After The Rain, Coombe Woods

Prairie planting at Coombe Woods.

I have been following a blog called Little Arty Journeys. It is written by Angela, a friend from some years ago. We had lost touch and recently reconnected through Facebook which is how I found her blog. Angela describes her walks through the gardens at Coombe Woods near Croydon, sharing beautiful creative photos in such a way that I feel I have been with her. Through her camera she often focuses on close ups of small details and patterns in nature that could so easily be missed.
 I was delighted when she invited me to meet her at the garden one day.

 To see Angela's blog   click here

'Art is not what you see but what you make others see' Edgar Degas

We arrived after some heavy rain. Tiny raindrops sparkled delicately suspended from grasses and leaves like tiny jewels.

A flash of sunlight illuminated these leaves and made the rows of raindrops sparkle making them like
chandelier ear rings.

To see a World in a Grain of Sand 

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower 

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand 

And Eternity in an hour' 
William Blake

Beauty berries or Callicarpa, berried treasure like highly polished opaque glass beads

The sun came out for the banana flower

A border of dahlias

The gardener busy at work. He does a wonderful job and this the only gardener here.

On the path back to the car park there was a splendid finale of apricot and peach  begonias.
The cafe produced a superb cup of coffee and we had a long chat and catch up.

PS Thank you Angela, I so enjoyed sharing a little arty journey with you and seeing things through your eyes that I might otherwise have missed. I thought the spindle berries were beautiful., my photos of them were out of focus but I can enjoy yours instead.