Category: photography

Welsh Estuary Wildlife Walk

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 24, 2012
1 Comment on Welsh Estuary Wildlife Walk

We left home as the sun was about to rise. The car’s thermometer told us it was already 9 degrees. Things were looking good for a day’s wandering around the RSPB’s reserve at Conway in North Wales. Driving off into Wales the sun rising behind us gave the sky a warm orange glow and the dull flat grey concrete of each bridge we passed under looked as if it was being warmed by fire.

The problem with the coast of North Wales is that it has its own weather! Today was no exception – the closer we got to our destination the duller the sky became and drizzle began to fall. It was to continue all day! Looking out over the reserve it looked very grey indeed!

We stopped near the reserve entrance overlooking the estuary – the tide was well and truly out so it was sand and mud as far as the eye could see. On the sand a few waders probed for invertebrates – a couple of Curlew, a Redshank and a Little Egret.

We entered the reserve proper and wandered along board walks and soggy gravel paths towards the scrapes and pools. At the first hide were treated to a view of a Water Rail, that little beautifully marked rail, much smaller and harder to find than its larger cousins the Coot and Moorhen, who were here wherever we looked. Dozens of Teal, Mallard, Canada Geese and Shelduck fed busily in shallow water and on the muddy margins. Out in open water Tufted Ducks dived constantly for food. A real surprise was a pair of Goldeneyes! The award for the star of the show on this body of water was the Red Breasted Merganzer. Six of these saw billed ducks actively dived for food stopping only for an occasional skirmish. The males looked most dapper with their black and white bodies topped off with green-black heads, red eyes and long thin red bills. Their wispy crests fluttered in the wind.

We moved on wandering through areas of scrub and small trees where Meadow Pipit and Linnets were spotted, through marshy ground and finally reached the estuary. Here the breeze turned to a freezing strong blast, making it hard to look for wildlife. In the muddy foreshore a dozen or so Redshanks fed with even more Black Tailed Godwits. Two Shoveller fed amongst scores of Shelduck in areas where water remained. Both these species of duck were upending in their search for food in the shallow water. Our walk had taken us in such a short time from the sheltered area close to the reserve centre and coffee shop to this wilderness of wind, mud and driving rain.

The depth of the dark sky overhead varied as the drizzle came and went. It was amusing to watch the reaction of a Grey Heron to the arrival of the wetter, darker weather. He really seemed to sulk. The two following photos show the change in his attitude – a real mood swing!

He was not a very lively Heron at all. He definitely disapproved of the wet weather. the only time he made any movement was when an Egret landed near him and he let out a loud unpleasant “cronking” noise, sounding more like an animal than a bird. The Egret flew off but we were lucky enough to get a long very close up view of him from a hide near the estuary itself when we stopped for lunch and to escape the strong cold wind. Seeing these two members of the Heron family together illustrated just how different they are. they both sport crests and shape wise they are almost the same but the Grey Heron looks much bulkier and dull in its black, grey and white plumage. The Egret is the purest white possible in a bird and is slender in profile. The Egret sports a crest on top of its head but also is graced with long wispy feathers hanging down its chest.

We watched our Little Egret feeding just in front of the hide. He performed a shuffling feet dance to stir up the mud and disturb invertebrates and small fish. At other times he seemed to stalk his prey moving slowly, cocking his head and then stabbing at a small fish with his beak. In close up we were amazed by his bright yellow feet – usually you only see his black legs as he wades in shallow water – and a matching yellow ring around his eyes. This sequence of three photos follows him as he stalks in shallow water.

He seemed to feed continuously in sharp contrast to the Heron who had time to just stand and hide from the Welsh weather. Only once did we notice the Little Egret take his mind off hunting. Another Egret flew across from the neighbouring pool and our Egret immediately launched a vicious attack driving the intruder away. The aggressive noise he made was the same harsh “cronking” noise made by the Grey Heron, described in one of my books as “fraink”.

