Coombe Wood with a friend.

My last few trips to Coombe Wood have involved public transport and too much walking which has aggravated my foot problem so it was a real treat to be driven to and from Coombe Wood by one of my friends yesterday.

Our walk was gentle and in two halves with a welcome break for lunch in the middle.

Tulips - still looking fabulous. 

I've said before how lovely it is to go to Coombe Wood with someone else and how often other people notice things that I haven't noticed. This trip was lovely for a different reason - my friend and I were both saying "Wow - just look at that" and appreciating the same things.

We both commented on the zingy green of the euphorbias which really stands out against the darker greens around them

and the insect-like structures in the two tiered centres

We enthused about the wonderful way ferns uncurl

and admired the way that some of the long arching tulip stems bend so far that the petals rest on the plants underneath. The colours are amazing. Some look as if they have been marbled.

They were all standing so upright and leaning in the same direction towards the sun not long ago but now it looks as if a joyous party is taking place here.

I have been describing these tulips as ragged or frayed - I have discovered that they are actually called fringed hybrids. This one is such a lovely deep red.

Scarlet and crimson combination. 

We noticed how the colour combinations work so well - e.g. the yellow in this tulip is echoed in the primulas and the orange veining on the petals is echoed in the tulips and primulas behind.

How beautiful the twist is where the petals are nearing the stem - not the part of a tulip that we usually look at in detail.

And another one - look at those lovely stripes. 

A mass of orange, red and yellow. 

Fed up with tulips? Something different - Judas tree blossom

Ceanothus - absolutely covered in tiny blue flowers.

Allium buds - and I find myself wanting to know whether the calyx grows in one piece that splits as the bud emerges or if it grows in several individual pieces (sepals).  

Only a few days ago I wondered how new life would emerge from this clump of hollow stems and it is happened so quickly.

Heading for the cafe - yes we're passing the tulips again.

Natures natural curls. 

We had a lovely lunch together then headed back outside again.

My alarm went off, letting me know that it was eye drops time again (every 2 hours since my operation). We stopped in the little hut to sort that out. While we were there we saw the gardener pass by in the distance with one of the hose trolleys.

Blushing young Korean pine cones. 

White blossom covering a tiny shrub. 

Lily of the valley (we both love Lily of the valley). 

Contrasting colours peep through everywhere.  

Beautiful abundance of light green leaves - with buds beginning to show.

A last look at an allium - this seems to be a calyx splitting open, not separate sepals. It looks as if have found the answer to my question.

Thank you very much for joining me. 

Tuesday morning - long walk (including Coombe Wood)

An unexpectedly sunny day - a bus ride and a long walk down to Coombe Wood. I discovered that the bus stop is further away than the tram stop. This path is sandwiched between the road and the tram line.

Yellow gorse flowers and blue sky.

I took a short cut into Coombe Wood through a gap in  the fence.

A pink pool of 'fallen camellias flows across the path. Rhododendron buds are opening everywhere.

 Some of the magnolias are only just opening. 

Bleeding hearts are still opening at the tip of the stem but beginning to fade further towards the centre of the plant.

Gorgeous blossom - deep pink buds opening to pastel pink flowers. 

Aquilegias

Bluebells and buttercups. 

From a distance this tree looks as if it is covered in white blossom

but some of it is delicate pink and the buds are very deep pink.

There's quite a cloud of honesty flowers now. 

These buds look soft like suede. 

Little pink flowers

There are a lot of different shades of pink at the moment.

and the zingy green of new leaves

 Little orange poppies. 

The tulips.

Some of them are quite unruly now - bending stems and wide open flowers.

I know there were loads of tulip photos in my last post but they won't be here for much longer. I continue to be amazed by the colours of individual flowers, the assorted shapes and the amazing combinations of colours which have been put together by the gardener.

Tall and short tulips with colourful underplanting. 

For some obscure reason I ended up walking home - it wasn't my best idea ever as I have a lot of pain in my foot and the long walk didn't help it at all - but it was worth it. On my way home I had a look at the thatched cottage

bluebells

strange little explosions of pine flowers which shower pollen if you touch them

 The little leaves look far too delicate for this tree that has a very wide trunk.

Neatly stacked logs.

 I thought these were droopy leaves till examining the photo - they look like clusters of catkins.

 Mistletoe balls

Variety of trees. 

Laburnum 

 Shirley Windmill. 

 Masses of white fluffy flowers. 

Wisteria.

 Blue flowers in the centre of the dual carriageway. 

Pinky coloured Lilac tree. 

Masses of yellow flowers outside the BP garage. 

Oh my poor foot - but sometimes it's worth it - I'm paying for it today though. 

Thank you very much for joining me.