A Coombe Wood walk - colour, detail and stripes

Pinky purples

Pink and purple

The fabulous clematis middles look as if the stamens have been dipped in ink. I like the water droplets on the veined petals too

This middle of this one looks like crazy tentacles waving

These delicate white flowers have flamboyant bubbly centres . . .

 . . . with a spray of curled pink bursting from them

The gardener was cutting hedges and trees - you can just see him in the distance cutting an oval shaped shrub. The weeping willow isn't weeping quite as much now

Spiders webs covered in water droplets

Little bottle brush shaped flowers in various colours

A closer look

A different kind of flower but still tiny

A splash of colour - bright orange and red

and pink against purple

Buds looking quite alien as they open

Among the wild flowers - I had taken this photo before noticing the green beetle

Looking closer at the shiny beetle

When taking photos sometimes I don't notice the insects till later. It's easy to think that anything with black and yellow stripes is a bee but I now know there are lots of different black and yellow stripy insects - although I can't tell the difference yet. One is near the top left hand side flower nearest to us and the other is hovering in the bottom right hand corner. There's also a little black bug on the top right flower

 Big bees - rummaging among the pollen

Wild carrot

One very pale poppy with delicately veined petals among all the bright red ones

Hydrangea with all the little bits bursting open

Hose reel with a bit of history

Seeing double

The flowers of the "Beauty Berry" plant - almost as amazing as the berries that will follow

Flower like a little pink dome of fluff

 Pink rose

Agapanthus buds

Fiery red

Greeny yellows

Spiky hairdo

A different black and yellow stripy insect

Lovely blues

More stripes

This insect has wide dark stripes and a yellow strip running around the edge

Strange flowers

 Pink poppy 

Very regular stamen pattern thrown out by a curl of petal

Bee coming in to land

 Look at those pollen paniers on the bees back legs

I thought this was a photo of two bees in a poppy when I took it but when I looked closer I noticed a green beetle crawling out from behind a petal near the top bee

Even a fly looks amazing close up - even though they are annoying!

Tiny flowers full of rain drops, with rhino/unicorn horn-like unopened part of the flower spike

Raindrops on delicately veined bells

Hovering stripy insect with very long legs

Bright colours

What is it that I particularly like about these? I think at this stage of their development it's the contrast between the delicate pastel veined interiors and the stronger orange exteriors of each little flower.

The pond - looking very clear today

Thank you very much for joining me.