We moved back to the calm of the centre buildings and treated ourselves to a latte and cappuccino. This is the perfect bird reserve cafe as it serves excellent food and coffee and has a whole wall of glass overlooking a scrape, reed areas and bird feeding station. Here we relished our coffees, warmed up, dried off and enjoyed close-up views of Siskins, Reed Buntings and Goldfinches feeding.

We got soaked, our eyes and noses wouldn’t stop running but what a great day we had. This reserve is worth a visit at any time of the year. The facilities are great and the volunteers most pleasant, knowledgable and helpful.

Tags birds, conservation, Egret, estuaries, finches, Heron, RSPB, Welsh wilddlife, wildfowl

birds garden design garden photography gardening hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs photography winter gardens

The Flowering of February

A bright sunny day! And mild too! We just had to spend it in the garden clearing away old leaves and flower stems of perennials, finishing pruning the climbing roses and as the grass was dry giving it a quick skim over with the mower. A bit of early Spring cleaning. As we worked our way around we sere periodically stopped in our tracks by the sight of colourful flowers.

A good clump of pale mauve crocus in the Rill Garden.

A classic February pairing of snowdrops and winter aconite.

Close up the hellbore shows hints of green.

Perennial Wallflower "Bowles Mauve" - always in flower?

Cornus mas - acid yellow scented flowers.

Looking for the magic inside a Snowdrop!

Out of season Ribes speciosum - flowers like red droplets.

White and green - a most subtle hellebore.

Tags birds, cornus, garden photography, gardening, wildlife, winter, winter gardens

bird watching birds National Trust photography Shropshire wildlife

A Walk in the Park – along the River Bank.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 17, 2012

A river wanders through the parkland at the National Trust’s Attingham Park, sometimes in viscous flood, sometimes in slow motion. Today it was slow and cold.

DSC_0055a-1 — Berberis with its red berries hangs down towards the water.

DSC_0054a — Willow weeping tears into the river.

DSC_0023a — Last year's teasels still standing strong.

Old Burrs overhang the grey water surface.

Tags birds, foliage, garden photography, National Trust, ornamental trees, rivers, wildlife, winter

garden design garden photography gardening outdoor sculpture photography winter gardens

Lichen in our garden.

One of the highlights of enjoying your garden in winter is noticing things that you take for granted the rest of the year. Little special details. Lichen, mosses and algae.

In our Japanese Garden the low rays of the winter sun brighten up lichen, mosses and algae on the lanterns. The greens and greys create a mosaic of soft textures.

Tints of green add interest to the greys of our specimen slate stones.

Even the Buddha is given a splattering of green emphasising the shapes of the fabric folds of the robe and curls of hair.

Lush green mosses find perfect conditions to flourish in side a terra-cotta flower-pot.

Tags garden photography, gardening, Japanese Garden, lichen, mosses, winter, winter gardens

bird watching birds conservation photography Shropshire trees wildlife

A Chilly Stroll on Lyth Hill

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 8, 2012
4 Comments on A Chilly Stroll on Lyth Hill

Today dawned bright, Robins sang and the blue colour of the sky coupled with a forecast of a dry day ahead, tempted us out for a countryside walk. A short 10 minute drive along winding lanes saw us park up at the start of the walk. This car park must have one of the best views in Shropshire, a view presenting a huge panorama. Snow on the hills and iced water in the furrows of the ploughed fields below reminded us that whatever the day looked like it is still winter.

Beneath our feet the muddy track was frozen solid a few millimetres down and this made for a tense start. We walked slowly along the ridge tempted repeatedly to glance leftward at the hazy view. Thin clouds were building. The hedge to our right was mostly of Hawthorn and Holly over which Brambles clambered. Blackbirds aplenty sought out the last of the hedge’s berries, and a pair of silhouetted Carrion Crow gorged on Ivy berries as black as themselves. They went about their business in silence. Crows are rarely silent.

