Sunlight and bright colour (Coombe Wood)

It was misty this morning but the sun had broken through and the mist had cleared by 8.30am when I arrived at Coombe Wood.

Marsh marigolds and skunk cabbage in the sunshine - look how tall the skunk cabbage middles have grown since last time.

Tulips are springing up in the colourful flower beds now.

Marsh marigolds. 

 White fritillaria

Tiny yellow flowers. 

A waist high plant at the top of the little steps is covered in pale pink buds.

Flame-like tulips. 

These have fluffy stems, leaves . . . 

. . . and petals.

Various magnolias and blossom photos follow . . .

These are about daffodil height - with flowers like little yellow hats.

These may be past their best but what lovely colours. 

Big yellow fritillarias

I noticed some red buds on a nearby tree and made a mental note to have a closer look on my way back.

and more red buds on a bare tree a little further along. 

Tiny red flowers covering his little shrub. 

Pink rhododendrons and pink camellias. 

 Honesty flowers.

Big orange fritillarias 

Wood anemones not open yet - a bit early in the day for them.

Acer branches and tender new leaves 

Some plants almost seem to grow while you're looking at them. These are filling out rapidly.

Little buds like white bubbles. 

Pieris  - no wonder this is called "Forest Flame"

Young Copper beech leaves. 

Lily-of-the-valley. 

Strongly scented domes of tiny flowers. 

Red acer

Golden light through the trees.

Someone had made a camellia heart in the middle of the path - I wondered if it was made with fallen camellias - or picked camellias. They looked suspiciously fresh. 

The trees are much less bare now - the light dappling of green increasing each time I visit.

Green acer with flowers. 

Red acer. 

New shoots - very upright - remind me of little candle flames

What a lovely green against the wonderful blue sky. 

 Bleeding hearts. 

 Berberis flowers in the sun. 

Back to get a closer look at the red buds. 

The gardener told me these are poppies coming through the grass.

He was picking up rubbish. 

I think these might be golden rain tree flowers. (I'm not sure if I photographed the right tree - it was done from a distance because I couldn't manage to walk back to check - foot trouble).

Some of the tulips were wide open in the sunshine by the time I got near to the gate.

Orange fritillaria - this is how they usually look. 

This one has a mind of its own and is going for a more casual look.

The gardener was now clearing leaves and fallen blossom. 

This looked like a brown mound from a distance - but new fern stems are about to unfurl.

I've never seen tulips like this before - they look ragged around the edges

and the ragged edges look a bit like pink frost crystals. 

A bee swooping into a flower.

I got a bit carried away with the beauty of these unusual tulips.

Back to the pond - much clearer than last time. 

Thank you very much for joining me.