What a great image— "The mind-forg'd manacles"!

I always say please too!😂😂😂

Houses Along a Road, 1881 https://botfrens.com/collections/43/contents/12309

Book Cover of the Day:

Book Cover of the Day: #BookWormSat

sums it up. #heatwave in Europe.

Have always absolutely loved this poem.

Mont Sainte-Victoire, 1906 https://botfrens.com/collections/43/contents/13513

The House with the Cracked Walls, 1894 https://botfrens.com/collections/43/contents/13103

Another photo of Lamorran Gardens in St Mawes, Cornwall #GardensHour 🌱

Good evening #GardensHour. May means treading lightly in the little wildlife area and leaving the grass to do it's own thing. The planting is mostly white. I framed it with some low hedging earlier in the year. I'm thinking of extending the pond as its a bit snall...

#GardensHour The raspberry red peony is in bloom ♥️🌱

It's May and the garden is bursting! Also I planted this Limelight hydrangea tree last month. I love hydrangeas but have yet to try a tree form. Anyone else have one? #GardensHour 🌱

Evening all, plans for May is plants for free, my neighbour dumped this in a skip last year so I rehomed it, my third hosta. From now on taking cuttings, sowing seeds and being cheeky and asking if you have a bit of that going spare 😀🌱 #GardensHour

Our plan for May is v different this yr. Normally we'd be v busy with veg growing, but we're off to China for 2 mths in 2 wks time, so have pared things down a lot. A friend will keep things tidy while we're gone. Here's our pond full of tadpoles at the moment!🐸 @gardenshour.bsky.social #gardenshour

It’s almost time for #GardensHour This week we’ll chat about your plans for MAY - what are you working towards this month? See you in 15!

Evening all. I pricked out far too many seedlings on Saturday & had to seek some shadey shelter from the sun! The view of the garden was quite nice though #GardensHour 🌱

The clematis on the moongate is blooming 🌱 #GardensHour

@gardenshour.bsky.social A couple more pics of the garden for #gardenshour Flowering currant & a snakes head fritillary. Also, we have had an utter profusion of heather beetles this year. We usually get some, but they were everywhere the other day! Conditions must have been just right for mating.

@gardenshour.bsky.social I've been so remiss, forgetting #gardenshour recently with all my preparations for visiting family in China next month! Of course, here in N Scotland, we are way behind gardens further south, but here are some pics of what is going on currently (descriptions in alt text).

🖼️ Annegert Fuchshuber #OwlishMonday

The Nigella crept in from next door and survived winter. Looking forward to some totally free flowers. #GardensHour

We’re posting a bit early for #GardensHour our first camellia flower of the season

Mint is one of the most useful herbs. Easy to grow. Great for digestion. 🌱

Birdsnest in a Bed of Wildflowers, O.D. Ottesen (1816–1892).

A few people have asked about my camellia regime. I water throughout the year with a last good soak Sept/ Oct. Also give an ericaceous feed once a year. If yellow leaves or blossom drop problems, I make up a sulphur mix in a watering can & completely drench the foliage & soil. 🌱 #GardensHour

Hello #GardensHour lots of springly things happening in the garden but my big excitement is frogspawn at the allotment, in an otherwise uninspiring pond 🐸

This 'Sugar Plum' Hellebore flower decided it wasn't content with the usual 5 sepally-petally thing & opted for 7 instead! #GardensHour 🌱

One word to describe my garden this week? Maybe “purple” is a good one? Hellebores and crocus are still going strong and I forgot to take a picture of my hyacinths but they’re coming out too #GardensHour 🌱

It's been bringing in a ton of bumblebees, and this week a small tortoiseshell butterfly 🌱 #GardensHour #BugSky #Bloomscrolling

@gardenshour.bsky.social Tulips in a nearby vineyard! Also lots of leaves and buds emerging in my garden. One word: anticipation. #GardensHour 🌱

Early insect heaven. Reaching peak primrose. #Gardenshour #Mygarden #Gardening

Spring bulbs doing a lot of the heavy lifting in my garden at the moment 🌱 #GardensHour #Bloomscrolling

The Rhododendrons are starting to bloom 🌱 #GardensHour

Moon light and star light, owl and moth light, Glow-worm glowlight on a grassblade. O Light Invisible, we worship Thee! ~T.S. Eliot 🎨Tuesday Ridell

Lots of delicate cherry blossom. It has been a magnet for bees this week 🌱 #GardensHour

After such a gloomy winter, it did me so much good to see these gorgeous crocuses come up! For some reason, crocuses in these beautiful colours really resonate with me, as familiar from my early childhood. Just love them!💛💜🤍 #gardenshour #spring

I remembered #gardenshour this week!🎉 Slow start to #spring as always in N Scotland, but this last week or so has brought some beautiful things! This lovely Hellebore, a gift to us some yrs back, never fails to produce many stunning flowers & lasts for ages. Sound up for the #bees !🐝🐝🐝

My husband rescued over 100 #toads this morning... Stuck in just a few inches of water, at the bottom of a deep-sided pit with a grate on top. He'd walked over the grate a few times before he noticed movement beneath it and realised what it was. Thank goodness he was able to reach them !

#fungifriends #mushrooms #mycology #nature #fungi #biology #photography We found a really big outcrop of Sarcoscypha coccinea (Scarlet elf cups) in a place I’ve never looked before. There were dozens of them but only a few were accessible, being hidden in deep undergrowth under brambles and nettles.

Bumped into some lovely violets on one of my walks earlier in the week. #WildflowerHour

Latest episode of Journeys in Japan, which I made up in Hokkaido last month, has now just dropped on NHKWorld’s website. It’s on BS tomorrow and the day after. Schedule is at this link, too. Hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it. www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/...

Lungwort, flowering in a sheltered spot in Ramsbottom yesterday 🌱 #WildflowerHour #Bloomscrolling #UKWildflowers

'Storm light' by UK contemporary printmaker Mikki Bowers #WomensArt

In celebration of today's full moon, the last full Moon of meteorological winter, I'll post my fox curled up in snow once more 🦊❄️🌕 #FullMoon #SnowMoon #FoxoftheDay

Happy Imbolc to those celebrating today. Signs of growth in the garden. #Imbolc #Garden #Gardening #Plants 🌱

Merry Imbolc! Imbolc is an ancient Celtic festival celebrating renewal and birth held on February 1st between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. The perfect time to reshare my Green Man mask. 🌿

February. A lot going on for a short month. Imbolc, Candlemas, Ramadan. Carnevale across the world. St Valentine’s & pancake day. Lighter days. Citrus rules - enjoy blood oranges, Sevilles, bergamot lemons. Dark greens abound, minerally & fresh. Snowdrops, crocus & aconite spread a tapestry.

Another one from the canal this evening. Again, shot with the 500mm mirror lens. Pretty pleased with this 24yr old lens so far. Handheld. Bloody freezing down there earlier. So I'm happy I kept this still.