Peaceful Purple

I'm not sure what to say about today's flower, I'm not sure what it is although I think it may be a species of Cornflower (if anybody knows please feel free to leave a comment and let me know). It was growing against a backdrop of dark green foliage so the soft purple shades in the strong sunlight made it really stand out. The way the petals spread out like fireworks make this quite a spectacular specimen.

It's In The Details

I had gone to Royden Parks' walled garden looking for flowers and flying things and I managed to get a decent selection of shots to share. Most are quite beautiful like the kestrel or the various flowers but this fly is a bit of a surprise with its shiny back and colourful eyes.

Also something that is not normally noticeable are the tiny hairs or the black spikes on the edge of the leaf.

We often miss the finer details and where insects are concerned (particularly flies) we brush them aside without a closer look but if we take the time they are quite spectacular, even if they have filthy habits.

Fill your boots

This male Chaffinch was certainly filling his boots at the bird feeding station in Royden Parks' walled garden. He didn't actually stop for very long and so getting these shots was very satisfying. I love the striking colours on this beautiful bird, from the blue grey on its head and beak to the pinks in his cheeks and his brown back and then the bold pattern on his wings.

He really is a beautiful little bird.

Coming to Life

There is something elegant about the sleek tulip bud as it develops and bursts into a colourful flower. The external shell gives the slightest hint of the colour to come.

I like the natural lighting in this shot, it is almost like there is a halo around the flower.

Forget Me Not

I didn't post anything yesterday as I was feeling out of sorts and couldn't really get motivated to choose a picture to share. I'm still not feeling great but I didn't want to let another day go by in case I fall into a bad habit.

I wanted to share something bright and colourful and something that tells us spring is here, and something that will lift my spirits and hopefully yours too. 

These beautiful Forget Me Nots were captured on my recent visit to the walled garden at Royden Park. I hadn't noticed until I posted the image that the central nodes around the centre of the middle flower are white whereas those on the other flowers in this shot are all yellow.

In A Walled Garden

Today's selection are all from the walled garden at Royden Park its such a lovely peaceful place with a real mix of plants and flowers, many of which I have posted over the past few days.

A main feature of the garden is the Laburnum Arch which has come into blossom in the past week and as you can see is quite spectacular.  Another feature is the Wisteria on the wall which is really beautiful. 

Forget Me Not...

"Wow!"

That's what I hope you thought when you saw these pictures.  I love the beauty of these flowers and the way the colours come to life in these shots.  

Today's pictures relate to the shots I shared yesterday, all except one that is.  Can you spot the odd one out and tell me which one it is, also one from yesterday is missing here, so again can you tell me which one is missing?   

And one final question, if you looked at yesterday's blog did you know that the third picture was the flower of a stinging nettle? As you can see above in the fourth picture that is exactly what it is.  I love the fine detail, don't you? 

Fine detail...

Here is another selection of close ups of flowers.  The first one isn't as sharp as I would have liked it to be, it was handheld and the flowers were being blown about by the wind, it is also a very tiny flower too so this is quite a significant enlargement which means some of the detail is lost. The others however are pretty good.

As with the last couple of days I will post pictures of the actual plants in full tomorrow so make sure you come back then.  Also why not leave a comment below to let me knwo what you think of these pictures

The bigger picture

So following on from yesterday's pictures (if you didn't see them you definitely need to take a look) I have posted shots of the whole flower relating to those close up images.  I really like the bright and vivid colours, I also love the variety of shapes and the detail.  I hope you like these pictures as much as yesterday's and if so come back tomorrow for another selection from the same shoot.

In A Walled Garden

Today, and over the next few days I am going to be posting images from the Walled Garden at Royden Park with the theme of signs of spring.

The bench in the first picture is set under a wooden arbour just inside the garden, in the summer it will be a mass of colour when the Wisteria is in full bloom, but for now it is just a peaceful spot to sit and listen to the birds which are becoming more active and vocal as spring approaches.

The Robin in the second picture is a case in point, it sat there singing at the top of it's voice, probably as a warning to the other birds in the garden that I was there.

The final two pictures today feature a rockery which has been planted with Daffodils one of which is already fully open giving promise of a burst of golden flowers in the weeks to come.

I hope you enjoy these pictures and feel a little lift in the knowledge that spring is definitely on it's way...

Great Tits

The first shot is of another Blue Tit the other two are of a Great Tit which was noisily chirping away to warn other birds of my presence but it seemed quite happy to stay close by as if watching what I was doing.

I really had a good time watching the birds and capturing these images but I was even more convinced that I need to save up and invest in a bigger telephoto lens.  I'm thinking a 150mm - 600mm lens will probably be on my shopping list to get even closer and hopefully better pictures in future

In the meantime I hope you have enjoyed today's photos.

A Little Beauty

I think that like the Robin the pretty little Blue Tit is another beautiful and interesting bird with lots of character and charm.  They're more skittish than the Robin so getting a good shot requires a little more patience.  Their feathers have an almost fur like quality as can be seen in the second picture which is a crop of the third photo. 

I am quite pleased with today's pictures. Certainly worth the wait. Tomorrow I will have a few shots of another popular garden/woodland bird.

Let me know what you think in the comments field below...

Squirrel

Today's pictures follow on from the shots of the Robin I posted yesterday.  This squirrel was just as cheeky and inquisitive as the Robin was but seemed perfectly at home in the walled garden at Royden Park.  

I think in the first picture it looks as though the squirrel is doing the actions to the song "The Wheels on the Bus".  The second picture is a crop from the last of today's pictures, I chose to post that to give you a closer look at his cheeky face.

I hope you like the pictures, please feel free to leave a comment.  

For those who have tried to post comments in the past without success I think I have solved the issue which meant comments disappeared so from now on I should be able to see what you think.

A Robin

Always popular the Robin is a beautiful bird and with its inquisitive personality cannot fail to charm us all.

These pictures were taken in the walled garden at Royden Park in Wirral earlier today, it was bright and sunny but very cold and this little chap was foraging for a tasty snack.  It also sang a cheerful song as it sat in the tree and really helped to lift my mood.  I hope it works for you too :)