Gardens after Lockdown

It 's been great to start travelling about again and getting back to garden photography. Mount Usher, Ashford, is always a favourite with lots of nooks and crannies for the senses. Here 's a shot of Darmera Peltata or the Umbrella Plant on a glorious April day this year, the blooms on the banks standing out in relief against the dark waters of the Dartry River below.

Umbrella Plant, Mount Usher Gardens, Ashford, Co Wicklow

  And then on our first post- lockdown  trip out of Dublin in early June, we spent a morning in Lismore Castle Gardens where the lupins were pretty stunning in the warm summer sunshine, nestling in snugly around the orchard trees, clusters of purple ,pinks and white. This single white lupin caught the eye .

Lupins, Lismore Castle Gardens, Co Waterford.

  Mid  June and a trip to the brilliant Huntingbrook Gardens, near Blessington. Couldn't get away from the waves of colour billowing through Fred's Garden. Swirls of Geum to the fore here, ably backed up by Rose Campion.

Geum Totally Tangerine, Huntingbrook Gardens, Blessington, Co Wicklow.

  And finally a few hours spent in the Botanical Gardens the day before Bloomsday. Wandered for an hour along the  herbaceous borders before having coffee with two pals on a gorgeous summer's morning, talking among other things about trout-fishing and mayflies, wood-carving,the marvellous singing session during the Sirens episode from Ulysses and Joyce's short story The Dead  (the cathartic effect of The Lass of Aughrim song). So here's a shot of Astrantia blooms from that morning,  the blur of silvery Lambs' ears glowing in the backround.

Astrantia Roma, Botanical Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin 9.