Arty journeys...

LITTLE ARTY JOURNEYS . . . LOOKING CLOSER, SEEING DEEPER.

Tuesday 28 August 2018

Dull Tuesday morning (Coombe Wood walk)

It was very overcast this morning but the flower beds near the entrance still looked very colourful.

Tiny blue flowers with flecks of white. 

Fuchsias

The water level was a little lower today and the duckweed was held back at the little waterfall.

The grape vine is clambering high through the trees.

The little white flowers I photographed the other day - from a different angle.

 Asters (?) 

From below

 Intense red.

Closer

Grasses

 Golden seed heads

Sedums


Bee

Plants are spilling out over the paths among the prairie beds but I still managed to get among the plants by staying on the paths that are still accessible.

Looking closer






Round to the banana trees and the bunch of tiny bananas that were to the right of this flower are missing. I wonder where they have gone. (Having looked closer at the photo I took the other day it is possible that the tiny bananas are actually hiding behind the open petal.)

Callicarpa berries darkening. 

Tiny white flowers which have just come out were attracting the hoverflies (I believe that's what they are).



Cyclamen

The candyfloss tree is changing colour fast. 



 Australian pine tree looking very healthy. 

 Acer seeds. 

Little white flowers like bells coming from pink buds. 

Spindle berries beginning to open. 


I've never seen so many spindleberries on this little tree before. (I noticed that a branch has been recently cut off).

I' had heard the sound of a machine in the distance for quite a while - eventually I glimpsed the gardener's green T-shirt and yellow ear defenders through the tall plants in the herbaceous border where he was trimming the hedge.

 A waterfall of flowers 

Tiny yellow flowers

The grapes around the notice board are changing colour fast now.



 Hops over the arch

The vine has crept its way along as far as the fig tree. 

Thank you very much for joining me. 

Saturday 25 August 2018

Catching up again - two walks (Coombe Wood)

Two Coombe Wood walks this week - first one cut short because I wasn't feeling very well. I have needed a lot of long daytime sleeps this week!

1st walk


Sunlight illuminating a spiders web.


A new flush of silk tree flowers.

Colour contrasts in the sunlight.

Tiny white flowers opening......

...and tall pink clusters of buds beginning to open.

The golden rain tree covered in its lantern like seed pods. 

Oranges and yellows. 

Pokeweed flowers 

and berries forming.

This side of the prairie beds - purple, blue and deep red. (The other side is predominantly orange and yellow)

Heart shaped confetti on the ground. 


There was a black bin liner of rubbish next to the bin and a litter picker leaning against the fence but I didn't see the gardener till later on.

Korean pine cone producing sticky bulging bubbles. 

Light and shadows through the leaves of the candyfloss tree. 

Leaves turning golden. 

Smoke bush (what's left of the flowers). 

Two birds on the mowed wild flowers area. 

One of the higher beds near the entrance. 

Delicate pale blue flowers with a stripe down the middle of each petal.

Colourful coleus. 

Two bees on a peach coloured flower. 


2nd Walk
 Sunlight on the flower beds quite near to the entrance.

The water level was higher than usual and the duckweed that usually collects above the little trickling waterfalls was flowing with the stream straight into the pond.

Sunlit ferns

A deformed acorn cup. 

More silk tree flowers taking over from the ones that have finished.

Vivid red and fading blue/purple. 

Closer.

The little white flowers I noticed on the first walk have opened a lot more now

...and the tufty bits are beginning to show on these pink flowers.

Several gusts of wind made the tall grasses sway. (The yellow and orange side of the prairie beds)

A blanket of yellow.

Ripening pokeberries. These are poisoness. They are also called red ink berries - I would really like to try dyeing something with them. (Must remember to talk to the gardener about this.)

Looking through the prairie plants to the bench and the Golden Rain Tree.

Close up middle of an orange flower. 

Thalictrum (meadow rue)


Golden Rain Tree pods close up - some turning bronze now - and a dark seed visible in the middle of a pod in at least one of the following photos.



Thalictrum again - so thick with tiny flowers this year.

Prairie grasses. 

The gardener has left a couple of patches in the wildflower area unmown so insects have somewhere to go - this lovely little yellow flower survivied the cut.


I should know what these are called - but I've forgotten.  They look purple from a distance - looking closer they have tiny lilac flowers on bright raspberry stems.

Admiring the Golden Rain Tree from the centre of the prairie beds (there are bark paths, I didn't just trample my way into the middle!)

Zebra grass and some other grasses with fluffy floating seed heads which bobbed and bounced as the breeze blew.

As I approached the banana trees I was thinking it was a bit disappointing that there aren't any flowers this year...when I noticed something peeping out from under one of the big leaves.

As I got closer I realised that there might already have been a flower behind this one because there's a tiny bunch of bananas - each banana no bigger than my thumb.

Looking closer - tiny bananas to the right of the flower.

Beauty berries - masses of them! 

Candyfloss tree - beautiful coloured leaves and shadows.
 
Cornus flowers/berries

Many have dropped off onto the ground underneath the tree.

 Sunflowers

Long bits like a crown around the centre. 

Two tone petals. 

Borders overflowing. 

Bee

More two tone sunflowers.

Sedums beginning to open. 

Anemones behind clusters of sedum buds

Teasels in the sun. 

A glimpse of some apples.

Very tall red sunflower

Beautiful purple flower spikes. 

Gorgeous blue - tiny flowers.

A sea of pink.

Roses.

Cascade of 3 tubs by the notice board. 

The grapes hanging over the notice board are beginning to change colour.


Hops

Roses again.

Fir tree flowers and cones. The tree must be weighed down with this lot!

I always think these look like miniature brussel sprouts. There's a tiny white spide at the bottom of the photo.

Bulrushes in the sun. 

Thank you very much for joining me.