Saturday 4 February 2012

February Jewels



Just because it's frosty February, life doesn't have to lack colour or interest. Neither does the garden. The coloured bark dogwoods provide a brilliantly bright contrast to the green and silver leaves of Euonymous 'Silver Queen' and the dark green of the ivy smothered maple hedge. I grow several differently coloured dogwoods close together, their colour palette ranges from dark purple, deep red, lighter red, to yellow. All of them have variegated leaves in summer but they really catch the eye on a sunny winter's day. 





In a dimple in the river bank the dead stems of water plants have adorned themselves with crystal necklaces, smoothed and polished by the leisurely current, which allows them to admire their reflection in the blue shallows.




o-o-o-o-o


And now I want to say a special hello to whoever it was who commented on a previous post on this blog from the Dallas County Jail. Hello and Welcome. Don't be shy, come again. Unless that would get you into trouble, of course. And if you need a cake with a file smuggled in, say the word.


55 comments:

  1. Lovely stuff, Friko - and I hope your cakes will camouflage files;-)

    Seriously, though, great following . . .

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  2. Love the ice crystals around the water plants. As for the cakes and files, you might want to rethink that.

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  3. Ice crystals and yet green plants! Amazing! :):)

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  4. I am struck by the imagery of the water plants wearing necklaces. How apt. And what a great photograph.

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  5. that is a wicked cool pic of the ice around the reeds....

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  6. Oh, gorgeous shots! I have red and yellow dogwoods but hadn't though to plant them side by side till now!

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  7. Beautiful red, lowly dogwood. I'm glad you featured it. Your photos are gorgeous.

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  8. Beautiful pictures and your shout-out to inmate was sweet. Hope they do get some computer time and what better way to spend it than reading blogs.

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  9. And so Friko's name was added to the most wanted list...never a dull moment:)

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  10. Beautiful shots, made me smile in delight.
    XO
    WWW

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  11. Just don't agree to marry your Texas friend. Texas is considered a separate country rather than a state of the union by many. Lovely photos. How large is your estate?

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  12. Bonza photos especially the ice crystals. Forget about the cake and file we don't to see you thrown jail :-).

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  13. Nice shots! Love the crystals. Nature has amazing tricks up its sleeves sometimes ;-)

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  14. I love the welcome colour of the dogwood in winter. We have some in our own garden.

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  15. Some amazing shots. Thank you. I have been going back and forth. This one is my favourite. No, this one. I give up, I love them all.

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  16. When I saw your headline I really hoped for some colourful pictures to cheer me up, and I was not disappointed, beautfiful made me long for rhubarb crumble?

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  17. I do love the red twig dogwood. The subtle colors in winter are such a joy.

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  18. All so beautiful. I don't think we have very many dogwoods here. You make me want to see them close up as well as in photographs.
    Europe's fearful cold snap has been featuring on our news. We find it hard to imagine such intense cold.

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  19. Love the colours and the mini ice sculptures are fab -

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  20. So beautiful! And such a contrast of red and green, I gazed at the picture for a long time. Thank you for the beauty, adding to my joy.

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  21. And speaking of well chosen words (from Rossetti), I love this line of yours: "In a dimple in the river bank the dead stems of water plants have adorned themselves with crystal necklaces, smoothed and polished by the leisurely current, which allows them to admire their reflection in the blue shallows." You inspire me now to get ready for our winter's walk to see what subtle beauty lies in store.

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  22. I'm within easy driving distance of Dallas County. If you need someone to transport that cake and file, I'm your gal.

    I'm amazed to see the dogwoods. When I went north last fall to bury my mother, I went further north, to Minnesota. We did some prowling through the countryside, and I brought back some deep red dogwood branches. I'd never seen such things - and never really explored what they were. Now I see you have them, too. Off to the garden sites I go!

    (My dried branches are in a large clay pot - I hung tiny gold and silver glittered balls on them for Christmas.)

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  23. I do love the dogwood stems, but that last photo has me trying to think of words nobody's used here yet. I love it, Friko, what a great photo, and your words describing it are a treat to read. Your skill with the English language is an inspiration.
    Admiringly, and humbly,
    Kay

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  24. Friko. Love these photos! I want to come to Great Britain.
    Thank you for showing up on my blog. I commented there.