We enjoyed the view of Yellow Hammers, birds that are sadly declining so rapidly from our hedgerows. A trio flitted amongst the uppermost branches of the taller Hawthorns calling continuously. It was good to see them. Small noisy flocks of Linnets frequently passed over our heads. We were relieved to leave our frozen footway and enter a tiny coppiced area alive with the calls of Great Tits, Bluetits and Longtailed Tits. We attempted the sloping footpath down through the copse and slid our way down a few yards before giving up and were forced to carry on along a rough roadway alongside a few houses. The conifers in their gardens added Coal Tit to the titmice collection and Jays squawked in their topmost branches.

Our cold noses were subjected to the unpleasant odour of male fox which had crossed our path an hour or two before probably as dawn light was announcing the day. The odour hung in our nostrils for several minutes as we walked on.

We were glad that this hard man-made surface lasted such a short while because we were to enter a beautiful coppice of old oaks, dotted with occasional Rowan and Beech. Their under-storey was of Holly and Bramble and here Dunnock, Robin and Wren skulked, given away by their calls. Lichen and algae coloured the trunks of the old once-managed oaks. These would have been cut to the ground every few years to encourage rapid upright growth which could be harvested. But we are enjoying the habitat created after years of neglect, a habitat equally appreciated by wildlife. The oaks are gnarled and eccentrically shaped, covered in lichen, algae and mosses.

Sounds are carried freely through the coppice. The tapping of a Great spotted Woodpecker. The liquid whistlings of Nuthatches. The “chatting” of Wren. And an unidentified “churring” sound – we had no idea what bird might have made that call. Woodpeckers and nuthatches had been busy digging in the softness of rotting wood on dead trees. This chip of bark had been lifted by a Woodpecker’s powerful beak to extract a morsel of food, some beetle or grub which the bird had heard beneath the bark.

New leaves sprouted on the honeysuckles that entwined the lower trunk of the Oaks where there must be a little protection, a little extra warmth.

Little clumps or bunches of Ladybirds have managed to find refuges from the ravages of winter. By looking carefully shining wing cases of orange and red, spotted black could be spied. They looked so precarious but they must have some confidence in the security of their hideouts.

There was so much variety in the colour and texture of the tree trunks. Lichens and mosses clung to the roughness and painted over the brown bark. Silvery blues. Hot flame colours. Gentle greens.

We followed the circular route through the coppice and made our way back down the track, the light weakening and the temperature cooling. We shall return in spring when the summer migrants are back, when the coppice should reverberate to the song of warblers and Swallows accompany us along the ridge.

Tags birds, birds of prey, coppices, Lyth Hill, Shropshire, wildlife, winter

garden photography gardening hardy perennials photography winter gardens

House Leeks – modest little gems.

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 6, 2012

We love the humble Houseleeks. We grow them in pots, on the slate scree bed, in alpine troughs, on our old oak stump and even on an old brick. They are so simple, really just spiky little cabbages, but they have something special about them. Is it the subtle nature of their colours? Is it their reliability? Is it because they are there to delight the eye all year round? Or is it simply the variety? It certainly isn’t the flowers which grow up on oversized stalks and then make the plant fall over. They are called Houseleeks because people grew them on the roofs of their outside privies as they will tolerate such dry growing conditions. Perhaps the extra insulation helped too!

Just like the first Ford cars which you could buy in any colour as along as it was black, so with the Houseleeks you can have them in any colour as long as it is green. Green with varying depths and hints of red, black, purple or blue. And of course we mustn’t forget brown! Being succulents they like it dry and their colours seem richer in late summer when it is often at its driest in the garden.

The correct name for the Houseleek is Sempervivum and they originate from Europe and Asia. There are hundreds of named varieties but we choose them for their interesting colour or texture, not by name, as so many of them are so similar. We buy what we fancy. Some we choose because of their colours but others for their white spider’s web covering or fringing of bristles. Favourites are those with dark colours towards the points of the leaves.

