Just couldn’t resist taking a shot of my doorstep herb plant which is gearing up to spread its seeds soon. It’s been shouting out at me to take a shot of it as it gets more beautiful by the day. So with today’s sunshine I finally got my act together. Something to remind of me of summer during the dark winter days ahead.
Just as the green fields here are being invaded by crocus and daffodils, I thought I would post up some shots I took a few weeks ago featuring two of the earliest British native spring flowers. Can you believe it is the start of summertime next weekend and nature is certainly doing its best to cajole us all into life.
The shot above is actually a snowflake (I think?) from my very limited knowledge I believe it is unusual to see it facing upwards.
The extensive National Trust gardens at Rode Hall, near Congleton, are famous for their spectacular displays of the delicate snowdrop. The sight of the bobbing white bell-shaped flowers heralds the end of Winter and the beginning of some warmth. The shot above is a section from a wonderful swathe of snowdrops in a sheltered spot quite close to the main house, these plants were right at the peak of their powers a few weeks back. On close inspection you can start to discover the subtle differences which signal the different varieties.
The names are fantastic, sounding more like racehorses than flowers including “Lady Beatrix Stanley”, “Merlin” “Primrose Warburg” and “Mighty Atom”. The study of snowdrops seems to attract those with a competitve nature, followers are called ‘galanthophiles‘ (taken from the flower’s Latin name) and some collectors think nothing of spending £150 for a rare bulb.
If you fancy a trip out to see one of the lesser-known Cheshire Gardens it’s well worth it and after strolling the grounds, be sure to leave time for the wonderful pairing of a pot of tea and homemade scone, jam and cream before you head home. You know you want too!
from the BBC website:
Last year Joe Swift described how back gardens are being sold for development, reducing the amount of green space that oxygenates our cities and soothes our troubled souls. But instead of beating his chest and saying how terrible this is, he heads off to discover how to grow gardens where land is scare. In France, he visits the Parisian botanist Patrick Blanc’s famous hanging gardens, which use an ingenious irrigation system to grow plants on vertical walls. In the UK, he meets one man who has cultivated a jungle on his balcony, and another who has a garden of succulents growing on the dashboard of his van. He also meets Nigel Dunnett from Sheffield University, who is an expert on green roofs – a way of turning the humble house roof into a demi-paradise; an industry that is booming.
This Special Gardeners World show will be broadcast this coming Friday, March 20th 2009 on BBC Two @ 8pm, definitely one not to miss!
For more information on Patrick Blanc and his amazing work with Vertical Gardens read my post from last year here.
Many of us try and avoid having to print things out onto paper nowadays. However, sometimes the need for a hard copy is impossible to ignore. I stumbled across Ecofont the other day over at Manchester-based blogger Lucy Danger’s “3R’s Recycling” site and it sounds like an interesting idea.
Ecofont is a newly created print font which you can download for free onto your PC or Mac. It has a crisp modern feel but because of the holes within each letter it aims to use 20% less ink than any other font. Next time I need to do a printout I shall give it a go and report back. You can download the font and read a little more about it on the ecofont website.
Continuing in the recycling vein, I recently had to replace a whole load of ink cartridges on my printer and spent some time researching the best place to recycle them. It used to be difficult getting anywhere to accept Epson cartridges for recycling but it seem they are trying to improve their green credentials and now offer a free recycling box for companies which can be requested through their website. For individuals it is possible to log onto their website and request a freepost bag or use their freepost address with your own envelope.
I had HP and Canon cartridges and used greenertomorrow.org.uk; very simple just visit the website, request a freepost envelope and pop your old ink carts inside and post back.
The greenest option, if you live in a town or city, might be to drop off used cartridges at your local charity shop. Most of them offer this facility and the charity can sometimes get a small financial reward in the process.
scatterdrum is a personal blog by Gill Moore. Gill is a professional photographer based in Manchester in England.
She works for commercial and editorial clients together with shooting personal projects. This side of her work often includes exhibiting, publishing and working with like-minded collaborators on an environmental theme.
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