Thursday 8 May 2014

A mixed bag

Every blog needs a "miscellaneous" post once in a while. This is one of those. I have some photos I want to publish, but they don't fit any particular theme, so here goes...

Last Saturday I spotted a Damselfly sunning itself on our rotary clothes-line. I rushed indoors to fetch my camera, fully expecting the insect to have departed by the time I got back, but No, it obligingly waited while I took some photos. What a strange but beautiful creature it is!


I am advised that the way to tell a Damselfly from a Dragonfly is that the former rests with its wings folded, but the latter rests with them outstretched. Simples!


Here's another curiosity seen in my garden - a Radish whose foliage is variegated:


It was just the one plant that was like that, a one-off genetic mutation. Perhaps I should have allowed it to grow on so that I could save its seeds? Come to think of it, Radishes with variegated leaves would certainly look nice in a potager. Imagine them next to the deep red of beetroot leaves.

I have been trying to get a good photo of my Lily of the Valley, but it has proved harder than I expected. The plant is growing in an area of shade, around my micro-pond:


Because of the strange light conditions I had to use the flash, which always disappoints! This is the best I could do.


My pot of Oxalis "Burgundy Wine" is growing strongly now. It dies down completely every Winter, but in the Spring it pops back up with its beautiful deep purple (wine-coloured?) leaves:


Later on it will produce some delicate white flowers.

The Hydrangea that my friend Rosemary gave me for my birthday has grown a lot and now has some buds on it. To be honest this is a bonus, because I hadn't expected it to flower until it was a lot bigger.




Here is another "significant" flower. A Clematis flower.


This is significant for me because it is the first flower ever produced by a plant which has been in my garden for nearly four years! We got it as one of those freebies from a magazine. The year I planted it, it was ravaged by foxes / cats and got severely damaged. However it has survived and now it has produced some flowers - the one pictured above has two siblings ("Wow!", I hear you cry). Maybe next year it will put on a more impressive show. I don't know much about growing Clematis (the plants fall into distinct groups, as fruit trees do, don't they?). It would help if I did some research I suppose... 


Finally for today, I want to make a mention of an interesting new blog I have discovered. It is called Ortolano a 30 anni (A gardener for 30 years), run by Enrico Ferrario, who lives in Northern Italy, about 30 kilometres from Milan. He writes in Italian, but his blog includes the "Google Translate" widget in its sidebar, so (allowing for some rather quaint translations) you can still enjoy it even if you can't understand the Italian language. Enrico has endeared himself to me already, because he has published lots of photos of chillis! His blog is worth a look...

15 comments:

  1. What an obliging damselfly, I've never got a decent photo of one as I've never seen one sit still for long enough. It looks like you're going to have a lovely display from your hydrangea, I'm growing one in a pot but it doesn't seem very happy at all, I think I'm going to have to think about moving it.

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  2. Mark your standard camera lens has the abiltiy to get so close to the subject (but not too close) to take stunning pictures of the the damselfly without using a macro lens. I like your miscellaneous posts as they often have a variety of splendid photos on show.

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    1. David, you are right - the E450 with its standard lens is brilliant! It suits me well, I seldom use the macro lens.

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  3. Lily of the valley has always been a favorite of mine because it has fond childhood memories. I tried transplanting some from a friend's house last year. I'll have to go check on them to see if they survived or not. I think they should be coming up soon. But then we are a lot later than you are.

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  4. Wonderful pictures of the damselfly. What a beauty! I have the same kind of oxalis that's putting up a show now. Your hydrangea looks so healthy. It's difficult to grow hydrangeas here. I had one potted plant which flowered twice before wilting and dying. The clematis bloom is pretty!

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  5. Nice diversion. How big is the clematis bloom? Looks small and delicate.

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    1. The Clematis flower is about 2 inches in diameter. It's probably "Montana" or a variant thereof.

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  6. My mum always used to pick a posy og lily of the valley for my birthday but for some reason I can't get ours to flower.

    What variety is your clematis - looks like a montana iof some sort. If it is it doesn't need to be pruned unless it is overgrown.

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    1. Sue, I'm not sure exactly what variety the Clematis is - we got it such a long time ago, and until now it has offered very little, so I have not paid it much attention. I'll have to see whether it still has a label attached.

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  7. You know I have had one of those variegated radishes before as well though mine didn't have a nice radish root on it like yours did.
    I always find it interesting that you take pictures of insects. I will have to try it here as well.

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  8. I'm hoping my little pond will attract some damsel/dragon flies, it seems too small for frogs. I was a very pleasant miscellaneous post to read.

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  9. Those are some really nice pictures there Mark!

    I like the dragon fly and the radishes. My dad keeps Oxalis at his coastal California home. Yours are quite beautiful.

    -Jay

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  10. A friend bought me an oxalis last summer after I admired the plant growing in her mother-in-law's garden. I found out today that the leaves make good salad material (according to James Wong). I shall just admire mine and let it grow but I like to think I could snack on it if needs be! I love the look of that variegated radish - yes, it would make a very fine addition to a potager! Really interesting post, Mark, thank you!

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  11. The leaves and foliage always look so fresh and green in the Spring. The dragonfly / damselfly is quite beautiful looking. My radishes are a long way off yet.

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  12. I love the Oxalis color, give a cheer color on the garden. The variegated leaves are so interesting.

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