With a picture of some bulbs sprouting up in the garden. And a couple of snaps of life returning. A new start.


With a picture of some bulbs sprouting up in the garden. And a couple of snaps of life returning. A new start.
A very relaxed-looking frog in the garden today.
Its two friends disappeared while I went to look for my phone. But they’re there somewhere, under the surface…
Well, the only iris in my garden, anyway. One of a handful of plants bought a few years ago, and which have never flowered. Until now. Most disappeared without trace; this one survived though, in a dark, shaded corner, and graced us with its long-bladed leaves. It added green structure, but no flowers arrived.
I was hanging some washing on the line when I noticed it. The dark purple buds had been there for some time, but I was unprepared for the silent presence of the flower and it caught me by surprise. Those blowsy sail-like petals; that rich, deep colour. What is it? Burgundy? Plum? Garnet? It depends on the light and photographs don’t quite do it justice.
The flower at the top is now starting to fade away, but there are, fortunately, some more buds left. The mystery of the moment, though, is what (or more ominously who) has removed one of the buds, snapping or biting it off cleanly, just as if it had been snipped with scissors. What would Agatha Christie have made of it?
There was a lot of small-bird activity in the garden yesterday. Here are two of the pictures I managed to take (through the window, I’m afraid, so not as sharp as I would have liked).
Tiny cowslips in the garden on Christmas Eve. Just what is going on here?
Holly blue, I think?
Such a late spring.
Grey, brown and black.
For eternity?
Then:
Everything seemed to happen at once!
I hope to post more pictures from my garden, and from the local park, during the rest of the week.
Some images from a wet garden.
After a few days of sub-zero temperatures, the garden is starting to thaw out. Green is making a welcome comeback, spiking sharply through the dwindling snow. Smooth pebbles gleam. Fog hovers protectively.
There’s more birdsong today. A sense of spring, waiting. Just out of sight.
Soon…
I love to see (and hear) a robin in the garden.
This one looks rather thoughtful!
Shades of last summer.