Catching up - Coombe Wood walk 26th June.

A walk with my sister from Newquay. 

The waterlily leaves were ruffled up

Dragonflies/damselflies were darting around far too fast to be photographed but a group of fish were very still - basking at the end of the pond.

These white flowers have amazing middles - like an explosion of tiny fireworks! The shadows of the middle on the petal are pretty amazing as well. I like the little touches of pink too,

The Silk Tree leaves have opened a lot more since my last visit.

Looking closer at right pink salvia. The big petal at the bottom is like silk - the little top bit is hairy and sparkly with two little protruberances - the top one longer and curled upwards. (Aren't flowers incredible when you look closer!) 

Probably a hebe - the first flowers beginning to open.

Silvery blue sea holly flowers.

My sister noticed several of these little tangled meshes of spiders webs, threads catching the light.

I love these tiny lilac coloured flowers - just tight little buds at the moment - and I've forgotten what they're called again! (I do this every year!)

Golden rain tree flowers, like a soft halo around the tree. 

Yellow flowers in the prairie planting - tightly clustered.

Looking closer at quaking grass again - funny how sometimes photos of  rounded things look as if they are concave.There's a couple of seeds (right side of photo) that I think look as if they dip inwards.

Beauty berry flowers (callicarpa) 

So many different shades of green.

Hydrangea - beginning to open round the edge.

Cornus changing colour

We sat in the shade for a while. The smoke bush - leaves and misty looking flowers above us lit by the sun.

I got a bit carried away trying to photograph the flowery bit....

The gardener must have been hot in hte full sun digging. planting and watering. 

 The peculiar flowers of the spindleberry tree. 

Grapes getting bigger. 

Another gorgeous colour combination - pink roses and purple clematis in the background.

Thank you very much for joining me. 

Catching up - 23rd June - Coombe Wood walk

Another beautiful sunny day....

Everything is so green and the giant gunnera leaves by the pond are growing rapidly.

 The beds by the gate have been planted now. 

Coleus (coleuses?) with big colourful leaves surrounded by little pink begonias and geraniums with dark leaves which are delicately edged with light green - buds showing but no flowers yet. 

 Grapes - still very small

Roses with the slightest hint of pink. 

Tiny plants in the alpine trough. "Jewel of Desert Garnet" (Ice plant)

Recently restocked flowerbeds flourishing. 

Tall stems with domes of bristly silvery blue flowers cupped in thin spikey leaves. (Sea holly - Eryngium.)

Tiny red acer seeds.

Wandering around the prairie planting, amazed at how much all of these plants have sprung up.

This rattles in the breeze and reminds me of a film I love - Field of Dreams.

Someone has "decorated" the hut with leaves.

Korean pine cones in the sun. 

New banana leaf about to begin to unfold - perfect twisty pattern.

Gorgeous big acer.

Spindle berries developing.

Hydrangea buds. 

Inviting pathways. 

Pinky white flowers.

Looking closer at the anthers - little coffee-bean-like structures which look as if they split open and turn inside out to reveal their pollen. (Is that what they do? Is that what all anthers do?)

The cornus tree is absolutely covered in "flowers" - barely any leaves showing. The white "petals" are actually bracts - the real flowers are tiny and they're all over the bobble in the middle.

Wonderful colour!  

The tufty plant in the middle was a creamy colour last time I visited.

Bleeding hearts (Lamprocapnos spectabilis - I think!)  

A different variety of spindle berries - a lot of these still have their thick fleshy petals on.

More sea holly. There are more leaves on this variety and they aren't as thin and spikey.

A gorgeous colour combination. 

and another! 

These have a big central flower stem with lots of little flower stems surrounding it. 

A bundle of allium heads. 

I remembered what these were called the other day but not today. I think they're gorgeous! Not a very good photo but I wanted to include it because I love these and because of the shiny green beetle clinging onto a petal.

Oh no - seed pods - I love the seed pods but that means I've missed the huge red poppies! That's a shame. 

Aquilegias - what an unusual colour! 

Sunflowers

Little yellow californian poppy peeping from a group of alliums that are all being swallowed up in the surrounding growth of ferns etc.

A corner of leafy growth. Looking closer there's quite a variety of tiny flowers.

Various salvias etc. among all the feathery greenery.

These are just beginning to show their delicate flowers. 

Fluffy bulrushes

Waterlily

Back home again doing a bit of gardening - an interesting insect (some sort of hoverfly?) on an iris stem in the pond.

Thank you very much for joining me.