Flowers on Friday

The most eye-catching flower to bloom here in Cornwall during May and June is the ungainly named Gladiolus communis subsp. byzantinus (Byzantine Gladiolus) or better known here as Whistling Jacks. They are native to the Mediterranean area and have narrow sword-shaped leaves and deep magenta coloured flowers, each one with an iridescent sparkle. Coming back each year this plant will naturalise if grown in favourable conditions – they like moisture and being sheltered from strong winds and may like a warm mulch to get them through the winter months.

They are hardy in most Southern regions of the UK and in other colder areas they can be grown in containers and brought into a warmer space for the winter.

A relic of the Scily bulb fields it is extensively naturalised throughout the Scillies, where it is called Whistling Jacks, a name also used in Cornwall. Along the George V walk in Hayle they are grown in profusion amidst contrasting lime green Euphorbia

or toning pink Cistus (rock roses) and daisies.

Flowers on Friday

This month is when the Allium comes into flower filling the gap between tulips and summer perennials. These plants, known as the ornamental onion, are grown for their showy flower heads which come in a wide range of sizes and shades of purple, blue, white and yellow. Even when the plant dies back the seed heads remain as attractive sculptures in the garden.

Bees love them too.

Flowers on Friday

A charming, old-fashioned cottage garden plant with bonnet-shaped flowers, often two-tone and with long graceful spurs these herbaceous perennials are invaluable for flowering in May and early June .

Aquilegias fill the seasonal gap between the last of the spring bulbs and the first of the summer flowers. Self-sown they can look charming naturalised amongst shrubs and roses although some people find the colours become muddied. They lend themselves to cottage or semi-wild settings. Most relish dappled shade. They love deep, rich soil.

Two different birds lend their names to this flower – Eagle and Dove (in Latin, eagle = aquila and the dove = columbus). The petals are supposed to resemble the outspread wings of these birds, and the spurs their arched necks and heads. All aquilegias have wonderful foliage that emerges early in the year, creating clumps of bright green among the sharp verticals of daffodils and other bulbs.

Alternative Advent #20

In the period leading to Christmas some people buy an Advent Calendar to check off each day before December 25. Usually intended for children, it appears that in recent years there has been a rise in the popularity of luxury ones aimed at indulgent adults who feel the necessity to treat themselves on the run-up to the big day itself – from expensive candles and perfume to miniature bottles of Prosecco or Whisky and even chunks of cheese.

So I thought to balance all this extravaganza I would offer you an alternative in the form of a flower a day from Sunday 3rd December until Sunday 24th December.

All images taken on a mid-November day along the George V Memorial Walk alongside Copperhouse Pool in Hayle using my Olympus OM-D E-M10 and 40-150mm lens

Square in September

Becky from “A life of a 40 something” is posting a flower a day throughout September, in the square format. She’d love you to join her.
day 24

Crocosmia ‘Emily McKenzie’

Crocosmia grow like weeds in the hedgerows down here in Cornwall, but their leaves become very tatty. I have a couple of more elegant varieties in my garden including the red ‘Lucifer’ and another tall orange one (no name), and this one is very desirable. [Seen at Beth Chatto nursery]

 

Square in September

Becky from “A life of a 40 something” is posting a flower a day throughout September, in the square format. She’d love you to join her.
day 21

Achillea ‘Lachsschönheit’

Flowers open coral-red, fade to soft-peach, both colours seen on plant at same time.

Macro Monday #53

(click to enlarge to full size)

Toad Lily / Tricyrtis formosana ‘Purple Beauty’

 An erect perennial with softly hairy stems and glossy dark green leaves. Upward-facing, star-shaped white flowers, heavily spotted with dark purple. Flowers in early autumn.

Also linked to “Square In September” day 4

Macro Monday #40

(click to enlarge to full size)

Macro Monday #36

(click to enlarge to full size)

Another hoverfly this time visiting a self-seeded parsley plant which I think looks lovely when in flower. I hope to collect some of the seeds and scatter them in the herb garden where hopefully they will emerge next spring.

Macro Monday #34

(click to enlarge to full size)

I was out in the lane near to my new house photographing wild flowers in the hedgerow when I spotted a strange insect on the bindweed. This metallic green one flew in as I was about to take an image of the one feeding on the pollen. But once he had left I went back to the original reddish-green one.

The Flower Beetle (Oedemera nobilis) is also known as the thick-legged beetle although it is only males who have this trait. The thick-legged beetle is often known by other names including the swollen-thighed beetle and the false oil beetle and commonly found in the south of England. They prefer open structured flowers such as daisies, roses and cornflowers and obviously, bindweed.