Back to Coombe Wood Gardens

There's always something different to notice - even if it's just a little change from my last visit.

I've never noticed the fine little hairs on these plants before.

Reflections of a delivery lorry parked the other side of the pond - water rippled by the fish coming to the surface. 

Delicious colours of the aquilegia 

I could have easily missed these tiny blue flowers

Good to see the bees but this one looks a bit skinny . . . 

. . . specially compared with this one. (Probably a different species).

Leaf unfolding.

Something new - I've never noticed these before. The leaves are like pine needles and the bright flowers are uncurling a bit like ferns.

Love-in-a-mist buds.

That's new too - these berries didn't have pale centres when I looked at them on my last visit.

Tiny white hydrangea flowers

Tufts of new leaves are growing from the top of each cascade of tiny white bells.

 This area is looking quite tropical. 

 The tiny acer flowers have quickly developed into seeds. 

 Crazy profusion of rhododendrons. 

Wild flowers

Some of the leaves on this little plant have turned red and flowers are forming.

Unusual spurt of growth on an allium

Interesting bud - no idea what it will look like when the flower comes out.

I love the swirls of colour in the purple tulips even if they are nearly at the end of their life.

Thank you very much for joining me. 

.

Coombe Wood walk in sunshine

I was very pleased to have had my walk before the heavy rain, thunder and hail came along.


Sunlight through the copper beech leaves made the little hairs around the edge look as if they were glowing.

Blue sky and fluffy clouds

Many petals have been knocked off the tulips by the wind and the rain but the flower beds still look fabulous.

 The prairie bed is filling out

I noticed a tree that looked as if it was covered in snow. These tiny white bell shaped flowers are the smallest I've seen so far - they're really tiny.

I thought these cream pink and green stripey bell shaped flowers were small before I'd seen the white ones today.

 Looking up into the canopy of stripey bells. 

The yellow azaleas are still producing a gorgeous fragrance. 

Sunlit rhododendrons

My grown up children tease me for the amount of times I say "Look at the way the light shines through this" but I have to say it - Look at the way the light shines through these delicate acer leaves!

A cat was sunning itself in the flower bed with its eyes closed and didn't notice me taking a photo. 

 Alliums 

I love the purple against the pink tulips in the background. 

Cheerful little orange flower

Mending the potholes in the pathway. 

A very waterlogged bullrush - I wonder what they look like now after the torrential rain and hail.

Sunlit copper beech leaves against a clear blue sky, which turned an ominous grey very soon after I arrived home.

On my way back to my car I caught sight of a pale blue butterfly landing on a leaf next to a rhododendron bud.

Later on - after thunder and lightening, torrential downpours and hail . . . 

a rainbow

Thank you very much for joining me. 

One week - four walks

I have enjoyed four trips to Coombe Wood this week.

The Coach House Cafe was closed this week for renovations. I wondered if it would be ready to reopen today as planned.

1st trip. Monday 11th

Happy bee

Wild flowers

Berries

Dainty pinky lilac flowers

Although these magnolia flowers are quite large they made me think of a flock of butterflies settling on the branches.

Sunlight shining through slim leaved acer

Bee on an allium

2nd trip. Tuesday 12th with two friends from the art group I belong to.

Two varieties of red tulips

Close up of dandelion seeds

Looking down into the Coach House Cafe courtyard where piles of furniture and other contents from the cafe were stored during the decorating, much of it protected under a large gazebo.

Looking closer inside the tulips . . . 

. . . and a poppy (I think)

3rd trip. Friday 15th after a day of very heavy rain on Thursday. The bullrushes usually look like fluffy candyfloss but on Friday they were extremely waterlogged.

Repair work began this week on the potholes.

Dandelion

Raindrops on pink lilac (I think that's what it is)

I love the way the raindrops sit on these leaves 

Busy beetle

Cones marking potholes to be repaired.

No access to the hut at the moment

Pale lemon rhododendrons.

More water drops on leaves. I like the purple backs of these purple tinged dark green shiny leaves.

A blaze of orange

Delicate pink and green stripey bells

Acer with tiny flowers

Inside a rhododendron

Little peachy coloured azaleas

Being watched

Tree peony unfolding

More raindrops

Seeds developing in the euphorbia

I think this is Bellis Perennis Pomponette

4th trip. Saturday 16th. This morning I just popped along to see if they had managed to finish the Coach House Cafe renovations. I wasn't going to have much or a walk and had no intention of taking photos but the magic of the garden enticed me in - and I had a gentle walk . . . for an hour and a half and took quite a lot of photos.

The courtyard was almost back to normal

and the door of the Coach House Cafe was open. 

Some very tall alliums are beginning to open

Tight ball of tiny pink tinged flowers.

Orange flower with bright yellow stamens

Close look at bleeding hearts

Clouds of tiny white fluffy flowers

Up in the woods - the scent from the yellow azaleas fills the air. 

Some of the flowers have slid down the stigmas without falling off and they swing as the breeze wafts the scent around.

A profusion of different coloured azaleas and rhododendrons

Looking much closer again

Emerging from tiny pink buds - a froth of pale pink blossom 

Pink and cream rhododendrons (?)

Looking closer at pink forget-me-nots

Well that was a lot of photos - if you've lasted to the end very well done indeed and thank you so much for joining me.