Selfie in the Gardens

Following Maggie’s request in a comment on my blog about the Botanical Gardens in Bath, here it is.   The secret of a good selfie is a long arm I think - mine was not quite long enough, but you get the idea!

A Box for Sharing..

Last Saturday before leaving for the UK we spent an evening with British friends, playing the game ‘Very British Problems’ which I received for Christmas from Lauren.  If you have ever seen the television programme of the same name then you will get the idea.

It seemed an appropriate time to open this ridiculously large box of chocolates which David was given at Christmas!

(No, we didn’t eat them all!)

At the Botanical Gardens

Mum, Maggie and I visited the Botanical Gardens at Bath’s Royal Victoria Park yesterday for a short walk.

Whilst it was still a wintry landscape,  there were tiny patches of colour here and there.

Robin Redbreast

We met this very tame little bird at the Botanical Gardens in Victoria Park today.  I imagine that people must feed the birds and squirrels as many were quite interested in visitors.

After posing on the end of a garden bench for a while, this little Robin moved on and posed again for us..

Hellebores

This tall green hellebore produces flowers from January throughout much of the year, each new flower attracting pollinating insects such as this big Bumble Bee..

Mum’s garden has quite a variety of different hellebores from white through to dark purple.  They start to bloom early in the year and last for months.

Because of their habit of hanging their heads, it is difficult to photograph the beautiful interior of the flower.  I made a couple of attempts turning the camera ‘selfie’ style, to take the photo upwards from underneath - but that wasn’t a great success!

I realized that the only way was to lie down to get a better angle.  Damp but more effective...

When Bridget visited Mum today she had a much better idea to enable Mum to enjoy the beauty and subtle variety of the flowers..

More Signs of Spring..

Mum’s February garden already has many little flowers blooming.  The snowdrops - single and double - have been out for more than a month now.

The winter honeysuckle - as befits its name - has been blooming all winter.  The tiny flowers on bare twigs are very fragrant.

A patch of tiny violets, somewhat nibbled by the deer, is also smelling lovely.

And attracting the attention of honey bees..

These dwarf daffodils are nearly out..

The crocus are lovely.

A shower of rain had decorated the petals of the primroses..

I was surprised to see the Ceanothus in flower.

Mum also has beds of hellebores which are doing well but tricky to photograph with their hanging heads. More of those another day.

Tiniest signs of Spring

The snow was still with us this morning but when the sun came out it soon started to melt.

The squirrel had already cleared himself a patch of grass under the feeders.

When we went out for a walk this afternoon the bright yellow of this Witch Hazel plant caught our eye.

This flowering tree near the house is also beginning to show a little colour.