Five Minutes with Sweet-Peas

DesleyJane – a lovely arty scientist now living in Melbourne – is also a wonderful photographer and a huge macro fan. She has a new weekly challenge called “regularrandom“ for anyone to join in with which involves spending 5 minutes with the subject matter.

Choose a scene or an object and keep fixed on that object, and shoot for just five minutes. You can move around the object or scene but try not to interfere with it. See what happens in that five minutes, what changes, how the light changes, what comes into the frame or leaves the frame, or what other parts of the object you can focus on or use to your advantage.

This year I had a head start with my sweet-peas, but not all the seeds I planted germinated so I wasn’t expecting as many flowers as last year. This is the first tiny bunch I picked in late June. Beautiful rich jewel-like colours and a pure white. All smelling absolutely gorgeous.

On a brief visit back home last weekend I picked dozens of the blooms, but didn’t have time to photograph them. I only hope by the time I get home again there will still be some left!

All photos were taken using my 40-1500mm lens, hand-held.

If you would like to join in then please visit DJ’s site where you will find more information and ideas about the challenge.

Macro Monday #47

(click to enlarge to full size)

Garden Portrait: Edinburgh Botanic Garden

It is almost 9 months since my visit to Edinburgh, where I finally met the restless lady who takes us on regular walks in the north-east of England and the Algarve where she spends ~~all~~ ~~most~~ some of her time. After a morning of walking the streets of the city we got on a bus and headed out to the Botanical Gardens for an hour or two.

The entrance gate is quite stunning.

Being the end of the summer season the main interest in the garden was seed heads. I found a few interesting ones.

Cardiocrinum giganteum

Paeonia Mascula triternata

Lilium Formosanum

Insects were still busy collecting the pollen.

We walked and we talked and we finally found our way to the Japanese garden area where the large lily pond enthralled us both and the red bridge enticed us further into the garden.

The not so subtle smell of candyfloss was in the air (Cercidiphyllum japonicum, known as the Katsura Tree) and the leaves on the acers were turning.

Eventually we arrived at the huge glasshouses, but decided against paying to enter as it was such a glorious day after the cold, damp, dreich day before and we wanted to make the most of being outdoors. Besides we really didn’t have the time needed to really take in what was inside.

The borders near the glasshouses were filled with late summer planting and a variety of colourful penstemons lined the pathway to the entrance, but deep in conversation we really only fleetingly took in the beauty of this garden.

Veronicastrum

Cosmos

Penstemons

Pausing to admire the view over towards Calton Hill and Arthur’s Seat in the distance. Places that in order to explore would mean another meeting as our time together drew to a close.