Frosty Morning 3

   

Hydrangea

Hydrangea paniculata (I think…)

We sometimes call these “autumn lilacs” because they remind
of lilacs, but they bloom in the autumn instead of in the spring.
They can be shrubs (like below) but also the size of trees.

Sunny In The Rain

Shrubby Cinquefoil - Dasiphora fruticosa - Ölandstok

This flowery shrub, ~1 m tall, is one of the plants that still bring colour to this time of year, shining like little suns even in the rain. The flowers are small, but they are many.

The Swedish name is connected to the island Öland, off our East coast.

Bloggoversary

It is one year today since my first post in this Picture Book, and this is the 360th post. Not quite one post per day… but more than one photo per day, since many posts have more than one picture.

Thanks to my Followers for all encouraging comments!

~ Monica a.k.a DawnTreader ~

The Red Admiral Again

I finally managed to get closer to the Red Admiral (Vanessa Atalanta). This is a butterfly I don’t think I ever saw (noticed) until last summer, and it has been difficult getting close enough to it to get a good macro picture of it with its wings spread.

The wing span is 45-50 mm. The species is resident only in warmer areas, but migrates north in spring, and sometimes again in autumn. The caterpillar feeds on nettles, and the adult drinks from flowering plants like the Buddleja and overripe fruit. In northern Europe, it is one of the last butterflies to be seen before winter sets in. (Wikipedia)

Following the link to Buddleja, I also learned the name of those flowers in the park. It includes roughly 100 species. The generic name honours Reverend Adam Buddle (1662–1715), who was a botanist and a rector in Essex, England. Several species are popular garden plants. They are commonly known as butterfly bush due to their attractiveness to butterflies; they are also attractive to bees and moths.

I think the white ones below must be Buddleja too.

The Butterfly Park

This is the park that attracts the butterflies. It is divided into different “rooms”.
The pink-blue-white room seemed to be the most popular this past weekend.

How many butterflies do you see in the last picture?

Love Has Many Names

Himalayan Balsam – Lat. Impatiens glandulifera – Swe. Jättebalsamin

Other English names I found for it:
Indian Balsam, Kiss-me-on-the-mountain… or Policeman’s helmet!
I guess whoever came up with the last one wasn’t really the romantic type… ;)

Although, as I write that down, I’m suddenly reminded of a Jeeves & Wooster novel by P.G. Wodehouse, in which the heroine wanted her fiancé to prove his love for her by stealing a policeman’s helmet…! (With no end of complications, of course.)

Roses On A Wooden Wall

The roses obviously like the hot and sunny summer we’ve been having.

Mosaic Monday: From My Balcony

For more Monday Mosaics, visit Mary’s Little Red House.

Geraniums

Picture taken at a Garden Centre where I went to buy flowers for my balcony.

Another Peony

Sunflower

Sunflower – Helianthus annuus – Solros
… and busy bumble bee…

Pansy

Pansy from one of the flower boxes on my balcony. They are beginning to look less good now (and soon time to replace them with something else when I find the time and energy) but this photo was taken while they were still looking fresh, before those really hot days of blazing sun set in last weekend.

White Peony

Pink Peony

Mosaic Monday: Lupins

These are not “native” flowers in Sweden but by now widely spread. I remember them from my early childhood (and onwards) growing along the railway running by my grandparents’ house; but in many other places too, around Midsummer.

For more Monday Mosaics, visit Mary’s Little Red House.

Flower Boxes on the Bridge

In the summer, the railings of this walking bridge are decorated with flower boxes.
There is a café on the other side; you’ll get to see a bit more of that in tomorrow’s post.

Wood Cranesbill - Midsommarblomster

In Swedish, we call this flower midsommarblomster (= Midsummer flower).
The Latin name is Geranium sylvaticum. In England it is called Wood Cranesbill and is the county flower of Sheffield; and in North America it goes by the name of Woodland Geranium.

Depending on soil conditions, the flowers range from a mauve color to sky blue. It can also be found with white flowers. From the flower a blue-gray dye can be produced, which was used in the past to dye war cloaks (according to Wikipedia).

I came across these on my way to the Midsummer celebration; and again it was one of those occasions when the name just popped up in my memory from I-don’t-know-where-or-when.

Yellow Iris

Below the museum park where the midsummer celebrations took place (see yesterday’s post), there is a little lake. I walked by it on my way home and found masses of these large yellow flowers in bloom along the shores. They looked like irises to me and I think I’ve now established that they are indeed Yellow Iris or Yellow Flag. The latin name is Iris pseudacorus. In Swedish we call it svärdslilja which means ‘sword’s lily’.

Cottongrass - Ängsull

 

Funny how things sometimes just come back to you like from out of nowhere. Last time my brother and I were visiting our dad, we went for a walk down by the lake. One of the paths we took was one I remember walking often with my paternal grandmother back in my childhood and teens. She used to tell me the names of wild flowers that we passed, and sometimes now I find names popping up in my head that I didn’t even know that I knew. Like with these white woolly things: Ängsull. The direct translation of the Swedish name into English would be meadow-wool. But I find when looking it up now that the English name is Cottongrass. Latin: Eriophorum angustifolium. These usually grow on boggy ground, so serve to warn you that you might get your feet wet if you proceed in that direction… That, too, I remembered – so had to settle for taking my photos from some distance… ;)