I’m delighted to be hosting the Sunday Stills photography challenge while host Terri Webster Schrandt is away.
This week’s theme: In The Garden
What do you think of when you hear the words ‘In the garden’? I think of beautiful living things that I saw in the public gardens and my small herb garden. Let me share a few photos, all captured with my cell phone, with you and #CellpicSunday.
Butterflies
Bees and butterflies are buzzing in the gardens in August here. Photographing butterflies has taught me to be patient. I received a few rewards for my patience.
Birdhouses
It’s a delight to find painted birdhouses in the gardens. Art and nature together.
Roses
In the summer, I like to visit the Rose garden at Exhibition Place. The staff take good care of rose varieties and other flowering plants here. At peak blossom time, the roses are beautiful and their scent is lovely. This year, I was happy to see the Shrine Peace Memorial fountain and smaller fountains in the Rose garden turned back on after a long lockdown.
Tomatoes
This spring I grew a small herb garden of sweet basil, chives, mint, oregano, rosemary, sage and thyme. There was space left in the centre of the planter box so I added cherry and plum tomato plants. Here come the tomatoes.
Those are a few lovely things I saw in the gardens. I’m looking forward to seeing all your entries for this week’s Sunday Stills photography challenge.
I’ll be hosting Sunday Stills again in the next two weeks. Next week’s theme is ‘Afloat’. Have a wonderful week!
How to participate in the Sunday Stills photography challenge
- Please create a new post for the theme.
- Title the post a little differently than mine.
- Enter the link party by clicking on the blue InLinkz button below.
- If you’re on WordPress, remember to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post. I also recommend adding your post’s URL into the comments.
- Entries for this theme can be shared all week (not just on a Sunday).
- Use the hashtag #SundayStills for sharing on social media.
Copyright © 2023 natalietheexplorer.home.blog – All rights reserved.
Natalie the Explorer 
Lovely garden images. I’ve linked my post to yours. Good to find your blog through Sunday Stills 🙂
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Thank you, Cathy, for your visit and comment. I’ll visit your blog shortly.
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Beautiful photos. I especially like the ones birdhouses. I don’t see those often which is a darned shame.
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Thank you, Ally. There are quite a few handmade birdhouses in the public gardens that I go to.
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Love all the gorgeous gardens, but it made me especially happy to hear that you have your own little garden. One more thing we have in common 🙂
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We do have a few things in common 🙂 I keep the garden small for less maintenance this summer.
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These are beautiful photos, Natalie. I love the butterflies and the bird houses.
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Thank you, Dan. I saw a wider variety of butterflies this summer than last summer. The birdhouses are nice surprises. I often see new birdhouses but have never met the artist(s).
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THanks for hosting Natalie. Great photos. I love butterflies too. I don’t often see a huge variety here where we live, I wish we had monarchs. We do have some beautiful yellow ones though.
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Hi Kirstin, I see a wider variety of butterflies in my area this summer. Monarch butterflies and Cabbage White are common here.
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Thanks for adding to the Cellpic Sunday challenge. I see that I am remiss in not contributing to the #SundayStills challenge. I am looking forward to following your posts in my reader.
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Thank you, John, for your visit and comment. I use my cellphone to take photos and am glad that you host Cellpic Sunday. Sunday Stills photo challenge is on all week. Feel free to join us any time this week, or next week’s theme is Afloat. Have a great week!
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Thanks! I will try to tie in with Cellpic Sunday’s posts whenever I can.
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Great garden images. I love the butterflies and birdhouses particularly. Here’s mine for this one: https://grahamsisland.com/2021/08/22/in-a-tropical-garden/
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Thank you, Graham, for your visit and comment. I saw a wider variety of butterflies this summer than last summer. The birdhouses are nice surprises. I often see new birdhouses but have never met the artist(s).
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Thank you for hosting #SundayStills while Terri is away. I love your theme, and your photos. Your butterflies, flowers, birdhouses, fountain statue, and fresh growing vegetables are gorgeous. Most of all, they remind me that summer is still here!
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Hi Donna, I’ve had a fun-filled summer so far and would like to extend it 🙂 I hope you’re having a lot of fun with family and friends’ visits. Keep your photos coming.
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Lovely captures from the garden! Butterflies sure test your patience 🙂
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Thank you, Maria, for your visit and comment. The butterflies are so pretty so I don’t mind waiting 🙂
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Wow! Your photographs are stunning, Natalie. I love the butterflies. This year, the bumble bees have replaced our butterflies. The bumblers are everywhere! Thanks for sharing with us.
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Thank you Jill for your compliment. In my area, the Red Admiral and Mourning Cloak butterflies are less common than the Monarch and Cabbage White butterflies. A lot of bumble bees here, too. I try not to disturb the bees 🙂 Have a wonderful week!
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So beautiful. Why I sooooo miss my zoom lens. I’d love to replace it, but my nikon is about 10 years old, so it would cost the same to replace the whole camera with a newer lens than to buy the old one. Sigh… either way, too expensive for me. Took me almost that long just to save enough to replace the computer.
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Thank you, Bear, for your comment. I use my phone camera for all my blog photos. I like its light weight and portability. I accept that sometimes I won’t get a good photo without a good zoom lens.
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WOW! I’ve not managed really great photos with my phone, they tend to pixelate too much when I blow them up. I’m pretty sure it’s the resolution. You must have an Ipnone. I hear they’re better. I have a cheapy tracphone.
