Sunday 11 October 2015

Blooming Marvelous

Last year Guernsey celebrated 50 years of the Royal Horticultural Society's Britain in Bloom competition with this stamp set featuring some of the Channel Island's recent Gold Award winners.  From small village to city throughout the British Isles there are flowers blooming in every imaginable size and shape of container and patch of ground, bringing colour and nature into the built environment and perhaps hoping for a prize.
Top L to R we have the capital of Guernsey, St Peter Port and its marina and then two views from the island of Hern, White House View and the Mermaid Tavern.
They have not announced the winners for 2015 but the place featured on the bottom left stamp, St Pierre du Bois, is in the running for the coastal prize. The bottom middle stamp is St Martin's Church and lastly the Albion Tavern in St Peter Port whose claim to fame is that it is the closest Public House to a church in the British Isles. A perfect example of  how to locate a pub, head for the church spire and you will find a pub nearby.  I suspect your eye will be more taken by the postbox.  The stamp images were photographed by the clematis nurseryman and breeder Raymond Evison  (his clematis display won a gold medal at this year's Chelsea Flower Show).

Nature can put on a show without any human intervention, I have my own favourite place for the next flower which bloom in abundance around a pond in a hollow on a local fellside,
the Flag Iris or to give it its sunday name of Siberian Sword Lilly. This is one of Liechtenstein's 2014 definitive series featuring Bog Flowers. in German, a word that rolls off the tongue, Moorblumen

An entry to Sunday Stamps II, this weeks theme - Flowers - see more growing here   

4 comments:

FinnBadger said...

You're right, my eye was drawn to the post box. An unusual color - are they all blue in Guernsey?

I think irises are amazing flowers, and the one on the stamp is no exception.

Bob Scotney said...

I liked the Guernsey set but the Liechenstein iris is really beautiful.

Joy said...

Yes all the postboxes in Guernsey are blue (except the historic one which retains the red) it's a nice shade isn't it. . I could be wrong but I think they all became blue on postal independence.

VioletSky said...

Oh my goodness, but these stamps are so lovely! This makes me want to visit even more!
And irises are a sentimental favourite of mine.