Arable flowers

In the National Botanic Gardens of Wales, which we visited in the summer, they had an area sown with arable wheat which had all the traditional arable “weeds” – which are in fact all wonderful flowers that attract many pollinators.

I liked it so much I took photos from lots of angles.

Arable meadow

Arable meadow

Arable meadow

Arable meadow

Arable meadow

 

I would really love to replicate this is my own garden. In the summer it provides food for insects and in the autumn food for birds!

Arable meadow

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Lens artist photo challenge #58

This week’s lens artist photo challenge is –

Something old, something new, something borrow, something blue

Today we were introduced to some beautiful and very old elm trees. Many elms in Ireland were lost to Dutch elm disease but this is one of a few magnificent specimens that survived.

Elm tree

I haven’t yet introduced you to our new arrivals – they are just over a week old now, seven little chicks!

Chicks

Chicks

 

We have borrowed some much from nature including honey bees. All bees were originally wild bees, Apis melifera, but thousands of years ago humans thought it would be a good idea to provide bees with hives so we could steal their honey! This is an interesting article about the history of honey bees.

Honey bee

And finally something blue. Regular readers may remember a few weeks I showed you the Common blue butterfly – I managed to get a photo today of it’s wings open. This is a female not quite as blue as the male, but still very pretty, even if a little weather-worn.

Common Blue

Taking a break

One of my favourite things to do to relax is go somewhere with with my camera, and see what wildlife I can find. Here are some of my favourites from the summer.

Pyramid Orchid – it seems to have been a good year for these beautiful orchids.

Dark-green fritillary butterful likes flower rich coastal habitats which is exactly where I spotted this beauty, near Ross in Co Mayo.

Also at the coast but this time at Cross beach in Belmullet this amazing see-through and pink jellyfish. Haven’t identified this one yet so open to suggestions.

Something else I haven’t identified yet is this (wet) hairy caterpillar!

Of course I have to add a bumblebee (white tailed) – this one feeding on ragworth, hence all the yellow pollen on it’s body.
Inspired by this week Lens-Artist Photo Challenge – taking a break

 

National Botanic Garden of Wales

On a recent visit to Wales, we visited the National Botanic Garden of Wales – always a great place to spend a few hours and marvel at the beauty of plants. It was a hot sunny day, not ideal for taking photographs so I played a bit with the pop setting on my camera, to create some more dreamy affects.

National Botanic Garden of Wales

National Botanic Garden of Wales

National Botanic Garden of Wales

 

The domed greenhouse at these gardens is particularly spectacular, but it was too hot too go in!

National Botanic Garden of Wales

 

National Botanic Garden of Wales

National Botanic Garden of Wales

National Botanic Garden of Wales

And of course when in Wales you have to be on the look out for any dreamy dragons.

dreamy dragon

 

 

Details

Mother name it seems is partial to details. It seems a little unfair that this beautiful butterfly would be called the “common blue”. In flight it appears to be a bit of summer blue sky (particularly the males which are bluer than the females photographed below).

Common blue

But at rest you see these stunning patterns of the under wing.

Common blue

 

Glorious trees

What would we do without our glorious trees? Trees come in all shapes and sizes and yet each one grows from a tiny seed and can live for hundreds of years.

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From giant oaks and beeches……..

Beech tree

Oak tree

beech tree

To smaller wispy things…..

An oak and ivy natural sculpture

Oak trees

They all have their magic.

Inspired by this week’s Lens artist photo challenge #50_trees

Garden bees

Wild bumblebees – as regular readers will know, are one of my favourite subjects. We are now in our second week of rain (and yes I know some of you are looking for it), but how do the bees cope. They just wait for a break in the showers. Not that there were many  today.

Common carder bee

Some clever bees feed on the flowers in the greenhouse and polytunnel. But yesterday when I was in there during a heavy down pour I noticed the buzzing stopped. I couldn’t see the bees so think they’d gone back to their nests. Outside they wait for the brief glimpses of sun. The lupins are popular with many of the bees (here just white tailed).

White tailed bees on lupins

White tailed bees

White tailed bees

White tailed bees

While the larger Garden bumblebees seem to like the delphiniums, even those that have fallen over in the wind and rain.

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Garden bumble

The garden bumblebees also use the blue iris.

I have only seen the carder bee on the lavender (and some butterflies too). Both the carders and garden bumbles bees will still fly in light rain, I suppose they have to, otherwise they will starve. It is important to have lots of variety of flowers in your garden, that way you will attract lots of different bees, and other pollinators.

Inspired by Lens Artist Photo Challenge #48 – Wild