No bus strike till tomorrow and Bank Holiday Monday this week...
Met the gang at the gate for our 8am entrance. It was sunny and warm, but we all agreed there was a smell of autumn in the air..
evidenced by the first heavy dew on the grass of the Parterreand some little fairy toadstools in the grass
looking or water drops - a little ring round the edge of the alchemilla mollis
some of the agapanthas were till looking good
the light was definitely late summer nearly autumn quality!
beautiful pink flowers on a large shrub by the Duke's Garden, where we bumped into Lynda again
water drops on grasses
lotus flower by the side of the waterlily pond
lotus pod/water drops
pattern in brickwork
gate to the student veg bed was open...and we were both thrilled to see loads of the beautiful dark sunflowers...cue overload!
you can see my new rucksack style camera bag is in use now
the grapes on the vine round the border of the student veg beds are swelling a bit, but not sure they'll ripen much
love the blue of this climbing up the frame in the corner plot
another one poking between the leaves
couldn't see a label but I like the cup-like shapes
some more sunflowers in the far corner
then into the vegetable garden
tomatoes are ripening
yes, more sunflowers!
not sure what kind of mildewy stuff this is on the leaves, but it was quite pretty, even if the gardeners may not like it!
white aubergines growng
all kinds of squashes and gourds
the crafter in me thinks this would make a fabulous stamp
chard
I kept missing the bees and hoverfly things today but this one kind of posed
yes, more sunflowers!
not sure what kind of mildewy stuff this is on the leaves, but it was quite pretty, even if the gardeners may not like it!
white aubergines growng
all kinds of squashes and gourds
the crafter in me thinks this would make a fabulous stamp
chard
I kept missing the bees and hoverfly things today but this one kind of posed
the height of the sunflowers! they reach the top of the pergola along the Evolution Garden pathway
this is the more usual one!
the delphiniums are in a second flush,
with more to come at the top of the stem
was amazed to see these already,
Cape Gooseberry, Physalis - I even found one skeletonised which I had to hold up to photograph
seems too early for these, I didn't notice them last week, although may not have walked round this patch of the beds
I nearly got dive bombed by a bee buzzing past my ear closing in for this shot...crocosmia, close up
we were both getting hungry and it was getting towards breakfast time so we headed back towards the cafe
so it was good to get some wider angles
and the mass of the gunnera
and a semi silhouette of the huge leaves
Kim and I had got there slightly ahead of Lynda and couldn't believe the mushroom and cheese croissants weren't available - the main reason for eating here
luckily whilst we sat and waited for her, we saw the trays of them being delivered and YAY we were able to tuck in (the one with 2 course breakfast!!)
this didn't work quite as well as I hoped, Kim on the bench feeding the birds!
she was surrounded!
we walked across the grass towards the Temperate House
love the dappled sun through this tree
the Treetop walkway is shut whilst they finish the work to the lift - hopefully soon, it seems to have taken ages
then into the Temperate House
then into the Temperate House
my favourite the Silver Daisy Bush has been cut back for the season...
but the viewing platform was open
the Trolls through the window
she snuck another one!! but the viewing platform was open
the Trolls through the window
my hoodie was by now stored in the rucksack (one advantage of it) and it was hot up there
back on the ground, fushcia
passionflower
back outside we both played with the globe lens
gorgeous blue sky
Matt and Helen through the trees
fluffy stuff! (yes, I did blow it like you do with dandelions....)
fruits on the Japanese Dogwood tree
hips in the rose garden
the rain this week and last, has really helped the condition of the roses for the end of the season
but a new leaf growing
before going into the Princess of Wales conservatory
found this behind a door, between the 2 orchid rooms
passionflower, on the way out of the POW
quick walk through the alpine house
at this stage we went our separate ways home
although I got sidetracked by the beds at the end of the Broad Walk again, from the back this time
rudbeckia
just gorgeous!
I was home in quick time and have been listening to the commentary of the Liverpool game were for once, this season we seem to be playing well and are scoring goal after goal
thanks for looking, hope you enjoyed them.