Yesterday - Coombe Wood in the sunshine

Sunlight on the beech leaves - giving them halos. 

The big clump of matted fluffy bulrush seeds has slipped down the stem.

These are still hanging on - gargoyle-like

Primula by the pond

Faded tulips and empty stems - the underplanting still looks lovely.

Almost all of the pink and white tulips have dropped their petals revealing the rich carpet of pink and white.

Wisteria

Baby grapes?

Lupin.

When I set off I thought this walk was going to be on my own but I received a message - and to my surprise and pleasure my lovely friend was going to join me. We are on the same wavelength so the walk was an absolute delight. 

Gorgeous lines and wrinkles and fading colours  

Cistus always look as if they need ironing - love the crinkles!

Soft pink rhododendron 

Little creature on these tiny blue flowers - a little beetle with long legs and antennae.

Pink cistus

Look at the gorgeous middle - they seem almost luminous.

We waked up the path by the little stream, stopping often to look closer at the plants. The shrub at the top of the steps is covered in white flowers.

The green of this acer against that blue sky - wow! 

My friend suddenly decided to lie under the alliums and look up at them - she's a lot more flexible than I am! She liked what she saw and took a photo on her phone - which inspired me to get down much lower and photograph from underneath - we loved the purple against the blue sky.

The Judas tree looks pretty spectacular against that deep blue too.

Yellow rhodondendron. 

All around us we noticed different colours peeping through. Here - three big white blooms with red freckles with some bright red showing behind them.

Acer with winged seeds hanging below it - and a neat row of alliums at different stages of opening.

The Korean pine cones developing - the tops looked purple.

Palm flowers - my friend commented that they look like beaks - yes, I think they look a bit like toucans.

Looking closer.

Sumach tree - fabulous leaves against the lovely blue.....what a beautiful day it was.

The pink and cream bells that I had seen at Kew - and there had been a name tag on it. I've forgotten what they were.

New flowers intermingled with seed pods from last year. 

The yellow azaleas filled the air with a woody, honeysuckle -like scent.

Pink rhododendrons. 

The heart shaped leaves are growing rapidly. 

Like a drone hovering over us! 

Lovely contrast - sunlit white agaisnt that blue. 

Sunlight on the big pink blossom. 

This tree will have huge leaves - at the moment the soft downy flowers are blooming.

Red! 

Yellow and green - spring fresh colours! 

Pink with dark freckles. 

Stamens close up. 

One pink rhododendron flower had landed on the yellow azaleas.

Peachy azaleas. 

This huge rhododendron tree is covered in blooms. 

Looking up. 

Oak leaves in the sun. 

We went to the top of the hill - past long rows of yellow scented azaleas. I really appreciated having some help to make it down again!

Diagonal stripes of colour. 

Buds, almost brick coloured - beoming yellow tinged peachy flowers.

Acer seeds in the sunlight. Many photos were taken - the breeze kept blowing and the shadows and light patches were ever changing. We both liked the way the sun shone through the tiny winged seeds making them look like pink stained glass.

Sunlight through white rhododendrons

and other white flowers - these are tiny. 

Spindle berry flowers. 

More purple alliums. 

A single white one. 

These are amazing - so many colours on one little shrub - from rasberry through to white with splashes of cream and lemon in between.

Some of the flowers are extremely pale. 

We headed back towards the entrance because I was meeting my daughter and her mother-in-law at midday. My friend headed off. What a lovely walk that had been!

My daughter and her mum-in-law joined me for a walk around the rhododendrons. The light had changed quite a bit because it was quite a while since my friend and I had been around that way. The sun spotlit different plants and flowers - I took a few more photos.

Dark bee (?) on lime green leaves. 

The gardener was cutting the edge of the lawn. 

Pretty little white flowers with pinstripes towards the centres.

The grape vine really showed up well in the sun. 

We had lunch together in the Coach House Cafe....quite a long wait but worth it!

A special thank you to my friend, and to my daughter and her mother-in-law for their company. 

And thank you for joining me.