Tag: Garden Challenge

May Garden Challenge, Wildflowers

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Jude’s Garden Photography Challenge this month has the theme of wild flowers. She says, ‘this can be at the side of the road, a meadow, a wild flower garden, a single flower.’

Mine is from last year, but it’s May already and they’ll soon be back. In case some of you perhaps from different climates, don’t recognise it, it’s a foxglove, digitalis purpurea. Although the plant is poisonous, the leaves from digitalis is an ingredient used in heart drugs.

foxgloveIf you’d like to join Jude with a wild flower or two you have all of May to do so!

May, wild flowers

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May 1st, and time for a new garden challenge them from Jude. This month its wild flowers, this is what she says.

‘This month i want to see wild flowers found in the hedgerows, woodlands, farmland, meadows, by the coast, up a mountain, on a heath and even in your own garden. Basically plants that haven’t been planted, but occur naturally, although specifically planted wild flower meadows can be included. Wild flowers provide food for humans and wildlife and are usually hardy, resilient and well adapted to the climate and soils, and yes, sadly often referred to as weeds.’

So my first entry is this sea thrift, it’s one of my favourites, I love how it thrives on virtually no soil, clinging tenaciously to rocks, its deceptively delicate flowers reaching for the sun.

thrift

If you’d like to join in this month, visit Jude’s garden challenge page to find out how.

Up Close on spring buds

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I noticed these buds in the health centre’s garden this morning and had my little point and shoot with me. They were low enough to shelter from the breeze, so worth trying a close up. Judging from the one that’s about to unfold, I’d say it could be sycamore, does anyone know?

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I would love to be able to take real macros with a powerful lens, but I can still have fun even with my phone. This is my last post for Jude’s April garden challenge, with the theme of macro or close up, and I’ve really enjoyed it.
If you’re quick, you can still join in, visit Jude here.

April, close up in the garden

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This month Jude wants to see macros or close ups of anything you’d find in the garden, for her monthly Garden Challenge. I can’t remember what was going on here, if this is one bug or two, so if you have any ideas, please let me know. I’m hoping that Sonel may have the answer, some kind of mantis perhaps?

bugs

This image is from the Bird park in the 20 acre KL lake gardens, which reputedly has one of the largest free flight walk in aviarys in the world.

A Double Challenge

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For March, my friend Jude’s Garden Photo Challenge theme is wildlife in the garden. I don’t want to carp on about my ducks, but this is my second entry, I hope you’re suitably impressed Jude. April’s theme will be macro photography.

Damselfly The lovely and talented Amy has challenged me to join the 7-Day Nature Photo Challenge, begun by Ulli, and as it’s a four day weekend, I have time to do it, hooray! I thought my damselfly worked well for both. A couple of days ago, my friend and insect expert Sonel, posted  an amazing photo of a tropical damselfly from near her home in South Africa.

Today I’m going to ask Sylvia if she’d like to join in, she is surrounded by nature in her new home, some of it rather scarey. No problem if you’re too busy Sylvia!

 

March: Wildlife in the Garden

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Jude is having a garden photography challenge for 2016, and this month theme is wildlife. Living in the UK, wildlife bigger than insects, is quite elusive, there are foxes in my neighbourhood but I haven’t seen one for years and only ever late at night. We also have frogs, toads and hedgehogs, but anytime I’ve seen one, I’m way too slow to think about a camera.  A pond creates captive subjects, particularly if those subjects are a bit peckish, and at Marwood Hill carp and ducks are happy side by side when there’s food about.

IMG_8022

Jude may just say that captive isn’t wild, and she’ll have to take my word for it that there’s a big garden around the pond!

To join in visit Jude at The Earth Laughs in Flowers.

 

 

Cotehele in Monochrome

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Jude is looking for monochrome photos for her Garden Challenge in February. She advises us to,

Look for texture, shape and patterns. The subject matter is entirely up to you, but should be loosely garden related

The challenge has made me think about the hard landscape and structures in gardens, rather than just plants. Although I haven’t visited any gardens this year, I’ve found a few possibilities in my archives and this is my second attempt.
cotehele

There’s still time to get a February entry in, next month is wildlife.