Here we are then, the final part of a look back at my photographic journey through 2017. This time we’re off on a trip to southern England before topping out the year with a snowy start to the winter.

Autumn Begins in the Garden

I added some new plants to the garden last year, to help bring a bit more colour in the autumn alongside the whites of the oxeye daisies. The new colour started in late summer with the bright yellow and red flowers of a rudbeckia hirta variety called Autumn Shades which were now in full bloom. Some other new plants included a scabious and Bishop Weed, these had both formed flower buds which hadn’t opened yet, although the stems were providing new places for hammock weaver spiders to set up home.

Petals of a rudbekia ‘autumn shades’ flower in the garden.

Ammi majus flower buds forming in the garden.

A hammock weaver spider hanging from the underside of its hammock web.

Buds forming on a scabious flower head in the garden.

A common carder bee on a rudbeckia flower in the garden.

A single oxeye daisy in the garden.

Wildlife Trust Reserves Guide

Back in July I had been contacted by our local Wildlife Trust (The Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire) hoping to use some of my photos in their new 2017 Reserves Guide. I’m always happy to support an organisation that maintains the places I enjoy visiting, so jumped at the opportunity to donate some photos. At the start of October the guide was published and a few days later I received a complimentary copy as thanks. The four photos that appear in the guide are below and seeing them in print made me very happy!

The deep red flowers of Great Burnet standing out amonst the sea of yellow Buttercups.

Reflections on the surface of the River Nene.

The strange pigmentless flowers of Knapweed Broomrape, in amongst the trees of Twywell Plantation. Photos from Wildlife Trusts Twywell Hills and Dales nature reserve in Northamptonshire, UK.

A group of whooper swans rising above the frosty barrier bank and the low morning sun at the Ouse Washes.

A copy of the guide can be bought from the Wildlife Trust BCN Shop.

Hampshire

In October I decided to take another week off work and head down to Hampshire, where I mostly grew up, to visit my parents. This turned out to be somewhat bad timing as it coincided with both the remnants of hurricane Ophelia hitting the UK at the start of the week, and then storm Brian towards the end. Even so we managed to get out and about in the local area, some to re-visit places I’d frequented when I lived there and some to visit new places.

Forest of Bere

This is a place I know well as it’s was one of closest local woods. I’ve walked round here many times with my parents as a child, I did some WATCH (now Wildlife Watch) projects here also as a child, and I’ve cycled here on many occasions at various ages. So I wanted to go back for a walk again. There were plenty of signs of autumn to be found with the woodland floor covered in a carpet of fallen leaves, quite a bit of fungi, and changing colours on the trees.

The fruiting body of The Miller fungus sprouting from the woodland floor. Taken during a visit to the Forest of Bere in Hampshire.

A clump of green moss amoungst the autumn leaves. Not sure which of the polytrichales this is, I think it’s either bank haircap or common smoothcap. Taken during a visit to the Forest of Bere in Hampshire.

Moss hanging from an exposed tree root over a stream. Taken during a visit to the Forest of Bere in Hampshire.

A brown-lipped snail with a somewhat worn shell. Taken during a visit to the Forest of Bere in Hampshire.

The curving brown shapes of a finished bracken frond. Taken during a visit to the Forest of Bere in Hampshire.

Stereum hisutum, the Hairy Curtain Crust fungus, growing on a dead tree trunk. Taken during a visit to the Forest of Bere in Hampshire.

Beech leaves changing to their autumnal colours. Taken during a visit to the Forest of Bere in Hampshire.

I did make a bit of a mistake in choosing to go here on the weekend as it was very busy, especially near the main carpark which was also very noisy. Not something I’m used to on my usual home patch where I can walk round for hours and rarely encounter more than a handful of other people, even at the weekend.

Exbury Gardens

Not somewhere I’ve been before, this is a nice mix of landscape garden, planted flower borders and woodland, with some brightly coloured acer trees and a miniature railway thrown in for good measure.

This was the day when ex-hurricane Ophelia was due to arrive in the South West, but after looking at the weather forecast the wind speed didn’t look particularly unusual so it didn’t seem like it would matter too much. However when we arrived it turned out they were closing just after midday before the wind was forecast to arrive. It worked out quite well though since due to the closure the entry fee was half-price, and we still managed to cover the whole garden.

The bright red autumn leaves of an acer tree. Taken during a visit to Exbury Gardens in Hampshire.

Light shining through the tops of these toadstools, lighting up the gaps between the gills. Taken during a visit to Exbury Gardens in Hampshire.

A late hydrangea flower contrasting against the deep red of the trees behind. Taken during a visit to Exbury Gardens in Hampshire.

Cyclamen plants growing and flowering between rocks of steps. Taken during a visit to Exbury Gardens in Hampshire.

Autumn colour setting in at Exbury Gardens in Hampshire.

Toadstools sprouting amidst grass and fallen autumn leaves. Taken during a visit to Exbury Gardens in Hampshire.

A Red Admiral butterfly feeding on aster flowers. Taken during a visit to Exbury Gardens in Hampshire.

Rudbeckia flower stems after the petals have gone, waving about in the wind and orange light from the approaching storm Ophelia. Taken during a visit to Exbury Gardens in Hampshire.

A carpet of red leaves beneath an acer tree. Taken during a visit to Exbury Gardens in Hampshire.

