Sunday 27 May 2012

May morning patrol in the garden

The Dracunulus Vulgaris is growing rapidly. Its palmate leaves showing their stripes, and its stems their leopard skin spots.
Found on the lily plants, four of these red Lily Beetles. 
They are very destructive, its either the lilies or the beetles! I know he wasn't there an hour before, and look how he has nibbled that leaf already. He is now off further down the leaf to make a nice big hole!!!
Special thanks to Olive♥ for encouraging me to watermark my images. This is my first attempt.
Big thank you to Gina♥ for pointing me in the direction of how to make these collages.
These are my first four attempts at collages with slightly differing borders. I prefer No. 4 followed by No. 3, but would welcome any opinions.
The original of this last collage I have withdrawn and reposted again after receiving helpful advice from Mark

46 comments:

  1. I love them all Rosemary,
    I think i agree.. the 3rd doesnt have borders around each one.. but you can alternate..
    I was so happy to get Gina's tip.. i went to join..but i need "flash reader" and i tried to download it to my mac and it doesnt work. I was upset..because i really would like to do this collage theme now and again.
    Your flowers as always are stunning. Your garden must be looking very lushious and beautiful at the moment.
    Happy Sunday
    val.. If you have any help suggestions re the collage..would appreciate

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Val - thanks for your visit and lovely comments. Before you try downloading flash player or reader, have another shot at picmonkey. I have read some comments on the internet, and one person was getting the same message as you, but then had a few more goes, and it came.
      There is a youtube - How to install Adobe Flash Player for your mac - at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQQKnUEbhrM
      this might help you.
      Alternatively get one of your sons to help if they are around!!!

      Delete
    2. thank you Rosemary.. will do this on my return from the Algarve..

      Delete
    3. Have a nice time and enjoy the break.

      Delete
  2. I took a stroll round my garden this morning too, camera in hand. Isn't it a beautiful day?

    Your individual shots are gorgeous, I must go round and look at flower heads rather than views.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a beautiful day, and amazing how quickly everything is drying up. Taking the flower heads only can become quite addictive, especially when you see what the macro lens reveals. Thank you for your visit and comments.

      Delete
  3. I like your collages, especially the one with all shades of blue, and the bottom Iris one. I love seeing garden photos in any form!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks for your kind comments. I shall have to be careful not to got mad on these collages, but they are good fun to try for a change.

      Delete
  4. Gorgeous photos! I love all of the colours. My favourite collage is the one with the thin black lines around the photos, although, the others are really nice, too! I'm going to have to check out Picmonkey and try out that feature. Nice!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Marie - look forward to seeing your results. It is much simpler than I thought it would be. I agree, I think perhaps the thin black line or no line are the best. The bolder borders would probably look better on a light or white coloured background. It is a bit addictive.

      Delete
  5. Dear Rosemary,

    It's always a pleasure to see how your garden grows! Here I am living in the sub-tropics and you're the one who's showing off red beetles and leopard spots!

    I see we're both going to have fun with Gina's link!

    Mark

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Mark - the red beetles are really a nuisance. I have found 3 more today on the same plant. I cannot understand how they find it. I have never seen any flying or crawling around, but they keep appearing. I am sorry to say the advice is to squash them. However, I do not really like to kill anything.
      When my leopard spot stem flowers it will be a sight to see!
      Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it. I hope that I shall be able to achieve 'the look' in the near future.

      Delete
  6. Hi Rosemary! I commented earlier, but my comment didn't appear. I like the third image with the thin border. It looks lovely. I think it's good to have a bit of a border when you are collaging small images, otherwise the collage might seem untidy.

    Did you do the watermark using Picmonkey? I didn't think you could. I would like to do the same with my images.

    CIAO!

    ANNA

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Anna - sorry I have only received this one comment - your other one must still be floating about somewhere.
      Thanks for your suggestions. I think you are right - a little bordering is the right way to go.
      Yes, I got the watermark from Picmonkey. It is very easy to use, and I think that you should protect your lovely images with one. If you have any problems, let me know, and perhaps I can help.
      Ciao♥

      Delete
  7. Thanks for the mosaics, they are superb.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you like them Bob - this is my first attempt, so hopefully I will improve as time goes by.

      Delete
  8. Hello Rosemary,
    very beautiful colors and flowers!
    A hug

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Antonio - thanks for your kind comment♥

      Delete
  9. Gorgeous photos, Rosemary, and I really love the collages. I've bookmarked the link and shall investigate when time allows. I particularly like the top two with the softly rounded corners.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Perpetua - once you have finished in the garden, there will be time to experiment with the collages. I do not like to complain about the heat, but we have cracks appearing in our lawn from lack of water!

      Delete
    2. Rosemary, if your lawn can hold on until Wednesday, we're due some rain. :-)

      Delete
    3. Thanks for that. I seems awful to say it, but I am quite relieved. I have put tomato plants, runner beans and geraniums in the garden and they do need the rain.

      Delete
  10. Very well done Rosemary. Your photos are so gorgeous they need watermarking. I love the collages. Now that PicMonkey has installed a collage feature I will be making collages again. Thanks so much for the shout out. Hugs, Olive

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Olive - when I went on to Picmonkey and saw there was the possibility of watermarking, I remembered what you had told me, and decided to give it a try. It is a strange thing but before trying something new, you assume that you will not be able to manage to do it. Thanks again Olive♥

      Delete
  11. Oh my gosh, Rosemary, that beetle is my arch enemy! The only blessing is that they are bright red instead of leaf green :) making them very easy to spot and remove.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Rosemary - mine too. I have just been out checking the lilies this morning. I shall look forward to seeing your lilies when they open. I have added three new lilies to the garden this year, and I cannot wait to see them.

