Yesterday's Wanderings

A few pictures from a walk around my local area yesterday, carrying nothing but my Canon 40D and a Tamron 90mm macro lens.

One of the commonest plants growing in the sandy soils bordering my local beach is the Burnet Rose. The typical plants have whitish-yellow flowers:

However, there is a large clump with these pinkish flowers, which is apparantly a rare variant:

This flower had attracted this green beetle (if anyone knows the species, please let me know):

Ox-eye Daisies were growing by the beach:

This tallish plant was growing en masse in the dunes at the top of the beach. (Is it Mouse-ear Hawkweed?):

Here's a close-up of one of the flower heads:

I walked up into Clyne Gardens, where these Orange Hawkweeds were growing in the wildflower meadow with their commoner cousins:

There was still plenty of Germander Speedwell in flower in the grassland:

This exotic primula:

had flowers quite similar to the native Red Campion:

Also growing in the wildflower area were these orchids (anyone know the species?):

No, not Niagara Falls, but part of a small waterfall that flows from a pond into a stream which runs through Clyne Gardens:

The brilliant blue of this iris caught my eye:

As did the striking colour combination of yellow primulas and blue irises:

I thought a 'Monet' treatment might suit the subject:

Back to the dunes, where I saw this broomrape species growing:

As I walked back through the suburban streets, I noticed the naturalised Red Valerian decorating the garden walls:

To end on a romantic note (!), this single red rose was drawing attention to itself in the Botanic Gardens of Singleton Park: