IT'S enough to make other camera clubs green with envy!

We've always said your pictures deserve the lime-light, but this forest of emeralds is worth a mint (ok, enough puns).

In all seriousness, they say green is the most calming colour and this week's spread of beautiful, natural wonders is definitely having a very soothing effect.

It's also a joy because so many of the photos show off Oxfordshire at its green and pleasant best: Stephen Pimm's shot of a rural road sign being overrun by towering trees feels like a classic Oxfordshire summer scene, and so does Julia Johnson-Fry's snowdrop show at Cuddesdon.

Lots of you will recognise the bizarre bush in Donna Cassettari's shot from the Old Swan at Minster Lovell, and hopefully everyone will recognise Anthony Morris's view of a particularly leafy part of Oxford.

Gordon Craig and Peter Greenway both went slightly more abstract with their 'local colour', Gordon with this saturated shot of water droplets on a leafy shrub in close-up, and Peter with this astonishing shot of what he calls a 'green-eyed monster' – actually local herbage seen through two holes in one of the Rollright Stones near Long Compton.

Gary Newsham and John Parsons both chose actual vegetables for their subject matter, the former with this very arty shot of an (ironically red) onion, and the latter with this mouthwatering montage of veg at Bonners in the Covered Market (now – as we reported this week – sadly the only greengrocer left there).

Lesley Adams gets a special mention this week for her beautiful shot of visitors to a Florida aquarium, silhouetted in their excitement against a glowing emerald backdrop of tropical fish.

Ian White managed to one-up Lesley in the exotic stakes, however, with this shot of an actual Chinese panda tucking into a leafy bamboo banquet at Chongqing Zoo.

Well, we thought we were having a lot of fun with this colours business, but it seems one or two of you on Facebook have reached saturation point.

With that in mind, we will give you a break and for next week's theme hand over the reins to club member Lesley Adams!

She emailed in this week, suggesting we might try a challenge she came across in a beginners' photography course she took a few years ago – 'letters and numbers'.

As Lesley explained, 'Basically you are looking for a number or letter in everyday objects or places, that are not obviously a number or letter'.

The 'T' of a lamppost, the 'S' of a cat's tail or the 'V' in a flock of migrating birds are some obvious examples, but if you can find a 'Q' or a 'Z' we'll be very impressed!

Scrabble points apply. Happy spelling!

WIN £25

Join our Camera Club – which now has 390 members – by visiting facebook.com and searching for Oxford Mail Camera Club, which is sponsored by Jessops.

You could win a £25 cash prize for the best picture. See tomorrow’s Oxford Mail for this week’s winner.