Reaching Out...

In February when I visited Vienna I stopped in at the botanical garden but perhaps unsurprisingly there was nothing much to see. At least,there were no flowers to add colour and at first I was a little disappointed. However one of the great things about gardens in winter is you get to see the structure of things like this magnificent tree.

Standing against its trunk it was amazing to see the shadow stretching forwards like a hand reaching out just as the tree was reaching up to the sun. 

The Long Border

Today's offering is another view of Chirk Castle from the bottom of the informal garden. 

I have titled today's post "the long border" but actually the hawk house and shrub garden are more visible in the view leading up to the castle. There are some simple but elegant yew topiary as well.

Signs of Spring

A few weeks ago I posted a picture of some Lichen growing on a rock to show the rich warm colours, the first two pictures today are of new lichen growth on the branches of a fruit tree. We tend to overlook these small plants but they really do deserve a closer a look, the colours and intricate shapes are quite spectacular.

The next two pictures are of Witch Hazel blossom which in the winter garden at Chirk provided a real burst of colour and a light fragrance.

Taken together these pictures show that spring really is on it's way...

In A Winter Garden...

I know that Robin's are popular and so I was really pleased to capture the picture at the top of the page given that this little critter wouldn't stay still for very long.

The other two images were much easier to get because the subjects stayed still.  Picture two is of the first new leaves of a rose which in reality were not much bigger than the top of my thumb.  I like the colour of the fresh new shoots and the way the light catches on the dew settled on the leaves.

The final picture is of a sycamore seed which has landed on a yew hedge, I like the lacy structure of the veins.

My favourite picture though, is definitely the Robin.  What's yours?