Month: January 2016

January: Winter Gardens

Posted on Posted in GardensTagged , , , , 16 Comments

Jude’s new challenge has begun, and much as I’ll miss her bench challenge, garden photography is something I love. The theme for January is Winter Gardens, not the easiest when so much is dormant in damp, grey England. She doesn’t mind if we use photos from our archives and luckily I have a few from a visit to Rosemoor a few years ago.

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Every winter they have a sculpture exhibition with fascinating pieces displayed throughout the garden, Jude if you’ve never been in winter I recommend it.

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Interesting bark like the Acer Griseum in the first photo, and bright golden bamboo adds an extra element when flowers are scarce.

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Brightly coloured conifer is a bonus too.

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Silver birch always glow beautifully, especially when planted in groups.

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Rosemoor is an RHS garden, so of course they know what they’re doing, and good hard landscaping stands out in winter.

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This summerhouse is a nice spot, for a bit of a sit down.

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Aren’t these doves a delight, perfectly placed, they could almost be real.

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This isn’t the first time I’ve posted about Rosemoor in Winter, but in case you’ve known me a long time, I’ve used different photos.

Another Quay Perspective

Posted on Posted in Exeter, Photography, TravelTagged , , , , 14 Comments

I wasn’t intending to post for Jo’s Monday Walk this week, the skies have been so grey that my photos have been depressing! But then yesterday I grabbed a dry hour, took the dogs out, and the light turned out to be quite pretty. I had a lift to Colleton Crescent, from where I could drop down to the quayside, but first I went along to see the view.

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If you can see the crescent from the quay the reverse should be possible I thought.

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Here’s the crescent, Georgian and built in 1800, it stands on a sandstone bluff over the Exe and was even painted by Turner in 1827. In 2013 one of these houses sold for nearly 1.5 million, so this is a crescent of privilege.

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Time to head on downwards, I like the shapes in this photo, the right fork of water is the canal.

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I like these little houses but they must get a lot of passers by.

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I’d usually walk across the wooden bridge but there were lots of swans gathered on it, someone was feeding them and besides terriers and swans don’t get on!
But that’s okay, we walked along Commercial road. This area used to be clubland when I was in my teens, and I haven’t walked that way for years. I’m glad I did because of these two gates.
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Back along a footpath to the river and over the blue bridge.

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Where the footpath up river is flooded.

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The terrace is at the top of this photo and I was picked up again so my short walk is over.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Circle

Posted on Posted in Art and Design, Photography, Weekly Photo ChallengeTagged , , 19 Comments

Cheri at the Daily Post says.

With 2016 officially here, we face forward to take on what’s next. It’s a time of endings and beginnings, so I wanted a broad theme that could be simple, fun, and festive, but also complex and introspective. And so, circle it is.

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I found this circle? a few days ago at Escot, in east Devon. It’s part of a sculpture that as a whole, I didn’t find very exciting, but cropping the photo turned out a bit better I think.