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I have an old iphone, at least three generations older than what’s recently offered on the market.
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Oh what beautiful butterflies and flowers Natalie, you have captured the garden perfectly with all the action and beauty going on. https://debs-world.com/2021/08/22/going-gaga-in-the-garden-for-sundaystills/
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Lots of activities and beauty in the gardens Debbie. I think the butterflies and bees are stocking up for the next season. A variety of flowers seems to take turn to display their best every week.
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Hello Natalie, great to see your images. I wish I could get great close ups of butterflies! I went back in time for my post. Thank you for hosting. Denyse
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Hi Denyse, I was happy to photograph these butterflies when they were busy. The first two are less common than the Monarch and Cabbage White butterflies. Thank you for linking up.
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Beautiful pictures of butterflies. I have only captured such pictures in my mind. Purple cone flowers, Monarch butterflies and tomatoes are three of my favorite things! And I love your thought that art and nature go together. That they do!
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Thank you, Betty, for your comment. I’m glad my photos match three of your favourite things. Nature is beautiful and colourful at this time of the year. Have a wonderful week!
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What a beautiful living garden! I especially love the butterflies! I get a few in my garden but not usually when I have my camera handy! I better at capturing the bees. 🙂 Here’s my offering for Sunday Stills. https://catsandtrailsandgardentales.com/2021/08/22/whats-in-my-garden/
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Thank you, Susanne, for your visit and comment. I was happy to photograph the butterflies when they were busy. I see a lot of bees, too and try not to disturb them 🙂
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Lovely captures, especially of those flowers with butterflies and the rose garden 🙂
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Thank you, Hammad, for your visit and comment. I was thrilled to see the Red Admiral and Mourning Cloak butterflies as they’re less common than the Monarch and Cabbage white butterflies. The roses are easier to photograph as they don’t flit 🙂 May I ask how you found my blog?
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Reached you via Cee Neuner’s FOTD 🙂
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That’s great to know, thank you. You’re welcome to join this week’s Sunday Stills any time before Saturday. I’m also hosting the next two Sunday Stills and my weekly Weekend Coffee Share. I’ll visit your blog shortly.
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You are most welcome 🙂
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Your pictures are wonderful! I have yet to find the patience to photograph a butterfly… they flit about so much. I love the birdhouses too.
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Thank you, Janis, for your compliment. I was lucky these butterflies were busy with the flowers and didn’t seem to notice me. The birdhouses are nice surprises. I often see new ones and have yet to meet the people who hang them or create them.
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What beautiful butterflies!
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Their colours and patterns are attractive.
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Need to gather the prompts for August so I can join you at the end of the month. Beautiful photos, Natalie. Had never heard of a cabbage butterfly until PC told me that his mom would give them a nickel for killing each one in her vegetable garden when he was a child. Sad!! But I guess they can be pesky to gardeners maybe? Our butterflies were very late this year. We are just seeing them now…maybe because of the rain we’ve had in August?
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Thank you, Leslie, for your compliment about my photos. I think the Cabbage White butterflies get the name from their colouring. They seem harmless to me. Sad to hear PC’s mom gave them the death sentence. I’d love for you to join Sunday Stills. Next week’s theme is Afloat. The challenge is on the whole week from Sunday to Saturday so you can post and link up any time during the week.
P.S. I replied to your email. No problem if you don’t have time to write back. Just want to let you know in case my email was lost and you thought I didn’t reply.
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Thank you for hosting this week Natalie. I’m a little behind as we’ve been away but here’s a rather large garden for you: https://www.toonsarah-travels.blog/in-for-a-penny-a-visit-to-kew-gardens/
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Hi Sarah, Sunday Stills photo challenge is on for the whole week so you’re not behind. Kew Gardens look beautiful. I love your photos and the palette of colours that you chose for your album.
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Hey Natalie!
Here’s a not-so-old post from me about gardens. I’m sure you will like it 🙂
https://hammadrais.blog/2021/05/12/lens-artists-challenge-in-the-gardens-of-wonderment/
Have a nice day 🙂
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Hi Hammad, Beautiful gardens in Dubai and Pakistan! Thank you for your virtual tours and for your participation in Sunday Stills photo challenge. Have a great day!
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Your patience paid off indeed. The butterfly photos are beautiful. I don’t have a garden, but am definitely enjoying the bounty and beauty of those around me.
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Thank you, Christie, for your comment. I go to public gardens and keep a small herb and tomato garden at home. Perhaps you have photos from a garden visit to share with us. Sunday Stills photo challenge is on until Saturday night.
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Cabbage Whites are so hard to photograph, especially with a cell phone camera. They hardly ever seem to rest!
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Yes, Cabbage Whites are restless. It’s much easier to photograph Monarch butterflies. Thank you, Dar, for stopping by. Have a great weekend!
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Hi Natalie. Our backyard garden attracts lots of butterflies, bees, and birds, including a pair of hummingbirds that return year after year. This year, Rob built me a raised garden bed for veggies. I’ve harvested lots of lettuce, Chinese greens, cucumbers and zucchini. The carrots also grew well, and I am thrilled that the eggplant has produced one four-inch fruit. I also keep containers on my deck for herbs, flowers and tomatoes.
Jude
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Hi Jude, Your backyard garden sounds wonderful. Such a nice treat to have the pair of hummingbirds every year. They’re fun to watch. I’m impressed by your vegetable variety and how much you’ve harvested. Well done!
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