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  25. This is right up my alley!!! It was just yeasterday that I saw a tree in someone's garden with exceptionally red bark - it looked fantastic. Your pictures are so beautiful and reflect what it looks like in your part of the world - a side of winter I adore.

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  26. I love the contrasting colors in these photos. You truly do have landscapes of wonderful color and texture in February. Your designs in the garden are brilliant. Your descriptions of the beauty you share with us only enhance what nature created. Thanks.

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  27. So beautiful - we are deluged today in Scotland....... rain has its own beauty, but I prefer your ice crystals.

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  28. The colours of the dogwoods are lovely. Too cold to poke my nose outside the door today.

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  29. Beautiful photos, Friko.

    That's exactly what I need - a year or two in jail with a computer in my cell. I could finally get some work done ... With my luck, I'd get away with it and get rich. Then I would simply have to turn myself in!

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  30. Hi Friko, I have red twig dogwood, too - they're actually hardy enough to withstand the snow load here at altitude. I like the burst of color they provide. The ice around the stream twigs reminds me of tiny suction cups.

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  31. Those photos are very pretty! Wish my garden looked like that in winter.

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  32. The gentle lens. The last shot is fairy godmother-like. ~Mary

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  33. I was just in Dallas County a few weeks ago, but not in their jail. Nice photos. I have orchids blooming! The first just started the last two days.


    Today's WordVeri: holysit

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  34. Beautiful colors on this grey grey day. Thank you, Friko!

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  35. How wonderful those who are confined for whatever reason: jail, sickness, or old age (are they different?) can live vicariously through your vivid descriptions of the natural world you find in your rambles.

    I love the way you find words to describe things some us can only look at in wonder. You're a regular Throueau.

    Dianne

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  36. So beautiful. If you end up making that cake, I'd love to get the recipe ;)

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  37. Dear Friko,
    I seem to say this, or words that mean this, a lot, but "exquisite writing."

    Peace.

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  38. The stunning photos with your stunning words = gift.

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  39. Friko, your garden's got such a colorful range in early February. From BBC radio tonight, I've learned it's snowing in London.

    Here in New York, it was a very mild February day, and walking through Central Park this afternoon, I took a few photographs of branches that shared some of the colors of those in your photos.

    What a strange winter!

    Your memoirs posts are really so well done. I've said this before, but please don't give all your riches away. Think screenplay while you continue to summon up memories.

    xo

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  40. I've never seen red dogwood stems before. I think I have missed a few of your posts while I was gone but all I can do it go forward.

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  41. Lovely photos Friko.

    When I was in year 6 of primary school, we went to stay at an island school for a week, in the midst of winter. Apart from a terrifying ghost story about a lighthouse, the only other thing I remember was this bit of nature lore: 'How do you tell a dog wood? By its bark.' I can hear you groaning all the way over here. Sorry, I couldn't resist.

    Isabel
    ps I was referring to St Valentine's Day in my comment on your poem ...

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  42. Like those multicoloured stalks. Or garden, as I type, is just white, under a layer of snow.

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  43. Beautiful pictures, lovely metaphor, and a whopping surprise at the end--blogging at its best. Are they allowed internet access in jail? That doesn't quite scan.

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  44. I love those crystal necklaces!
    Such beauty in tiny doses.

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  45. Yes, February is not a bleak and colorless month as people think. The dead stems wearing the crystal necklaces and their reflections took my breath away. Thank you for sharing the beauty of this season around you, Friko. Stay warm and take care.

    Yoko

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  46. It's the small things, isn't it? Beautifully done!

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  47. The red dogwood is stunning! When it gets just a little warmer , I must go and have a proper look in the park , instead of rushing through on my way somewhere else . Look what I've been missing !

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  48. Beautiful. What a wonderful garden you have and how talented you are...

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  49. Your crystal necklace looks a lot like tiny bells to me. So pretty. I've always loved the red dogwood. Had one, but it was too large for my little garden.

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  50. I found the red plant picture interesting. It looks like rhubarb.

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  51. Great pictures Friko. I like the last one with the ice around the stems – it looks like modern art.

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  52. Hi Friko .. loved the iced bubbles in the water .. and the red stalks (whose name I can't remember now!) .. dog wood isn't it?!

    Cheers Hilary

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  53. I'm going to remember that file thing, because you never know when you'll need it!

    February seems lighter in England. that's a good thing!

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Comments are good, I like to know what you think of my posts. I know you'll keep it civil.