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 In early summer 2009 we had a hot spell, really hot for the UK, but of course this did not last very long and the British summer has once again been sunshine and showers, although at times these showers have not had much sunshine or even dry between them. For plants of course, such a combination is wonderful and we have seen our border here at home thrive. We have also been through a significant building project over the last 18 months and the garden has been carnage, so as it returns to something like a garden we have indulged in many new plants.
There are a few plants that have survived the turmoil and just adjacent to the bay window is a Lavatera Barnsley that has been flowering for months at a time for the last several years. I can see the flowers from my desk adjacent to the window and have spent many happy hours watching bees and other insects around it. We've also had a blackbird nesting in the rose bush that grows above it, so that's been fascinating to watch too. Now the birds have flown, but the Lavatera flowers on. It's one of those that have both pink and white flowers on the same plant and yes we should prune it but it does so well without any attention.
When the sun drops in the evening it makes the flowers glow. When its been raining and the sun drops the flowers glow and sparkle at the same time.
It was difficult to get to the right place to see this image through the camera viewfinder so I was forced to handhold rather than using the tripod, but a breeze would have made a tripod almost useless anyway. I used the Canon 180mm f3.5L macro lens, a lens I just love for its sharpness and bokeh, wide open to ensure a blurred background. It is important to use manual focussing in these sorts of conditions as automatic focus couldn't keep up with either the plant or me moving!
Canon 1Ds Mark III, 180mm f3.5L lens, ISO200, f3.5, 1/80sec
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