Sunday 5 August 2007

An English Hedgerow



I have been back in the city for a week and my heart really aches for the countryside. So I'm going to ditch chewing over the minutiae of urban battles and celebrate some still fresh memories instead. I've always liked photo essays, so here goes.

There is so much life to be found in an English hedgerow in summer, and indeed at any time of the year. They are their own ecosystems, everything growing and thriving under the shelter of centuries. These pictures were taken whilst my son and Mum were walking. We'd parked up with a panoramic view for me to enjoy as I waited for their return. But I got bored, and got out my camera, leaving the car with the express purpose of capturing what was immediately around me. You don't have to go far to find these riches. Shropshire yields mile after mile of microcosmic wonders, in hedgerows, fields and woodland. It's as mind blowing to me as an infinity of stars.

Leaves luxuriantly wet with rain...



A stately coronet of cowslip seedheads...




A snaking briar bejewelled with raindrops slashing its purple stem across the gentle green...



And tiny wild flowers wrapped in the gossamer thread of an anonymous weaver.

6 comments:

Magpie said...

Lovely - both the photos and the captions.

Anonymous said...

Love the floral photos on your blog. Look forward to interacting with you on Ouch!

D Phoenix said...

Beautiful photos! The leaves are especially striking. I've been reading/looking at your blog for some time now and finally I have the extra energy left over to comment. I really enjoy your close-ups - I am prone to them as well because I,too,have mobility problems and shoot photos close to home and close to where we've parked - and always look forward to seeing what your eye has caught. Excellent composition.

I'd love for you to check out my blog (still a little bit in the beta realm) and see the first of my photo entries.

http://www.mybodyofwork.blogspot.com

Don't you just love macro?

seahorse said...

Welcome Magpie, bipolarworks and donimo, and thanks all for your compliments. Yes I do love macro, donimo, for all the reasons you do.

bridgett said...

I know you think of these as ordinary examples of what you can find growing pretty much anywhere in Shropshire, but for someone on the other side of the world, these are very exotic and wonderful. I think of our flora as so Europeanized that it always surprises me to see how different things still are.

Thanks for the lovely photos.

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know of a book with watercolour illustrations of the plants growing in typical English hedgerows?
Please contact me at :
uptonrobins@aol.com