All the pictures in this blog were taken in February which shows how useful an addition to the winter garden these little plants are. There can’t be many succulents that are useful plants with winter interest. The first couple of photos show the Sempervivums growing on our stump, the first enjoying the company of an icy green lichen and the second with the dead brown fronds of a fern.

When a Sempervivum flowers, sending the tall stem from the centre of a rosette, it dies, but the dead rosette is soon replaced with new offsets. This plant on the slate scree bed is still holding on to its flower stem surging from the now-dead rosette. Soon we shall pull it out and in the spring new rosettes will fill the gap. We leave late flower stems on the plants as they provide interesting structure. The subtle colouring of its rosettes work beautifully with its slate grey background.

Now we take a photographic journey around the garden in search of more Houseleeks.

Awaiting planting, still in their pots, sit four new varieties. Will we ever stop being tempted?

Tags foliage, foliage plants, garden photography, gardening, Houseleeks, Sempervivum, succulents, winter, winter gardens

bird watching birds garden photography garden wildlife gardening grow your own hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs photography shrubs winter gardens

A Wander Around Our Garden in February

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 4, 2012
2 Comments on A Wander Around Our Garden in February

This is the second of our monthly garden wanders designed to give an insight into what is going on each month. Our February wander will be a colder one so don those thermal gloves and woolly hats with silly bobbles and join us. We hope you enjoy what our garden offers in the second month of 2012.

The day dawns frosty but with a bright blue hat on. A lovely fresh winter’s day, with the quiet plaintive song of the Robin as company – he always comes around the garden with us and entertains us with a song. Overhead Buzzards call from their thermals high above the slope of the hill. It feels a perfectly calm day to us but these big, broad winged predators always find movement in the air. Why does the call of the buzzard always sound further away than the bird itself? Have they mastered the art of ventriloquy? We see them most days but we never lose the desire to watch them enjoying their freeform flight.

I fed the chucks and topped up their frozen water with some warm, before collecting their eggs from the nest boxes. Today the hens’ contribution to our larder had added benefits. Handwarmers! Holding these little warm parcels of food felt more special than usual. As I passed the shed on my way down to the chuck pen three Wrens burst out of their roosting pocket – late risers. A pair nested in here in the summer just a few inches above the shed door. They took no notice of our comings and goings. They filled the roosting pouch with moss, feathers and delicate grasses which now insulate them on cold nights.

The garden is full of birds once more after a quiet few months. We were beginning to wonder where all the birds had gone, but today Goldfinches have reappeared in busy red and gold flecked flocks. mixed feeding flocks of titmice invade every tree and shrub and Linnets sit on the highest branches. Long Tailed Tits in groups of a dozen or more flit from tree to shrub and from feeder to feeder, never still, always fidgeting like a class of infant pupils awaiting a favourite story. The odd Bullfinch and Blackcap conduct their business more quietly.

On the feeders Jackdaws attack the peanuts dropping morsels for the Dunnocks and Chaffinches waiting below. Jackdaws are long-lived and today two old favourites are to be seen, one with a white wing and one with a wing that droops low when he settles. Overhead their much larger relatives pass over, a “cronking” trio of Raven flying effortlessly with outstretched fingers.

It is noticeable that the clusters of berries on the Hollies and Cotoneasters are much depleted as greedy groups of resident Blackbird and Mistle Thrush are joined by migrant members of the thrush family, the winter visiting Redwing and Fieldfare. The small yellow crab apples on Malus “Butterball” have now been stripped by these members of the thrush family.

Our horizontal cotoneaster is a favourite of Blackbirds, Redwing and Mistle Thrush.

There has simply been plenty of natural food for our avian friends this winter. It has been mild enough for insects to be on the wing, for invertebrates to be creeping and crawling, and the hedges and trees have heavy berry crops. We want to see them in our garden but we are being selfish. They come to us when they need to and not before!

The blackbirds have finally discovered the windfalls.

