Cold toes at Coombe Wood

I doubt if I'll manage many more walks in flip flops (if any) - my toes were freezing this morning! After many unusually warm sunny October days it was dull and chilly this morning. I was there quite a bit earlier than usual which added to the chill in the air. 

Contrast of curly crunchy brown leaves against bright variegated cyclamen leaves

What a change from a couple of days ago - no orange and red on this plant this morning, just fading green and brown. I wondered how much sunlight might change the colour.

Daisies tumbling over a bank. 

Poke berries. 

Some are quite shrivelled now. 

The remaining red leaves on this little acer remind me of Impressionist flecks of paint dotted around.

Pretty little leaves. 

Callicarpa berries - rightly called Beauty Berries. 

An inviting walkway - shame the grass was so wet - it made my feet even colder!

I love the way these leaves change colour - veins staying pale while the rest of the leaf goes through a riot of colour...

unlike the ferns which just fade. 

These were bright red and orange a couple of days ago. 

For the last few weeks there have been a lot of little feathers around. It's the time of year when some birds moult and then grow new feathers before migrating for the winter.

Possibly Euonymus europaeus "Red Cascade". Red cascade certainly seems like a good name for the spindle berries on this small tree.

This is probably another Euonymis - but I don't know which variety. It has pale flowers which blush pink and then release their threads - from each one a bright red blob (very technical) that looks like watermelon dangles down with a shiny dark seed protruding.

While some areas of the herbaceous border are dying back or have been cut back this area is still vibrant and overflowing with colour and life.

A little insect came and sat on the base of my thumb.

I had to blow on it quite hard to make it leave! It had quite a strong grip (fortunately with it's feet not biting!) 

The water drop hanging from the spent dahlia flower looks like honey or golden syrup. 

In a very dull corner I noticed a very red acer which had previously been hidden by other shrubs in front of it but now that so many of the leaves in front have fallen, the red showed through and enticed me closer.

The sky had cleared and a shaft of sunlight broke through the trees lighting up the top of the Liquid Amber tree.

The gardener has made huge progress with the planting since I was here two days ago.

 That's very odd - I thought the he had already planted that semi-circle in the middle.

 The sunlight was breaking through lower down and lighting up these tiny orange flowers.

A partly planted flower bed with board in place to work from.

The gardener at work. This must be absolutely backbreaking and in a month or so he will go back over it all again putting in the bulbs between all of these plants.

The gardener explained that he had planted that semi-circle on the top bed but had reconsidered the planting colours etc. and had taken them out again and was planting them in this bed (making it even more backbreaking with the extra work involved) That's dedication! Other people might have just left them where they were because of the work involved in moving them.

Thank you very much for joining me.