1 EAGLETON NOTES: Spring in Glasgow

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Friday 3 May 2013

Spring in Glasgow

It's Friday morning and it's cold and wet and Pat told me that last night that there was snow on Lewis.  Whether there still is this morning I don't, as yet, know but the Met Office App says it'll be a sunny day.

My few days in Glasgow has been a revelation because Spring is late this year so, guess what has excited me.  You got it.  Spring flowers.  Not having seen a real display of daffodils in nature since 2006 they are everywhere at the moment.  

Daffodils and Aubretia
Fritillaria Meleagris aka Snakes Head [Not Potentilla!] 
Rhododendron
Muscari or Grape Hyacinth
Dogstooth Violet
At The Glasgow Botanical Gardens there were a couple celebrating their civil partnership with photographs in the Gardens.  One of the party had shoes which I just couldn't resist photographing.  I can't say that Wendy would wear them but they certainly were a match for anything that is amongst her very extensive shoe wardrobe!



If you are ever in the Gardens and fancy a coffee or superb cakes or a meal with wonderful typical friendly Glasgow service then I would suggest a visit to The Tea Room at The Botanics.



PS It's now just after 10am and Pat aka Spesh1 has confirmed that the sun is shining on Lewis.  Yea!  I shall leave the rain here in Glasgow and escape! 

15 comments:

  1. Coward (re the last sentence)!

    But welcome home. And did the woman know you were photographing her shoes? I just have to know.

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    1. Yes Frances you are correct. I really do not like this cold, wet weather. I did take a surreptitious photo of the shoes using my very long focus lens but when we got near Anna asked if the wearer would mind if I photographed them and she readily agreed. That's how we got chatting to the party.

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  2. Have a good trip.

    I know little about plants but think you have posted on image of Fritillary or Snakes Head...Is that the same as Potentilla?

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    1. Thanks Adrian. You are, of course, correct about the plant. Oddly when Anna (who is knowledgeable about garden plants told me it was a potentilla I said that it wasn't like the ones I had in my garden but as I couldn't recall what they looked like and am definitely not knowledgable about these things I just accepted her word for it. When I mentioned what you said she immediately said that you were, of course, correct and she'd just had a momentary aberration. Thanks.

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    2. It was the colour Potentilla are yellow. I can't absorb all this stuff....If I plant anything I just remember....GREEN END UP!

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  3. The shoes are wonderful - and look reasonable enough to be walked in, and even danced in.

    The flower you call snakes head is called Schachbrettblume (checker board flower) in German. The grape hyacinth is called farmers' boys, because in times long ago, the sons of farmers wore linen shirts dyed just that colour.

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    1. Thanks Meike. It's always good to know other names for something. I had to go back and see why it might be called a checker board flower: interesting, I hadn't noticed that before. I've never thought of wearing shoes like that (which probably won't surprise you!) but I, too, thought they looked rather comfortable.

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  4. Glad that you're enjoying the lovely spring flowers in Glasgow. It's the little things that bring us the most pleasure sometimes.
    The Tea Room looks like a nice place to have a cuppa after a long stroll through the gardens.
    The conservatory in the background would have been my first stop.
    That's an interesting pair of shoes....not for me though.

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    1. Virginia I posted on the Conservatory some years ago here and here

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  5. I was having fun imagining you with your stalker lens being caught taking photos of the woman's shoes. Some might not understand although I think if she could carry off shoes like that she wouldn't object to being photographed. They are as good a tribute to spring as are the beautiful flowers.

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    1. The advantage of the 'stalker' lens is that one is unlikely to be found out but, thanks to Anna asking her, I could use the photos I took close up with the confidence that she was happy with what I as doing. It was a lovely, if cold, day.

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  6. Glad you got a chance to meet spring :)

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    1. Yes. I'm surprised now that I'm back on Lewis how far some things are behind and yet my daffodils are well and truly over.

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  7. What super shoes!

    I am glad you had the chance to see Spring. It is my favourite time of year and if I were commuting between here and the Antipodes, I would make sure that I could include Spring in routine, and have TWO each year!

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    1. Jenny it's not so easy to have two Springs without making two separate return journeys but it's really the summer that I love for the very simple reason that I can indulge my passion for croquet in the warmth of the summer sun. If I couldn't play croquet then the autumn is my love because of the colours.

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