Irises, acers etc. (Coombe Wood)

It was a dull, cold morning and I had things to do before going to Coombe Wood so by the time I got there, unlike my early Bank Holiday Monday walk, quite a lot of other people were already there.

The pond looked a bit clearer than it has done for a while but I heard a child ask the adult he was with what was floating on the surface of the water. The man said he thought it was when the leaves fell in the pond and they didn't decompose it left little bits floating on the surface. I was amused to hear the child reply saying that they didn't agree and they thought it was called duckweed.

The hops are already making their way across the wire around the arch

Raindrops on flowers

Silvery leaves from above

Closer

Prairie planting springing into life

This is the allium that was bowed down low on a previous visit - standing upright now

Many love-in-a-mist flowers have opened - some of the white ones have smudges of blue around the centre

Collections of water on waxy leaves

"Quaking grass" - an ornamental grass with seed-heads that look like dangling hearts - they shimmer in the breeze

On the central stem in this photo the seeds are still small and tightly packed

Palm flowers opening

Strange looking clusters of flowers 

Even closer

Colourful tiny flowers with multicoloured stamens and anthers

As I walk descriptions of what I'm seeing pop into my mind. The wind and rain has battered the rhododendrons and many of the petals have fallen onto the ground. The phrase "flower strewn pathways" came into my head 

and I remembered a poem with that phrase in.....

God has not promised skies ever blue.

Flower strewn pathways all our lives through;

God has not promised sun without rain,

Joy without sorrow, peace without pain.

But God has promised strength for the day, 

Rest for the labour, light for the way.

Grace for the trials, help from above,

Unfailing sympathy, undying love.

(Annie Johnson Flint) 

Bronze leaf next to green leaves on the same twig

Pink rhododendron

Pink tinged acer seeds

Creamy acer seeds

Pale green acer seeds

Green and orange leaves on the same tree - with pale translucent seeds

More flower strewn pathways

Raspberry coloured rhododendrons - with a pool of petals underneath it

Yet another different combination of acer leaf and seed colours

and another

Cornus

Gardener at work in the wide flower bed

Standing under the beech tree with a canopy of leaves hanging down like a veil

View from under the tree, in a different direction

Several patches of grass in the wild flower area have been cleared and little clumps of quaking grass have been planted

White allium

By the time I came around the other end of the lawn and wide borders the gardener had moved over to work on the edge of the border

More irises are opening - some unusual colours

among many purple ones 

Looking closer at a purple one - a little pool of water has collected on the bearded part of the bearded iris, pushing the little hairs aside

A white flower with lilac edges

Peony bud. Why do ants like peonies? I don't think I have ever managed to photograph a bud or open peony without an ant on it

A pair of ducks were swimming on the pond - unperturbed by the exuberant children just the other side of the fence around the pond

Gunnera to the right of the picture

Thank you very much for joining me