autofantasia's photos with the keyword: flowers

A little bit of artistic fun to brighten up these short winter days. Two images of mine combined and sent to the 'processing room' ... and no, not really shot in Amsterdam, but RHS Harlow Carr on the outskirts of Harrogate. Also for Sight and Sound ... the late, great Max Bygraves with the memorable "Tulips From Amsterdam" - enjoy: youtu.be/ors-eZeeJ0U youtu.be/qPsq6flck2A

Such crazy weather we get. Yesterday, the last of the autumn flowers, like this one here, were encrusted with frost and yet today it's grey and sodden. And no, this isn't SOOC, but I think it still works ... at least it does for me.

For this week's Sunday Challenge , which had the theme of transition . This is a shot of some autumnally coloured peony leaves which I'd just added onto the top of our compost heap. In a few months they and everything else in that pile should have been transformed into lovely crumbly compost ready to use as a mulch around the garden. Also for Sight and Sound ... Pete Seeger (words by Lee Hays) with the short, but somewhat amusing "In Dead Earnest" - enjoy: youtu.be/0Op-OxfwsNg youtu.be/X6tJKfVyGbE

For this week's Sunday Challenge for which the subject was walls . This is a section of the outside wall on St. Andrew's in Starbeck, Harrogate, which had been decorated with hundreds, if not thousands, of these little crocheted flowers as part of this year's Starbeck In Bloom competition. Although I went relatively close so as to also capture the lovely old stonework there were as I've said many, many more of these flowers attached to large areas of the church exterior. And there were similar displays and beautifully crafted flowers attached to several other buildings along the town's High Street as well as to fences and railings. Starbeck in Bloom was formed 19 years ago after a spate of vandalism had reduced morale within the community and a small group of people and businesses got together determined to make improvements in the town. They decided initially to brighten the shopping environment by putting some flowering tubs along the High Street and then they entered the Yorkshire in Bloom gardening competition competing in the Urban Category. Within a couple of years of entering this regional competition they were starting to win awards for their efforts and that success has continued to grow as has support for the initiative. So much so that this year, after many years of winning Gold awards in Yorkshire in Bloom , they were asked to represent Yorkshire by competing within Britain in Bloom , the much respected community gardening competition organised by the Royal Horticultural Society. In addition to the efforts to brighten up the main shopping areas there are a wide range of events held throughout the town and the flowers you see here were created as part of the Starbeck is Special community art project which involved making flowers out of trash to decorate the High Street. www.starbeckinbloom.co.uk www.rhs.org.uk/communities/campaigns/britain-in-bloom Also for Sight and Sound ... how about Peter Gabriel and "Wallflower" - enjoy: youtu.be/D04KqzH8480 youtu.be/wOHBjpjDsio

Following on from the shots I took for this week's Sunday Challenge I thought some of you might enjoy seeing this panorama of the first walled garden at Thornton Hall. Created from 11 individual images and stitched together in Photoshop it gives a good idea of what this great place is like to visit. Please view large for best effect or better still go to See All Sizes where you can select from various options. The original file was absolutely massive as is the case with these creations, so I created a smaller JPEG version for uploading, but even that is fairly big at 18,527 x 4,520 and is over 57 MB in size. So you may well need to zoom out on your browser a little bit to find a happy medium of detail and viewability. www.thorntonhallgardens.co.uk

For this week's Sunday Challenge , for which the subject was rain , which to be honest we've not had an awful lot of this summer. Thankfully, on the day my wife and I had planned to visit Thornton Hall Gardens on the outskirts of Darlington it was somewhat overcast and we did indeed get some rain. Nothing that heavy mind you, more drizzle than anything else, but sufficient to add some moisture to the plants. The garden in question was open for charity, something they do several times a year, and it is well worth visiting. So much so that we actually went twice this week as we found there was so much to see that the initial half-day we'd allocated wasn't sufficient to get around and do everything justice. In addition to the gardens they have a small tea room and sell a limited number of plants, many of which they themselves have grown. So, if you like your gardens, are ever in the area and fancy supporting a few good causes at the same time I can thoroughly recommend a visit. You will find a few more of the images that I took for this challenge in the Notes should you care to check them out and if you want to learn more about Thornton Hall Gardens please follow the link below: www.thorntonhallgardens.co.uk Please view on black for best effect.

