Tag Archives: Corsican Pine

Sparkling fresh in the winter sun at Kew

 Witch Hazel Hamamelis x intermedia
Witch Hazel Hamamelis x intermedia

The period between Christmas and New Year can easily feel flat, but a walk in brilliant winter sunshine, with the low slanting light making everything glisten or glow in beauty, is exactly the opposite. Kew Gardens is famous for its marvellous Witch Hazels. Today, Hamamelis x intermedia was in full ‘bloom’, its extraordinary flower structures in deep yellows and oranges contrasting crisply with the cloudless sky. The photo is unretouched.

Backlit twigs glistening in winter sun
Backlit twigs glistening in winter sun

The Corsican Pine near the Queen Elizabeth gate is always beautiful. Today in the slanting light the soft colours and subtle shapes of its jigsaw-flaked bark were shown off to perfection.

Corsican Pine bark
Corsican Pine bark
Corsican Pine, Pinus nigra
Corsican Pine, Pinus nigra: a lovely tree