Hoar Frost

It was distinctly cold and frosty hike on the moors above Baslow and Chatworth House in Derbyshire. The damp in the air encrusted the stems of the grasses changing their dull winter browns to glittering white.

 

Clematis

A late flowering clematis with a gentle subtle scent clambers skyward over an old rustic arch.

 

MORNING SUN THROUGH THE ROWAN TREE

We have a number of Rowan trees, or Mountain Ash, in our garden. I love their shape, their autumn berries – which are swiftly gobbled by the birds – and the reminder of wonderful holidays in the Lake District where the Rowans grow in abundance.

Here, I managed to catch the berries with the sun directly behind them, no special filters, just a sparkle of light.

COSMOS

The floral kind, not as in the night sky.

I have a small bed of cosmos outside my summerhouse. They have grown much taller than I anticipated but the wave of pinks and white on tall feathery, delicate stems is a delight.

VIEW THROUGH A WINDOW

 

 

Not the view through my own window, alas, but this delightful setting is in Gainsborough Old Hall, a beautifully maintained manor house in Lincolnshire owned by English Heritage.

I have some lovely photos from our latest visit to the Hall, we have been quite a few times, and with luck I’ll be able to post a few in the not-too-distant future although we still have internet issues (no signal at all for most of yesterday) and I’m still in the slow process of transferring data from the old, tired computer which is unwilling to cooperate much of the time.

Hope they will be worth the wait!

PRIMULA VIALII

Primula vialii (or P viallii depending on your choice of spelling) is one of the loveliest of flowers. Not a traditional primula by any means, it is also known as Turk’s Turban, Vial’s Primrose, Orchid Primrose, Red Hot Poker Primrose, Chinese Pagoda Primrose and probably a dozen other names besides, and all very descriptive. The starry lilac flowers open up from tight red buds, and gradually the flowering head lengthens to accommodate more flowers.

I love this primula and am lucky enough to be able to grow it in my garden, though it has – up to now – proven to be relatively short-lived for a member of this family. So it is definitely a case of ‘making the most of it’.

SEMPERVIVUMS

I love succulents, I have lots of them lined out by the back door and outside the greenhouse. I like the different colours and types, and that they are low maintenance!

 

Apologies again for intermittent posting. The above picture was taken on my tablet due to severe computer and internet problems. A new computer has been acquired (though there’s nothing I can do about the lousy internet) so once I have mastery of the new tech I shall (hopefully) be able to upload some photos from my camera.

MOTH

This attractive black and white moth had spread its wings on the inside glass of our greenhouse. And it stayed long enough to be photographed.

TREE ROOTS

Like something out of Tolkien, these tree roots stretch down a bank as though attempting to slowly creep along to a new space.

Frustrations

I have a number of pictures planned to put up on the blog, but unfortunately my computer/internet access/gremlins have been refusing to cooperate for the last few days. This is particularly frustrating since I have only just got back into the swing of posting. But, all I can say is, normal service will be resumed once I have managed to sort out the technical difficulties.