Of plants & flowers

Well, one of the many things I love doing is taking photographs. No. I am not good at it but since digital makes it so much easier for me and the fact that there is no film needed I keep on taking snaps wherever I go. And the size is so... travel-friendly I practically take it along with me anywhere I go. I have well, say come a long way since SLR. Oh yes! We used to have a Nikon F50 SLR before - oh yes, the one which lenses are much more expensive than the body. A lot of tricks as well. But, gone were the days where we have to carry a bulky bag and another for the stand. But, really, I admire those using SLR as to me, taking a photograph using SLR camera is about techniques, art, patience and improvements all the time. It is satisfaction in its own class.

But I am not going to write about cameras. I am in fact going to share with you some of the photos that I have  taken during my trips in this part of Scotland. One of my favourites is taking snaps of plants - doesn't matter - could be grass, trees, flowers - anything. Yes, I love plants. But, what really frustrating is sometimes I could not get the right name for the plants. Say for example here, these white flowers are everywhere by the river on our way to Alyth. At first I thought they are snowdrops. But, actually they are not.

Below are snowdrops. Realised the difference? Snowdrops are "facing downwards". They have different leaves as well. Though both of them seem to love rivers!

Same with the following two. I have yet to know what they are called. My search through the net gave me just "pretty yellow flowers". But, just when I thought these two are the same, they are not. Notice that the one below are without stamens? This photo was taken at Glen Isla just by the river.

While these have stamens and I took snap on the way to sent the children to school.

Well, enough of that. One of the species that we have in abundance during spring is of course, the daffodils. Or sometimes called Narcissus. On the way to Stonehaven, I have seen beds and beds of them. Perhaps they were planted for commercial purpose. Say, for perfume? 

I also love to take snaps of something like the two below. It is soooo... spring kind of thing - where there are new leaves, new shoots and everything started to become alive! err... again.

The two below, are photos of hyacinths (in the pot) and polyanthus (adorning the streets). These were taken in the town of Stonehaven.

And the one below is the climbing clematis. It was taken at the fishmonger's shop in Arbroath. It looks so pretty adorning the wall. 

And this one? I just cannot resist taking snaps of this handsome seagull perching right on top of the clematis.

This budding rose here was taken on our way to the Dentist. We have another appointment tomorrow. So, I am going to see whether it is now in full bloom or, if I am unlucky, wilted away. 

Ahh! These type of roses remind me of my Mum's garden. Well, a memory from the past to be exact. My Mum used to have something similar. I remember, we always have lots & lots of roses of this type. So, out of curiosity I searched for the correct name. Wow, it has such a long name really.

So, my friends, these are the Pink Grootendorst Roses!

So! Enjoy. I am sorry if this entry is not so informative. I am just a person who admires the Al-Mighty's creations and just love sharing them. But one thing, please do not pick or pluck just any flowers or plants that take your fancy. That is not fair to the others. If you have that habit, do stop. Take snaps of them instead. Oh yes, maybe next time I will share the snaps of a few varieties of tulips taken during the tulips festival at St Andrews. Till then... Oh yes, did I tell you that the carnation-like roses above are adorning the wall where we park our car?