Geraniums galore...!

The Geraniums are one of my favourite family of plants.....after orchids. The family includes the Crane's-bills and the Stork's-bills. I have managed to see and photograph nearly all the Crane's-bills but have not [knowingly] seen a Stork's-bill as yet. I think my all-time favourite Crane's-bill has to be the Meadow Crane's-bill. It is such a lovely blue colour but viewed close up one can see the paler red/white veins in the petals. When you see masses of them with the sun shinning through the petals it is just a magical sight.

When Plantlife did a survey to find out what flower people wanted as their "County Flower" the Wild Daffodil was chosen for Gloucestershire. I always though (and think) this was a mistake - it should have been the Meadow Crane's-bill as it is so widespread throughout the County and easy to see as it often occurs on roadsides. Never mind, you can't win them all I suppose. Anyway, the following are shots of the Geraniums I have captured to date.

Herb Robert


Wood Crane's-bill

Shinning Crane's-bill - so-called due to its shiny leaves.

Meadow Crane's-bill....my favourite!

Long-stalked Crane's-bill - a tiny plant, very easy to miss.

Hedgerow Crane's-bill

French Crane's-bill - introduced from the French Pyrenees.

Dusky Crane's-bill

There are several more species of Crane's-bill as well as the Stork's-bills still to collect and I live in hope of doing so in the fullness of time. Perhaps you would be kind enough to say which is your favourite!

For those of you in the UK, if you want to find out what your County flower is then click on the link at the bottom of my sidebar to enter the Plantlife website. Enter the UK web pages (button at the bottom of the Home Page); click on "Discovering wild plants and fungi" and the link for the county flowers is there. Enjoy!

A few ferns....

Well, yet another awful rain filled week has gone by - it's been too miserable even to consider going out; any self-respecting wildlife would be well tucked up in bed! Much more of this and we wont have to worry about rain forests disappearing in South America - we'll be developing our own!! In the circumstances, I thought I would share some of the shots of ferns I have taken over time. I don't know much about ferns, mosses, liverworts etc, but I definitely want to get into them more. What I like about them is that you can normally find one in the most unlikely little nooks and crannies.

The first one here is called Wall-rue. It likes walls and limestone pavement and I took this one at one of my favourite sites in the Yorkshire Dales...Winskill Stones. This lovely area was saved from destruction as a result of a campaign by Gardener's World presenter, Geoff Hamilton (before he sadly passed away) and Plantlife, the wild plant charity (check out the website via the link on the sidebar). At one time there was massive demand from gardeners for limestone to create rockeries and sites like Winskill Stones were rapidly disappearing. Thankfully it is now a Plantlife Reserve.



This next chap is called Maidenhair Spleenwort, another one that likes walls or a rocky environment.

Next comes the lovely Hartstongue - our only fern with evergreen leaves....apparently. It seems to favour damp places - walls, woods or hedge banks.

I think this next one is a Common Polypody but I am not going to swear to it. I really need to get a good Fern book!!

Finally, I am pretty sure this one is called Hard Fern. The bottom shot shows nicely the overwintering clump of leaves, a darker grey-green colour. The light green being the new growth.

Hopefully, the rain will start to relent sooner rather than later and normal service can be resumed. My library of shots of plants and things is rapidly running out!

Places I have been - Isle of Skye

Friends of mine recently moved from running hostels for the Youth Hostel Association in various parts of Yorkshire to running a Bed and Breakfast on the Isle of Skye. Of course, I have taken complete advantage of their generosity and stayed a couple of times now...at a vastly reduced rate!

The most important thing to know about Scotland - and the Isle of Skye is no exception - is only to go out of midge season! That is, before the end of May or after the end of September. Otherwise be prepared to get eaten to pieces! The island is so beautiful with breathtaking scenery at every turn. Not least of these are the inspiring Cuillin Hills with some of the hardest climbing in the country, although I have no pictures to share as yet. However, I have a few shots to show.....

A while ago a bridge was built between the mainland and the Isle and this is a shot of it. I have to admit that I have tinkered with it a bit but this is not far from what it was like at the time.



The B&B is in a tiny place called Dunan, just a few cottages really set along the coast. These next four shots show the views from the cottage itself. If you think you might fancy a visit then have a quick look at the website http://www.dunmara.co.uk/. My friends - Adrian and Helen - really do provide a warm welcome and the food is excellent home cooking....not that I am biased and no, they have not paid me a retainer for these comments!

The next shots are some I took at a place called Armadale, towards the south end of the island. My friend Helen works at an old castle - the seat of the MacDonald clan. I was there for a couple of lovely days trying not to spend too much money in the gift shop...which is where she works. I spent some time down at the small harbour just watching the clouds go by and soaking up the warmth. I took a few "portrait" shots as I thought the view was better or more interesting than in "landscape". See what you think.

Next time I will really try to get some good shots of the Cuillin Hills - they are quite spectacular. There are two ranges of hills - the Black and the Red Cuillins - the variation in the colour being caused by different rocks I suppose. There are also two beers named for the Hills. I only tried the Black Cuillin - I liked it SO much I never got round to trying the Red Cuillin!!

Places I have been - The Yorkshire Dales

The Yorkshire Dales - one of the most beautiful areas of England. I holiday every year in a little village called Clapham on the western edge of the Dales and use the Inn as a base for walking. The village is nestled at the base of Ingleborough (see below). The scenery is just terrific and the wild flowers are really good too.

One of the well known features of the Dales are the "Three Peaks" - Whernside, Ingleborough and Pen-y-ghent. They are the highest peaks in the Dales at 736, 723 and 694 meters respectively....hardly giants but spectacular all the same. Hardy types will climb all three peaks trying to complete the set within 24 hours. The peaks are sort of clustered together but Pen-y-ghent is a wee stroll from the other two! Here are some shots I have taken over time....

Ingleborough

Pen-y-ghent

Whernside (and the Ribblehead viaduct)

These two photographs were taken near to a village called Muker, a short walk up the valley of the river Swale. It's a lovely spot and the barns in the fields are typical of the Dales. The hay meadows are allowed to develop properly before being mowed and are therefore rich in wild flowers.

The Dales are my favourite place to go in England and I am already looking forward to my trip next year! I hope you enjoyed the views.