I was walking along a stretch of the Grantham Canal this morning and spotted several white campions (Silene latifolia) in flower in the darkest depths of December. Today is the shortest day of the year – I had previously thought it was always the 21st December but my Woodland Trust calendar assured me it was the 22nd this year and, thanks to the intricacies of leap-years, they are right!
It was 7:50am and still half an hour before sunrise on a very blustery morning which meant that the flowers were disinclined to stay still long enough for the camera to capture a crisp image in the dawn twilight. Fortunately sometimes, misfortune turns to your favour and I am rather pleased with the results. The darkest day of the year, when the available daylight is at its lowest ebb, must be one of the most inhospitable times for a flower to flourish and I think something of that is captured in these images.
Another Country Diary 