Hollyhock heaven

We meet near the Velodrome ... which has a coffee shop

Having cycled round Olympic Park's landscaped loveliness for an hour in a Bikeworks session last week, I headed for Hackney Wick station to get the Overground home. This involved a new route through the park, one we hadn't been cycling along.

While cycling I'd been frustrated at not being able to photograph the glorious combinations of plants and colours and textures along the way - the landscaping is wonderful. This is what happened when I tried to use the camera while pedaling -

Though I did get some pix when we stopped briefly -

Towards the Velodrome

Kids (on a school outing) having the most fun in the fountains

Walking to the train, though, I could stop and look and photograph to try to keep hold of it all, the expanse of the landscape, the changing sky, the changing season (plants looking very different from my previous cycling session, in May), the exhilaration of being on a bike. That slightly tired feeling of Having Taken Exercise, and survived...

Gridded plantings of ornamental grasses - subtle colours, undulating textures

Triadic colour harmony on a hillside

So ... on this new route I turned a corner ... and found Hollyhock Heaven -

Great wide beds of mixed floral planting, against a construction fence. It was like stepping into a painting by Winifred Nicholson - no, that's too restrained - into a painting by a wild, effusive painter who uses gentle colours and makes splendid juxtapositions ( any suggestions for who that might be?)

At the risk of being boring, here are some more photos, walking along. Isn't the green fence a great backdrop?