End of month view -December 2016

At this time of year a bit of sunshine makes a huge difference both to photos of the garden and to the pleasure of being out in it. Today is desperately dull.

My various Hakonechloas are providing some colour, as are the evergreens but there isn’t a great deal flowering. Just outside the front window I have Camellias ‘Navajo’ and ‘Paradise Little Liane’ in bloom. It’s very nice to be able to see them up close without going outdoors. Just in front of the dark conifer is another Camellia, called ‘Minato-no-akebono’, which means Harbour at Dawn. It has small pretty pink flowers that are sweetly scented; one of which is about half open.

I was trying for a different perspective with my camera, so I put it atop my monopod at full extension, then held it as high as I could while taking pictures with a cable release. Its an effective way of getting an overview and you can get almost overfamiliar with the usual views of your own garden so it’s good to find a new angle.

I’m off to The Patient Gardener now to see whether other people have more going on at this month’s end.