flowers grow in wet boggy ground and I got wet feet in order to get this close.

The final shots are of North American Skunk Cabbage, these are really interesting looking plants which also prefer a wet and boggy setting on the fringes of ponds and streams. Apparently these plants were used extensively as a medicinal plant, seasoning or magical talisman by some tribes of Native Americans. It is not edible raw as the roots are toxic and the leaves can burn the mouth but the leaves can be dried and used in soups and stews. However the name Skunk Cabbage gives a strong clue to the fact that these plants smell absolutely disgusting so even if they add flavour to soups and stews you would need a strong stomach to get over the smell. Best just to admire them from a safe distance.

It's Bluebell Time

I really really love Bluebells. I have some very happy memories of walking in Bluebell woods in Kent with my parents many years ago and I love to see a massive spread when the flowers are in their prime. 

When I was at Ness Gardens recently there were only odd patches of them so I couldn't get a nice shot of a big spread so if that's what you like as well then have a look at this link which is a great picture of bluebells near Preston (and if you like that picture have a look at some of the other pictures of flowers by the same photographer, they're really very good).

For these shots I got right down to ground level and risked getting stung by the emerging nettles but it was worth the risk because I think they're great shots.

All Spruced Up

For most of us when we think of pine cones we think of the hard woody cones on the forest floor, often stripped of their seeds by squirrels so to see these really colourful cones was a real treat. They look soft and delicate and I love the rich purple.

Getting Ready For Summer

Even though it was cold, cloudy and threatening rain these bees had to get busy. The first two pictures show a couple of bees gathering nectar with the second one not even bothering to settle on the flower, its wings are little more than a blur. The third shot is of another bee taking a short break on a rocky path, look closely and you can see the tiny grains of pollen clinging to its hairs.

After The Rain

Yesterday I went to Ness Botanic Gardens. I have lived in this area for almost 25 years and have never visited the gardens before so in hope that the weather would stay favourable and that there would lots of flowers to see I headed out with my camera and my 100mm macro lens (in truth I had all my gear but only used the one lens) and went wild...

Although it was quite cloudy and cold it was a nice day. It having rained heavily the night before everything was fresh and green, if a little squishy under foot. 

At first I couldn't decide which pictures to start with but thought that as I had posted pictures of water splashes for the past two days I would lead into my selection from Ness with these beautiful water droplets on succulent leaves. 

I like the first image with the tiny bubbles glittering in the large droplet but my favourite shot is the second one with the smooth round droplet and with the bokeh the droplets in the background appear like fairy lights.