The re-appearance of the Goldfinches gives us close-up entertainment as close to the conservatory window grow Onopordon, the Scotch Thistle, and its seed heads tower into the blue sky. Goldfinches love them and soon dig in for seeds, bursting the heads open as they do so, and the white fluffy insides overflow like raw cotton.

Scotch Thistle seed heads towering into the blue.

The intensifying of the cold sucks structure from leaves and hardens the ground beneath them. The accompanying frost layers the ground and plants with lines and layers of frozen crystals. The blueness of the skies on a clear February day is more intense than earlier in the winter. The sunlight seems brighter.

The deep cold has taken the structure out of the young self-seeded sunlit Hypericum.

Fennel seed heads still stand strong while its delicate bright green seedlings shelter below.

The deep blue February sky increases the purple tints in the tracery of the Birch's finest branches.

The frost gives an extra line of silver along the leaf edges of these grasses.

Something special happens to light in February. There is something about the quality of light that changes. It makes you feel better. It makes plants look better, their flower colours intensify. If, like both “The Undergardener” and I, you suffer from SAD (Seasonally Affected Disorder) then you will feel and experience this change. You feel the tunnel of winter has brightness at its end. Monty Don, in the book “Fork to Fork” refers to this improvement in light quality, writing that February displays a “tangible promise of a better time” and talks of a “surge of energy and hope running through the garden”. This will be tangible from about the middle of the month but even now the hint of that promise is in the air. It isn’t just S.A.D. gardeners who believe in the wonder of February however, as we have a pair of Blue Tits taking up residence in one nest box and a pair of House Sparrows in another. Spring is in the air! Well, maybe not! No, these two pairs are just like serious sun-bathers on a busy sandy beach, just getting there early to “bag” the best spots.

Nowhere is this new hope more obvious than in the flowering of the bulbs and the bright green signs of new growth of perennials. Snowdrops, Crocus and Aconite, the pearls of the month.

Marbled foliage of Cyclamen with golden flowers of Winter Aconite

New growth on the oriental poppies - promises!

The leaves of Day Lilies spear the frozen mulch.

But some new life is out of sinc. Buds appear and surprise. The blue anemone with its metallic sheen on its indigo bud is a special treat and is reflected in the blue berries of the Viburnum davidii. The last of the rose buds however that gave promise of flowers have given in to winter’s grasp.

The promise of a rose flower stopped by the frost.

No February garden can be complete without Hellebores so here are just two of ours. But my true favourites to finish our February wander around our garden are the Witch Hazel “Jelena” and Cornus mas.

Upright growth and rich reds and purples make this a special Hellebore.

Cornus mas, the Cornelian Cherry, a modest beauty.

Tags birds, foliage, fruit and veg, fruit and vegetable growing, fruit., garden photography, garden wildlife, gardening, shrubs, trees, wildlife, winter, winter gardens

garden photography gardening hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs photography shrubs town gardens winter gardens

Witch Hazels at Swallow Hayes – a garden visit in January (part two)

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 2, 2012
1 Comment on Witch Hazels at Swallow Hayes – a garden visit in January (part two)

And so we continue our gentle cold wander around the wintry splendour of Swallow Hayes …….

The promise of Viburnum bodnantense flowers.

A secret, sunken garden for ferns shaded by a roof of climbers.

The unusual combination of pale pink and green together in the tassels of Garrya elliptica.

Primrose yellow cup-shaped flowers of a Hellebore.

This pink-flowered Hellebore invites you to turn its flowers over for a close look inside.

DSC_0034-2 — I am not a fan of Hellebores with double flowers but I was attracted to the colour of this one.

DSC_0021-1 — Silvery marbled variegation like a spider's web.

DSC_0020-2 — Paint splattered variegation.

And now to those Witch Hazels! These are not Hazels at all, but related to Parrotias, Fothergillas and of course the Sycopsis we saw in the first Swallow Hayes blog. Their unusually shaped flowers are in every shade of yellow, orange and red and give warming scents in the winter garden. Witch Hazels are well-known for their medicinal properties and are used in aftershave as well as in the treatment of bruises and insect bites. So, beautiful and useful!

