On the Garden Wall by Robert Bateman

On the Garden Wall by Robert Bateman

 Fringilla coelebs

 

Published in 1985

 

"This old garden wall has been colonized by native lichens which gradually develop over the decades. More recently an 'escaped' nasturtium has taken over the wall in a more flamboyant way. This is a plant that brings back many happy memories for me of summers in the country and the flower gardens of farmers' wives. With it go the sounds of cows and barn swallows and the smell of fresh milk and new mown hay.

"The chaffinch is one of the commonest garden birds, filling a similar ecological niche to North America's chipping sparrow. I enjoy the soft gray and peachy buff which harmonize with the sharp black, white and yellow of the plumage." - R. Bateman