April 21, 2021. Arboretum Poort-Bulten, De Lutte (NL).
Green-leaved ‘Prunus cerasifera‘.
Prunus
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Spirea japonica ‘Goldflame’
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Just look at how the leaves change their colour when they unfold and grow larger: from dark red to light green with just a touch of red around the edges …
Tiny Japanese maple flowers
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Delicate green leaves and tiny flowers unfolded from a pointed red bud. This cluster of flowers is about 2 cm long from the point at which it branches out. (Back garden, April 22, 2021).
Chestnut buds
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Chestnut buds opening up fill me with wonder. The leaves enclose the flower buds like little hands, unfolding one by one. How cherished these flower buds must feel.
Finally, just before the flowers open, the tree show off its leaves like lovely drapes of fresh green cloth.
Arboretum Poort-Bulten, De Lutte (NL) – April 7, 2020.
The last picture was made on April 21, 2021.
Pretty in Pink
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April 2020. These cherry blossoms were photographed during a lovely walk in Arboretum Poort-Bulten (De Lutte, NL) with my niece. They remind me of the movie ‘Pretty in Pink’.
The full blossoms are light pink, but the flower buds that come first have a much darker tone of pink. Below a picture of the same tree in April 2021, this time with green grass in the background. In this cluster of flower and leave buds, the leaves are just about to show themselves and point towards us.
Japanese maples in autumn
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There are several Japanese maples grouped together in the Arboretum Poort-Bulten in De Lutte (NL). November 17, 2020.
Pearls in the front garden
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Alchemilla is called ‘women’s mantle’ in Dutch. It carefully collects dew and raindrops on and in its leaves, and some days begin particularly elegant!
I didn’t notice the beetle in the picture below until I uploaded the files to my computer. (Front garden, July 18, 2020).
Flowering plane tree
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In winter plane trees are often hung with small balls of seeds. Of course, these seeds were flowers first. You usually don’t get to see these up close, though, unless you are treated to a tree with several branches that hang low. (May 2020, Arboretum Poort-Bulten).
European Larch
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A new cone and fresh new leaves with a flourish – European Larch (Larix) in spring.
April 14, 2020 – Arboretum Poort-Bulten.
Caterpillar
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Do you see it? A tiny brown caterpillar on one of the leaves of this gorgeous cherry tree. Arboretum Poort-Bulten, De Lutte, April 2020.
White delicacies
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Apiaceae (or Umbelliferae, in Dutch: schermbloemigen) have such intricate flowers. I really like their style.
I don’t know which one the above is … The picture was taken in the Tankenberg area near my hometown.
Atalanta
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A Vanessa atalanta butterfly on a yellow Buddleja (xweyeriana ‘Sungold’). Apparently, the English name of this butterfly is ‘the red admiral’.
The Sigma lens on my camera offers the beautiful bokeh that creates a kind of transparency in the background. Of course, in downsizing the image for use on this website some of the lustre in the original was lost.
Acanthus
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Acanthus is called Bear’s breeches in English. I don’t know of any Dutch name. Wonderfully architectural plant, with great textured petals as well.
Bumblebee à gogo
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On a very hot day in the summer of 2019 I did a macro photography workshop (Jeroen Stel, www.jeroenstel.com). Despite the blazing sun it was a wonderful day in a garden full of flowers, grasses and insects. This bumblebee decided he was too busy to wait for me to take my pictures.
Physocarpus opulifolius
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Physocarpus opulifolius (in Dutch: blaasspirea) is a rather photogenic plant. It is doing quite well in my sunny and dry backyard. I love the dark red foliage, complemented by pinkish flowers in early summer that are followed by lovely glossy dark red seedheads.
