Mike Percy's Blogger

Amazing Agapanthus- your new best garden plants! Agapanthus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Amaryllidaceae, subfamily Agapanthinae . It is native to South Africa and extends from Mozambique and Swaziland eastwards through Zambia into Zimbabwe.  It was originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum as Agapanthus. The generic name comes from the Greek word agapao meaning “loved”; it refers to the fact that many people find these plants charming.  Its common English name, Easter Lily, refers to the fact that they emerge after the first frost in this region at about that time. They are also known as African Lily or Lily of the Nile . In Britain, Agapanthus are normally considered border perennials since they grow upright and tall, perfect for the back of your flower bed to add stature and shape, and they come back every year to delight and entertain you. The species usually grows to a height of about 45 cm (1 ft). They have long heads of flowers sta...

  What Kind of Oak is That? How to tell what kind of English oak you have: A blog about the kinds of oak found in England as well as a guide for identifying the type of oak. 1) English Oak - - - Ever wondered what the different types of English oak are? You're not alone. In fact, there's so much confusion about these trees that many people use the term 'English oak' and 'English red oak' interchangeably to refer to both Quercus robur (the English - and native - oak) and Quercus petraea (the English red - or European - oak). Quercus robur (English Oak) Quercus robur (Common name: English Oak, Juniper Oak, Pedunculate oak) is a member of the white oak family and an evergreen plant. It has flat, dark green leaves that are five lobed and have short petioles and a leathery texture. It gives off a scent similar to grape wine when crushed and can grow up to 40m tall in sandy soils. Quercus robur is native to Western Europe, particularly the United Kingdom, France and S...

  Starling 🕊 Getting better at working within the limitations of my budget equipment to capture these beautiful creatures in their habitat (my back garden). This shot was taken at 800mm zoom on a gloomy day, so the edits I did in the photo software were used to try and accentuate that. I'm quite happy with the result. It's far from perfect but a noticeable improvement on earlier efforts and clear signs my old skills are still in here somewhere! All the best. If you like this photo, please share and comment to improve my algorithmic opportunities on this platform, so others may see what I'm doing and enjoy some new content as well. . . . . #naturelover #naturegram #nature_shooters #natureshots #wildlifephotography #natureonly #natureporn #landscapephotography #wildlife #naturephoto #nature_seekers #natureaddict #instanature #landscapelovers #landscapes #trees #landscape_lovers #natureza #tree #macro #naturehippys #outdoors #nature...

 A Window on Middle Earth Geometric art by Mike Percy Artworks

Hi, welcome to Mike Percy's Blogger. I am new here to and just thought I'd post a quick entry to see what it's capable of and tell visitors to this site a little bit about me. I’m an amateur photographer based in England, UK with a passion for landscape, wildlife, architecture and sports photography. I took photography in college many years ago when there was no such thing as a digital camera and you had to get your photos developed in a red room. I did it as part of a General Art & Design course that included elements of fine art, graphic design and photography. Web and Graphic Design When the web first started to break through in the early nineties I was none the wiser but as it became more popular around 1998 I decided to explore it a bit and that would eventually lead me to take up web design in the very early 2000s, once I had matured a little and understood it a bit better. So, my career throughout the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s has been pretty heavily dominated by w...