My garden

Thursday Thoughts – My Wild Garden

/ Leya / 23 kommentarer

A pause in the welcome rain…and I could take a stroll in my summer garden. You probably know that I strive to make it bee and insect friendly. And some things are coming along nicely, at least my old apple tree. Let’s go and see!

The old apple tree gave in some years ago, but I decided to make it come alive again – with the help of clematis and honeysuckle. I tried several clematis, and finally this one was the winner. In the pot, an orange Clarkia.

As you can see, the wild flowers are growing after the long draught. Everything withered and yellow – but wild flowers are hardy and made to live here. Species of Scabious are popular among bees, beetles and butterflies.

The old tree is filled with various insects, sometimes so small that I can hardly see them.

Honeysuckle is now an established climber – but it took some years. Summernights are filled with their lovely scent.

One of my insect hotels found its place here too.

Two bird baths by this tree, one on the ground for the big birds and one hanging for the smaller ones. Keeping them filled is essential to the birds. I have a third one on the ground for the hedgehogs.

Clarkia was a new acquaintance to me, but I like its soft colours accompanying the old trunk.

Agapanthus is a sweet friend of mine, and this year it has developed 17 stems. I got the plant from a dear friend who passed away some years ago. I am very grateful for this gift, and I think of him every time I admire it and water it.

The tour ends in my glasshouse, where there are only edible plants during summer – and some cacti. This big lady is flowering now, having 8 buds. A joy!

Thank you so much for visiting and walking with me in my favourite place!

Thursday Thoughts – A Delightful Colour

/ Leya / 13 kommentarer

Temperatures are rising here already, and flowers are coming up. Not any of these though, but I wanted to celebrate with a gallery of flowers in one of my favourite colours. I hope these might put a smile on your face!

Bellweed

Pasque flowers

Lotus

Lewisia

Geranium

Allium

Rose

LAPC #233 – One Lens Walk

/ Leya / 75 kommentarer

Annes challenge for us this week is to take a lens for a walk. Yes, to choose a lens and walk. We can also use our cell phone or point and shoot camera. Another trick, when using a zoom lens, is to pick an aperture and stay with it. It is of course also possible to go for our archives. The important thing is to have fun! Remember to link to Anne’s original post and use the Lens-Artists tag.

I usually walk with my Fuji 16-80 lens, or my 35 prime lens. But my absolute favourite is the Tamron 90 macro. It is not a coincidence that my blog is labelled with a quote from William Blake: ”To see a World in a Grain of Sand…” The complete line goes: ”To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand And Eternity in an hour.” To me, this is the essence of Life.

As there are very few flowers and insects to photograph right now, I have chosen some of my old macros to show the different possibilities of this lens. Close-ups and macros yes, – but you will notice it is very versatile.

For macros I normally use f/11, but f/8 – f/11 works fine. I always use a tripod, and that is why most of my macros are shot in my own garden. I don’t carry a tripod on my walks. Not only because of the weight, I want to feel free. And, I often have my dog, Milo, with me too. In the beginning I tried to hand hold the camera, but there were too many photos to throw away, so Milo and the tripod are two of my best friends.

Droplets and frosty petals are always a treat, but even with flowers and other subjects that often don’t move much, I also use the timer in order not to risk accidental camera movements while pressing the button. The photo with many droplets, to the left in this gallery, was hand held. When I don’t take close-ups or macro with the lens, that works fine.

When we get really close, like in the first and the last picture, and the roses, the photo turns almost abstract. Other worlds open up and lets our fantasy work magic.

We enjoyed looking back with all of you during Sophia’s challenge last week. You sent us unique and interesting responses – some surprising ones too. Now we are looking forward to seeing your one lens walks!

Next week our new team member, Donna Holland of Wind Kisses, will be leading the challenge. Be sure to visit her beautiful site for inspiration!

If you would like to participate weekly in our Lens-Artists Challenge, click here for more info.