      Delete
  12. Good Morning Rosemary,
    Excellent result! I'll try to do this but I doubt if I could it! . For our national dish "moussaka" takes time, is delicious but a mediocre piece has 450 calories. So even though likes the whole family I cook once a month!
    Have a wonderful week
    Olympia

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Olympia - it is much easier than you would think. You simply download a photo from your computer to Picmonkey and away you go - do give it a try.
      I am just off shopping now to buy some aubergines so that I can make your moussaka for this evening. We shall be raising our glasses and saying thank you to you this evening♥

      Delete
  13. Dear Rosemary.
    The colours of your floral collection are beautiful. Am I the only person with Alliums that refuse to open their buds!
    I have no idea about watermarks and have often wondered should we be using them?
    Your Dragon arum is spectacular Rosemary. I've been looking forward to an update on it.
    The lily beetle are quite clever little blighters. I wonder if they lay eggs in the bulb scales and thats why we only ever see them near the plant. I gave up with them years ago beacuse they are just to ingenius. Even if you try to remove them to replace them somewhere else they drop off the Lily before you have a chance to catch them!
    Paul

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Paul - first things first, did you notice that you got the flower right - it was the red clover, you with two others were the only ones to get it right - well spotted.
      Yes, I think you should watermark your lovely photos, and it is very simply to do, and free with Picmonkey. Give it a try.
      I do not know where the lily beetle comes from either, I have never seen one flying or crawling around, but suddenly there they are there on my most luscious lily. The lily is in a pot, and I cannot see any signs of it having come out of the soil although I have looked hard. I have managed to catch all of mine, and I am afraid I do not like to do it but I squash them - sorry to any reader who is offended by this.

      Delete
    2. It was pure luck Rosemary I just happened to have photographed the wildflower meadow at Scotney Castle and noticed the clover were out, 24 hours before you posted.
      The lily beetle does make an icky mess if you squash em! I'm not fast enough.
      Paul

      Delete
    3. Whether you had photographed the clover yourself the day before or not, I think that from the photograph I took, it still required good powers of observation.
      I must have another go at another flower sometime.

      Delete
  14. Very beautiful collages. Thanks for your comments on my blog. We are indeed home but from the blog it looks like we are always traveling. We collect a lot of information when traveling and write about one article a day. So just enough to cover the periods between weekends, holidays and business trips.

    Greetings,
    Filip

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad you enjoyed the collages, I hope to improve in time. That explains it, I thought that you were nipping from one country to another all of the time, and wondered how coped.

      Delete
  15. Dear Rosemary, My favorite collages are those that have only small lines or none at all. But it is so much fun trying out different set ups. There is no shortage of ideas Picmonkey is providing. I love customizing watermarks, larger or smaller, lighter or darker and italics. Have you noticed that you can hold Ctrl and transfer several of your photos all at once onto PicMonkey? Your photos are stunning. ox, Gina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Gina - it is so much fun - thank you. I didn't know you could hold ctrl and add several photos at the same time, that is useful information.
      Mark suggested I use the background colour of my blog, which I like. Next time I will experiment with the lines and try them thinner. I have also removed the black border from the blog photos to integrate them more into the brown colour.
      Again thank you for sharing♥

      Delete
  16. your photographs AND collages are so wonderful Rosemary! not to mention your garden! Lovely to look at the small life in it too : )

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Demie - how lovely to hear from you. Yes, the small life, although attractive, is a bit of a menace re:my lilies. I am sure that everything is blooming with you now that the sun has arrived. Take care♥

      Delete
    2. ... my problem with gardening, is not the little bugs, although I can understand it's a problem by looking at that photograph, but the wild life growing everywhere...
      I am about to give up!

      Delete
    3. Don't give up Demie - I presume you mean the weeds, every gardeners nightmare. Once you get robust plants, shrubs, etc growing they keep the weeds down to a certain extent. You can use hard core paving and gravel which cuts down on the weeds. Get your children to help, how about 20 weeds = 1 krona!

      Delete
  17. What a beautiful mosaics you have made. An artwork I think. I like them all and I won't make a choice.
    Beautiful flowers in your garden, looks like a paradise to me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They do look particularly good when they are all put in a mosaic together. I had lots of fun making them, something that I have only just learnt to do on the computer.

      Delete
  18. Dear Rosemary,
    You have made some beautiful mosaics, I love them all and I can't make a choice either.
    Great work!
    Your garden must be a wonderful sight.
    Mette

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Making mosaics was great fun Mette, the first time I have tried. The garden is very lush at the moment, but trying to keep control of the weeds. Thank you for your lovely comments.

      Delete
  19. tonsof flower-power in this blog entry! so enchanting pictures...really heart-warming, thanks for sharing all this beauty with us! sunny greetings from tulipland Holland!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Jana for your lovely comment - I love tulipland Holland.

      Delete

❖PLEASE NOTE❖ Comments made by those who hide their identity will be deleted


“You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you - you have to go to them sometimes”

― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh