Berries. seeds and leaves at Coombe Wood.

This morning the sun was shining and the sky was a lovely pastel blue. I headed to Coombe Wood for a walk. The winter sun was low and the light occasionally spilled through the gaps in the trees illuminating random plants.

Pine needles on the rough surface of the gunnera leaf give an idea of how huge the leaves are.

The leaf that is caught on the railings looks like an old torn rag hanging there - but it doesn't feel like fabric - it's very brittle.

It looked as if pond weed tips were breaking the surface of the pond . . .  

Focusing on the reflections. 

Focusing on the "pond weed" which turned out to be bubbles - probably coming from decomposing leaf material at the bottom of the pond.

 

Wonderful clusters of bright green bubbles.

The other side of the pond was much clearer, giving good reflections.

Berries

Tiny almost insignificant flowers. 

All that's left of the eryngiums. 

Remains of the Ladies Mantle leaves. The backs of the leaves are very soft and downy.

The edge of the leaves look as if they have been cut with pinking shears.

Little clumps of leaves have caught in the shrub beneath.

Some of the grassy seed heads are still going strong.

 Tiny droplets of water like little diamonds. 

Fluffy seeds 

A shaft of sunlight illuminated one of the last trees to be losing its leaves.

 One of the cats wandered across and sat in the pool of sunlit fallen leaves.

 Close up of the colourful leaves. 

These callicarpa berries are deeper purple than they look in my photos.

A few berries are different colours. One red berry on this branch. 

Most of the leaves have fallen from this tree revealing masses of big clusters of berries.

A beam of light transformed the brown leaves . 

More leaves lit up on the ground. 

Acer seeds against the blue sky. 

A carpet of dark brown decomposing leaves with freshly fallen leaves on top.

The unusual witch hazel flowers. 

Camelia buds. 

The new bench has been put in. 

I took a slightly longer route - I thought there might be mushrooms by the big log - no mushrooms - but I did discover the first snowdrops.

Someone has left some flowers - I have seen flowers here several times. There are a couple of places around the gardens where people leave memorial flowers. It's a lovely place to come to remember a loved one.

I've been checking the places where there were mushrooms and fungus last year. There haven't been as many this year and any that I have seen haven't been in the same places as before. These are about a metre further back than they were last year. They were the size of dinner plates the year before last. Last year and this year they're as big as saucers.

This was a leafy tunnel a little while ago. Now one side is bare.

Magnolia buds. 

Blue sky.

I've seen all sorts of things in the hole in the big beech tree - toys, easter eggs, pine cones, pebbles etc. but never branches.

 Mistletoe. 

 Clusters of pink seeds. 

I was taking photos of the moss on the corrugated roof of the long shelter when I noticed tiny fragile fungi . . .

and little dark plum coloured berries nestling among the moss.

Love-in-a-mist pod 

Water droplets on furry sage leaves. 

Such a lot of different greens and textures. 

Across the road at the edge of the other car park bright yellow gorse flowers have opened.

Thank you very much for joining me. 

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