Germander Speedwell

Spring has gone AWOL. We have what I suppose we should expect in April – April showers. But it is also darned cold with overnight frosts, daily rain and a keen northerly wind. The sun has beat a retreat for most of the time. Thankfully the blossom – currently stalled – seems not to have been too badly damaged.

But the advantage of a garden, with an orchard area allowed to grow semi-wild, is that when the sun puts in an appearance I don’t have far to go to search out an image.

Germander Speedwell - Veronica Chamaedrys

This is Germander Speedwell – a tiny wild flower no more than 3-4mms across that grows in clumps. Bright blue in colour it is a delightful little flower but not easy to photograph. The flower stalks tend to be of mixed length and trying to find a bunch of three or four that form a neat cluster where the flower heads line up in a single focal plane is not an easy task.

Finally I found a bunch in the last few days. I’ve given this shot a painterly effect because I think it suits the subject. It’s also a useful trick for covering up when not every last petal is totally sharp.