Crowdfunding To Save Ipernity - Donate Here For this week's Sunday Challenge , for which we were asked to come up with anything that is vaguely to do with St. Patrick's Day . St. Patrick’s Day occurs annually on March 17 in observance of the death of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. What began as a religious feast day in the 17th century has evolved into a variety of festivals across the globe celebrating Irish culture with parades, special foods, music, dancing, and a whole lot of green. Now try as hard as I could I must admit I was struggling this week to find a suitable subject and then, once again, Ripley Castle came to my rescue just as it did a couple of weeks back for a previous challenge. This time I found my opportunity whilst making my way around the Deer Path as we came across an area that had been planted up with various forms of daffodil, including these that were labelled as being Narcissus "St. Patrick's Day" . Sadly, none of them were in flower although many of the daffodils nearby, which were of a different variety, were blooming vigorously. So, I'm not sure if these were incorrectly labelled, had been planted in too much shade, or are just another sign of climate change. I did think of moving the label and taking a shot of the ones that were in flower, but then that would have been cheating and I'm sure someone would have realised they were a different variety - lol! Best viewed large on black. Crowdfunding To Save Ipernity - Donate Here Also for Sight and Sound . No doubt this track might have featured before, but it just seemed a perfect fit ... Cher with "If I Could Turn Back Time": youtu.be/BsKbwR7WXN4 youtu.be/c3sR8uBSrpU youtu.be/U17YiiJEASI

For this week's Sunday Challenge , for which the subject was art and we were asked to show our "arty side". So I took a shot I'd taken of some blossom which had fallen onto the top of a clipped box hedge. Then I set the sliders to maximum and gave it a good going over with the brushes before adding some home made 'swirliness'. A copy of the original image can be found in the Notes. Also for Sight and Sound : Heart with "(up On) Cherry Blossom Road"... youtu.be/INnNEw0C8hI youtu.be/_lwTyStbwOw youtu.be/GZKsaI8cHVM

For this week's Sunday Challenge , which had the theme of ephemeral . Herbaceous peonies provide invaluable colour to borders and also offer cut flower material in late spring and early summer. Their large, often double flowers in whites, pinks and reds can add an element of romance and glamour to any garden. However, as beautiful as they can be, they don't care much for heavy rain or for that matter strong winds like that which we've had this summer. So, I'm afraid to say that this year their appearance and beauty has indeed been short lived as you can see from this shot taken in our back garden. Please view large on black for best effect.

For this week's Sunday Challenge , which had the theme of heat . Taken in our back garden earlier this week on one of the rare occasions that we enjoyed some warm sunshine, something that is essential if your are to see these lovely flowers open up fully. Osteospermums are in fact relatively new to most gardeners, and were almost unheard of 25 years ago. They have risen in popularity in the last decade as they have become more commercially available seeing more and more people use them as summer bedding plants, either to put in the border or into pots. As I said earlier, Osteospermums require full sun for the flowers to fully open, although while half-closed it is still possible to appreciate the different colours on the underside of the petals. The name Osteospermum is derived from the Greek osteon ( bone ) and Latin spermum ( seed ). They belong to the daisy family ( Compositae/Asteraceae), hence their common names: African Daisy or South African Daisy; Cape Daisy; and of course Blue-eyed Daisy. If you want to know more about them please follow the link below to a great little website that I've just discovered. There you can learn more about the propagation, botany and plant care of this beautiful daisy plant: www.osteospermum.com Also for Sight and Sound , what else but Morecambe & Wise with "Bring Me Sunshine" ... youtu.be/qfXjDELeW5M youtu.be/toqxJ4jbXaM

Thought I'd share this lovely display of tulips, which I came across last week growing in an alleyway in Northallerton, North Yorkshire. For Sight & Sound: Tony Christie - Avenues and Alleyways youtu.be/mcfGeNqp-bY youtu.be/jj4UFqKG5YI youtu.be/Q1wLoZHcp3Y

Taken for this week's Sunday Challenge for which we were told: "an easy one ... do what you like this week as long as there is a fence in your shot". Mine was taken whilst out cycling around town, something I try to do at least 3 times a week, and is of some clematis I spotted spilling over and growing through someone's back fence. I did also look out a few from the archives that I've never got around to uploading, but in the end this one won me over. Hit z to view large and see if it wins you over too! In a month there will be purple stars on the clematis, and year after year the green night of its leaves will hold its purple stars. But we never get back our youth. Oscar Wilde: The Picture of Dorian Gray

Here's a 'nearly ran' for the recent Sunday Challenge , which had the theme of looking down .

Taking a little break today from the cars and the bikes to upload some slightly more abstract stuff. First up this rather colourful orb - a square crop of the original shot as taken by me can be found in the Notes.

Another shot of the Valley Gardens in Harrogate, which is an English Heritage Grade II Listed Garden situated in regal Low Harrogate, adjacent to a popular woodland known as The Pinewoods, and covers 17 acres. It includes beautiful historical buildings such as the Sun Pavilion and Colonnades, which sit alongside a wide variety of shrub, flower and herbaceous beds. The gardens also include - outdoor games facilities a children's play area for all ages, a skate park and the Magnesia Well Cafe, the roof of which can be seen through the trees in this particular shot. For music lovers, occasional band concerts take place on Sunday afternoons throughout the summer.

Another from the archives, but at least I've remembered this week to post something in this slot. By all accounts the weather here might be good this weekend - hope that's the same wherever you are. Either way, have a good one!

Just a little reminder that occasionally the weather in Britain is actually very good, lest we forget amidst all the terrible winter storms we're enduring at the moment. This is a corner of Harrogate's Valley Gardens with the Sun Pavilion in the background. www.sunpavilion.co.uk