LITTLE ARTY JOURNEYS: Raindrops and grey sky (Coombe Wood)

This morning, although it wasn't raining, the pavement was wet and the sky was grey. The weather must have put people off because it was nearly 10 o'clock when I arrived but the car park was almost empty.

Some of the ferns are turning gorgeous shades of orangey brown and raindrops were still sitting on many of the plants like jewels

and dripping from red shiny rosehips.

Pools of water had collected in the spoon shaped variegated berberis leaves.

The eryngium I photographed the other day has one leaf that has become even more skeletonised.

Tiny red acer seeds.

I was surprised how bristly the middle of a cone flower is next to the wet pink petals which were like silk.

Raindrops on delicate stems.

A couple of bumble bees looked bedraggled and drowsy. When I got home I read about the life cycle of bumble bees and found out that it's about this time of year that they're coming to the end of their lives.

One of the yellow flowers had a cluster of petals sticking out of the wrong place.

There's such a difference between the soft pink stems of these flowers and the vivid pink of the stems when the seed pods are more formed.

An assortment of yellow flowers in different stages of development.

The breeze had dried the raindrops on some of the flowers.

But others held onto them for longer.

This flower has an extra curl.

Three leaning grass stems wore raindrops like a trail of diamonds.

Masses of floaty flowers and grasses, many bowed low with the weight of the raindrops.

I didn't notice that there was a dragonfly on the middle flower at the top until I looked at my photos on the computer when I got home.

Abutilon flower which looked as if someone or something had ripped the top off - but it gave me the chance to get a better look at the middle.

Beautyberries (callicarpa) turning more purple each time I see them.

Starry shaped seed pods.

Water drops.

Leaves collecting under the rhododendrons.

Water droplets on the branches of a young tree which has a fence around it to protect it from the deer, which sometimes wander in the gardens and snack on the plants.

The top branch of this acer has turned red - the rest is still quite green.

Delicate buds.

Drips on heart shaped leaves.

I was expecting to see buds on this plant but there were berries or seed pods forming, each one has a pointy spike sticking up on top,

A little further on there was a shrub with buds and seed pods on.

This plant died quite a while ago but the leaves are a fabulous colour.

Spindle berries beginning to blush red.

A tangle of purple flowers.

Yellow flowers against what were once pink plumes high above the other flowers - now bowed low with dripping seed pods.

More pinky plumes bowed down with raindrops hanging on the seeds pods

More and more flowers with starry middles - they keep on coming . . .

. . . just look at them all.

This bee was more lively than the bumble bees earlier on.

Pink cosmos flowers - every time I see them they amaze me with their deep pink ring radiating from that yellow starry centre.

Happy bees - good to see them buzzing about. I understand bees live longer than bumble bees.

One of the cats jumped up onto the sundial.

Raindrops still on these leaves.

Big patches of the short bright yellow flowers have died and turned brown.

Other areas are still bright.

It looks as if the gardener has cut the top flowers that have turned to seed odd the sundlowers to allow the flowers lower down the stems to flourish.