So my trail continues… Everyone tends to associate Westonbirt with autumn colour, but I found plenty of stunning colour on my wander through the old arboretum.  The flower from this tree looks much like honeysuckle. I love the colour, how could I pass by without stopping to enjoy this close up & capture the image to look at again?

Hydrangeas are looking good this summer, maybe because of the damp start to our summer!  Here there’s a good selection in different colours. In my garden they flower pink – the soil isn’t suited to bring out those gorgeous blue shades. I love this one – the way the flower is shedding onto the leaves. I call this my fairy dust bush! The individual flowers are very simple & the colour of the sterile flowers so pretty. I wish I had a garden large enough for a bank of these shade lovers.

I couldn’t resist this tight flower bud! It’s a really vibrant shade that looked even brighter in the mid day sunshine. And when it opens the colour will be so very different – others on this shrub were blue.

Back to leaves & this is one I cannot resist. It’s a rhododendron with the most amazing leaves. The photo doesn’t do justice to the colour. The underside of the leaves is a rusty shade of red with a furry texture. I could happily live with this plant in my garden (if I had the space) just for the architectural leaf pattern. I adore plants that are tactile!

Coming to the end of my trail I found this plant. Again it’s the leaf & stunning colour that caught my attention. It might be exciting to take the new walkway & look down on the trees, have your head up in the clouds, but I like to keep my feet firmly on the forest floor, be down among the trees where I can get up close, really experience being part of the arboretum. I had an amazing time at Westonbirt & came away with lots of photos to enjoy my visit again & again!