Spring appears…

We had an amazingly deep fall of snow in Barnes this winter. However, Spring seems to be in the ascendant at last and here are a few images to prove it.

Barnes pond in Spring

Barnes pond in Spring

Church Road, Barnes

Church Road, Barnes

This last photo shows part of Barnes Green. Opposite lies a row of shops, which includes our only greengrocer (Two Peas in a Pod), Victoria’s for fresh bread, healthy salads, cakes, jams and many other delicacies, a chemist, a travel agent, a dry cleaner’s, three clothes shops, a small supermarket open all hours and Natsons, our award winning newsagents, who we couldn’t do without in our house. Papers are delivered without fail every morning. We used to have a wonderful art gallery which came to the end of its lease and has sadly closed.

Fifteen minutes by car brings you to the Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park. This is an enclosed area within the park, which has flowers, shrubs, trees, streams and pools. It is a place of peace and tranquillity at any time of year and good to visit throughout the seasons.

A pool off the beaten track, Isabella plantation

A pool off the beaten track, Isabella plantation

Skunk cabbage, Isabella plantation

Skunk cabbage, Isabella plantation

Spring, Isabella plantation

Spring, Isabella plantation

Contrasts, Isabella plantation

Contrasts, Isabella plantation

Isabella duck and wife ...

Isabella duck and wife …

Family group with onlooker, Isabella plantation

Family group with onlooker, Isabella plantation

This must surely be an Ent from 'Lord of the Rings'...

This must surely be an Ent from ‘Lord of the Rings’…

He is old and has bad teeth!

Complementary colours, Isabella plantation

Complementary colours, Isabella plantation

Both rhododendrons and camellias are native to south east Asia but were brought by plant hunters to northern climes, where many have survived and flourished. They are mostly evergreen with glossy leaves, and clusters of showy flowers in Spring. Camellia flowers are more rose like in shape and remind me of the painted flowers in ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Both shrubs have many varieties and of the camellias, ‘Camellia sinensis ‘ is the most valuable, being the tea plant.

Rhododendrons, Isabella plantation, Richmond Park.

Rhododendrons, Isabella plantation, Richmond Park.

Intensity of colour, Isabella plantation

Intensity of colour, Isabella plantation

Camellias, Isabella plantation

Camellias, Isabella plantation

Time to go home ...

Time to go home …

Kew Gardens are about fifteen minutes drive from Barnes in the other direction and we made a short trip there soon after to see an outdoor exhibition.

Spring blossom, Kew

Spring blossom, Kew

DNA sculpture by Charles Jencks, Kew

DNA sculpture by Charles Jencks, Kew

Three giant poppy heads, Kew gardens

Three giant poppy heads, Kew gardens

Curiouser and curiouser...

Curiouser and curiouser…

A boggler... the mind boggles...

A boggler… the mind boggles…

Spring promises...

Spring promises…

Yellow and blue - a perfect match

Yellow and blue – a perfect match

This last photo was taken in John’s parents’ garden a couple of weeks after we had been to Kew. The colour of the sky and the warmth in the picture make us look forward to what lies ahead.

‘I’ll see you again,
Whenever spring breaks through again’ (1929 song, Noel Coward)

‘I believe we should all behave quite differently if we lived in a warm, sunny climate all the time’ (Brief Encounter, 1945, Noel Coward)

The country habit has me by the heart,
For he’s bewitched for ever who has seen,
Not with his eyes but with his vision, Spring
Flow down the woods and stipple leaves with sun.
(‘The Land’ (1926), Vita Sackville-West)

END

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