As the morning went on the light gradually worsened as the dust and ash filled clouds ahead of the approaching storm started to fill the sky. This created an strange orange light which made for some unusual looking colours which can be seen in some of the previous photos.

The orange sun created by the dusty clouds ahead of storm Ophelia, shining through the leaves of a Red Oak tree. Taken during a visit to Exbury Gardens in Hampshire.

In the lighter periods of cloud, when the sun was just about breaking through, we had a strange effect of the light looking like dawn or dusk even though it was almost midday. Here is that muted sun shining through the leaves of a red oak tree.

Mottisfont

Another new place to me, National Trust Mottisfont is the site of an old Augustinian priory which has escaped the usual demolition and ruin due to being incorporated into a country house. Around the house lie an area of gardens made up of a few different sections, including water gardens, a winter garden and some walled gardens, which contained a nice variety of autumn flowers and colour.

The lovely red bark of Tibetan Cherry tree trunks. Taken during a visit to Mottisfont in Hampshire.

Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Firetail’ adding a lot of bright red colour to the garden. Taken during a visit to Mottisfont in Hampshire.

A flash of pink from a cyclamen flower in a sea of green leaves. Taken during a visit to Mottisfont in Hampshire.

Red berries forming on a Himalayan honeysuckle. Taken during a visit to Mottisfont in Hampshire.

Mahonia flowers providing an autumn supply of nectar and pollen for the bees. Taken during a visit to Mottisfont in Hampshire.

Morning dew on the petals of a verbena flower. Taken during a visit to Mottisfont in Hampshire.

A pretty white pom pom like flower, I think this is one of the double echinaceas. Taken during a visit to Mottisfont in Hampshire.

A bee in a pricky poppy flower. Taken during a visit to Mottisfont in Hampshire.

An interesting item in the gardens is a restored shepherds hut, complete with how the interior would have looked when it was in use.

Inside the small shepherd’s hut in the grounds of Mottisfont, in Hampshire.

The small shepherd’s hut in the grounds of Mottisfont, in Hampshire.

Having covered most of the gardens we went for a walk along the modified section of the river test which runs through the grounds, before taking look around the house. There was an art exhibition on display on the upper floors which was a nice addition, also of interest were the remains of the priory, especially the well preserved cellarium which sits below the main property.

The back of Mottisfont house, reflected in the water of a modified section of the River Test.

Looking out across the gardens from one of the windows in Mottisfont house.

The cellarium of the original abbey at Mottisfont, preserved beneath the house.

Meon Beach

The weather took a turn for the worse again toward the end of the week, so during a bit of a respite from rain we went for a walk along the beach at Titchfield Haven and Meon Shore. This is somewhere I visited lots of times with my parents, when I was younger. The wind was pretty strong and there was thick fog combined with occasional patches of drizzle, but we still had a nice walk.

Looking along the coast in Hampshire, from Meon Shore to Solent Breezes in the distance.

Fawley Power Station through the mist and drizzle hanging over the sea.

A clump of seaweed washed up on the beach at Meon Shore in Hampshire.

Waves breaking on the beach at Meon Shore in Hampshire.

After walking along the beach we went to visit the public bird hide at Titchfield Haven nature reserve. There wasn’t much to see due to the weather, but some gulls and great tits did put in an appearance.

A great tit sitting in a tree in the nature reserve at Titchfield Haven, in Hampshire.

Gulls sitting on posts in the nature reserve at Titchfield Haven, in Hampshire.

Late Autumn in the Garden

As autumn started to turn to winter, the colours in the garden were still going strong. With a new scabious I’d planted earlier in the year coming into flower and being joined by the pink flowers of nerines and similarly colours berries of a spindleberry. The reds of yellows of the autumn leaves and berries also reflected in the flowers of the rudbeckias.

A pink scabious flower in the afternoon sunlight.

Pretty pink nerine flowers soaking up the sunlight in the garden.

One of the bright pink berries of a spindleberry tree.

A dandelion seed head, backed by the reds and yellows of rudbeckia flowers.

A mostly red rudbeckia hirta flower, soaking up the sunlight in the garden.

Last few remaining leaves on a small silver birch tree, changing to their autumn colours.

Bright red fruits of autumn on the trees in my garden.

The yellow colour fading from the last of the leaves on a hawthorn in the garden.

A Blanket of Snow

As December arrived it brought with it the first in several periods of snow fall. It’s not unusual for us to get some snow in the winter, but it is unusual for it to be this heavy. It accumulated quite quickly and combined with the red berries berries and large snowflakes made for some very Christmas card looking scenes in the garden.

Snow gathering on and around plant pots in the garden.

Snow gathering on a small acer tree in my garden, this morning.

Snow gathering on the top of a Welsh poppy seed pod.

Snow gathering on the branches of a spindleberry tree, with the bright berries poking through.

Clusters of red berries, breaking through the snow on the trees.

A female blackbird in amoungst snow covered branches, picking off the berries.

Male blackbird sitting up top of a snow covered wall, with snowflakes falling around him.

Snow settling on the back of a male blackbird, feeding on the winter berries.

A couple of redwings amongst the snowy branches, picking off the berries.

That’s All For Now

A shorter part than the previous two but that completes my look back at last year, where I went, and what I took photos of. Hopefully much more to come this year and I’m going to try to find the time to blog more regularly along the way.