Reflections streaking down the walls entice visitors entering Chihuly’s Garden And Glass Museum in Seattle to look up. Continue reading “Chihuly’s Persian Ceiling | Look Up!”
Roses at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
My sweetheart and I were counting our lucky stars earlier this week to have the chance to preview the wonderful RHS Hampton Court Flower Show. If you follow my blog, you’ll not be surprised that almost my first point of call was to catch up with some of my old buddies who were doing some nervous, last minute petal tweaking (always a massive temptation) on the David Austin display moments before the judges arrived. I didn’t think they had too much to worry about. Continue reading “Roses at the Hampton Court Palace Flower Show”
Opposites: Peel, Isle of Man
The weekly photo challenge asks us for opposites. Here, you can take your pick: land and water (or perhaps that should be earth, sea and sky); natural and man-made; high and low; near and far; boats on the River Neb and cars on the land. I might also add old and new – Peel’s sheltered harbour was ruled by Norse Vikings for over four centuries, and remains the Isle of Man’s major fishing port today, where the islander’s way of life blends the traditional with the modern. Continue reading “Opposites: Peel, Isle of Man”
Bouquet of White Roses and Lily of the Valley
White roses (freshly picked double shrub roses, rambling roses and spray flowered ones) look wonderful combined with Lily of the valley in this sweetly scented bouquet. A scattering of rose buds makes it all the prettier.
Yellow and Mahogany Daylily
This yellow daylily caught my sweetheart’s eye during yesterday’s visit to Bodnant Garden. The plant produces striking, dark, bronzy stems topped with buds that open to rich yellow flowers. Broad mahogany stripes linger on the backs of the outer petals: a legacy of the bud.
Continue reading “Yellow and Mahogany Daylily”
Digitalis Purpurea: The Essence of Summer
The summer solstice seems an appropriate time to feature one of Britain’s most evocative wild flowers: Digitalis purpurea. Close ups of their spots, hairs and pouting flower lips, combined with dire warnings of their toxicity, help explain why so much lore has been wound around them.
Colourful folk names variously link them to fairies, dragons and witches, while scholars dispute the derivation of their commonest name, foxglove.
Continue reading “Digitalis Purpurea: The Essence of Summer”
Celebrating Man-Made and Natural Curves
In this week’s photo challenge, Cheri asks for curves suggesting we might find them in architecture, bends in nature or man-made undulations.
I immediately thought of a recent visit to Chihuly’s Garden And Glass Museum in Seattle, where a cornucopia of curves can be found, not just in the sinuous art glass, but in the garden design and plant choices too.
Susan Rushton 