The flowers are made up of long, thin strips of petals like curling ribbons or spiders, and appear on bare stems. Several Witch Hazels available to us were bred in Kalmhout in Belgium and the first photo shows one with the unglamorous name of “Kalmhout 999”. Kalmhout is an arboretum in Belgium run by Jelena and Robert de Kelder. Jelena has given her name to my favourite Witch Hazel which you will see in my blog “A Wander around the Garden in February” which I will post in the next few days. Two more of their developments are “Diane”, named after their daughter and “Livia”, named after their granddaughter.

This Witch Hazel matches its colour to its scent, the flowers coloured orange and emitting an aroma of oranges.

DSC_0025-2 — The aptly named "Ripe Corn".

"Ripe Corn", "Livia" and "Strawberries and Cream"

Tags foliage, foliage plants, garden photography, gardening, hellebores, ornamental trees, shrubs, trees, winter, winter gardens, With Hazels

garden photography gardening hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs photography roses shrubs trees winter gardens

Witch Hazels at Swallow Hayes – a garden visit in January (part one)

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 1, 2012

OK, so January isn’t a month normally associated with visiting gardens, but Swallow Hayes is different. It’s main feature is a huge collection of Witch Hazels, more than 70 types. The day of our visit was cold – teetering on freezing point all day – and a thin mist hung low over the land made cold by the heavy overnight frost. We wrapped up warm, wandered around this garden of winter, our fingers with just enough feeling left in them to take photos.

The garden here covers just two acres but they are two packed acres. There is so much to see here in January, leaf colour and variegation, blooms with scent to delight and patterns of tree bark for the eye to capture and the fingers to explore.

DSC_0003-1 — Felled by wind this branch of the blue-grey Cedrus atlantica glauca shone against the debris under the tree.

DSC_0001-3 — Arum italicum marmoratum show leaf variegation at its best.

DSC_0002-1 — A clump of beautifully marked Cyclamen enjoying the shade of a conifer.

DSC_0006-1 — I am not a fan of conifers but I do appreciate them on dark winter days.

DSC_0004-2 — Delicate deep pink berries of Berberis wilsoniae.

Last year's Hydrangea flowers display structure and colour.

DSC_0008-1 — Sparse berries hide amongst the strongly spotted variegated foliage of this Laurel.

Tree bark adds interest in winter gardens and here at Swallow Hayes Birch and Prunus add colour and texture.

Peeling Birch bark reveals pink below the silver.

DSC_0050-1 — Silky smoothness in deep shades of russet .

Swallow Hayes' bees snug and safe in their hives.

A relative of the Witch Hazels, this Sycopsis was unknown to us.

IMG_2768a — Unusual white flowered Daphne

Fresh shining purple growth of a hellebore looks full of promise.

Tags foliage, foliage plants, garden photography, gardening, ornamental trees, roses, shrubs, trees, winter, winter gardens

garden photography gardening outdoor sculpture photography

Poppy Seedhead Skeleton

Sometimes the smallest and simplest of discoveries in the garden can blow you away. Pulling up a clump of small dandelion leaves to give to the chicks as a treat, I spied this seedhead of an oriental poppy. Nature had turned it into a skeletal sculpture. Rotting had revealed little windows through which patterns emerged.

It is hard to believe that these little capsules were but a few months ago hidden deep inside the bright orange over-sized blooms. Looking past this orange glare into the poppy’s secret centre, we could see a black core dusted with purple. Already the shape of the green seed head was evident. Once the floppy orange silk of the petals drooped lifelessly they fell to feed the soil beneath. Now the gaunt rigid stems were topped with the green seed heads which would dry to tinder in the following summer months. When dried, the capsules rattling with seeds, seeds by the million, turned pale biscuit. The rotting rains of autumn softened the stems which the winds then felled. The wetness of the ground rotted the capsule’s flesh away leaving these wonderful skeletal shapes.