Very excited today as my Amaryllis is beginning to flower.
17th January
Here is another Nandina Domestica. This time it is in Temple Gardens in the mid-day light, shot from above. This picture looks very festive. Setting the mood for a Christmas paper napkin design.
16th January
Fatsia Japonica: 'small white flowers in terminal compound umbels'... according to the RHS website. Oooh..I was wondering how to describe those spherical buds. They have white flowers followers by black berries. Originates from Japan and looks pretty impressive all year round due to their enormous leaves. They are 45cm wide and wouldn't look out of place in the film Jurrasic Park. I particularly like the very light green with the ivy green colour of this photo.
15th January
I love the way a leaf can stain the pavement. This one is so clear it looks like street art. You can hammer a leaf, flower or petal onto paper or fabric too. It's natural pigment will leave a design on your chosen media. Sometimes it's great to work directly with the plant.
14th January
Mahonia are fantastic not only do they have these funky firework displays of a winter flower but they also have black berries to follow.
13th January
Red berries bring such cheer to a winters day. I can't get enough of this scarlet beauty.
12th January
I have tried to exaggerate the colour of this Pyracantha. What an incredible plant! They have orange, yellow and red berries in autumn/winter and they flower in the summer too.
11th January
I was excited to find some blossom! As you can see I would have been better off with a flash as the evening light doesn't do these soft pink, flowers the warm glow that they deserve. It does on the other hand show the darkness of winter which I like as I hope this diary is a visual expression of the seasons.
This picture's branches could be chocolate scribbled on top of blue icing with edible flowers. A wedding cake design perhaps.
10th January
These crazy ass boobles are called Snowberries. Their texture is like a combination of snow and polystyrene. Quite a sight to behold.
9th January
These yellow leaves seem to be hanging on to the otherwise bare branches of this tree. They have stayed together in feather like clusters even in the heart of winter. I was pleased to find this little ray of light as the sun descended on my cycle home.
8th Jan
The structure of this dried flower head in amazing. It's looks like the inspiration for early geometric patterns. It offers great lines for drawings. What a fascinating flower!
7th January
Dried Echinacea provide a dark foreground to a layer of parched golden grasses. It makes me think of woven reed furniture, a soft fluffy carpet and deep brown embroidery on cream cotton.
6th January
The water droplets on this leaf epitomises the lush, fresh climate of England. If you look in the largest droplet you can make out a shadow in the reflection. It looks a little like a fan tailed parakeet. You could add another layer to this picture with birds flying overhead reflected within the droplets.
5th January
Berries are a brilliant for attracting birds to your garden. They provide our feathered friends with valuable food in winter, not to mention a lovely burst of bright colour for us too. This is Nandina Domestica. Each berry could be a red wooden bead for an embroidery design.
4th January
The sun sets early in winter so a weekend stroll in my local park often offers glorious silhouettes of bare branches with a backdrop of warm glowing sky.
3rd January
I am not entirely sure what this plant is but I really like way the browns, cream and beige disperse and blend. It inspires me to paint it. The gnarly knotty contortion seems to represent the hardship of winter and makes for an endless design possibilities.
2nd January
Gorse makes me think of the New Forest and its serene heathland which is full of this colourful plant. I can imagine a group of large tummied, native ponies grazing with their foals in the warm April sunshine. I couldn't of been happier to find this ray of sunlight on a cold January day.
1st January
Lichen never seise to amaze me. I love the turquoise and dark brown colour combination in this photo. My Grandema gave me a clear, semi-precious stone which had an emerald green lichen inside. I made it into pendent for a necklace and have warn it ever since.