Pwll y Wrach

Pwll y Wrach - Witches Pool - is a wooded nature reserve on the edge of Talgarth at the foot of the Black Mountains; and it's in walking distance. It is a tree lined valley with a little river at the bottom and a voluminous waterfall higher up the river, falling into the Witches Pool. In the spring there are carpets of anemones and ransomes, bluebells and sweet woodruff, and of course, all those amazing ferns. It's always green and cool and shady and damp in summer, and changing leaves and intriguing fungi in autumn. There are high rocky outcrops and fallen trees, left for the wildlife.
It has struck me though, that its very easy to miss the detail. The countryside can be quite monotone - varying shades of greens or browns, but punctuated by bright glimpses and short-lived sweeps of contrast. In the spring I started to think there may be an idea to explore here. Historically, colours were far more valued than now and carefully used. Using colours, especially the more precious ones such as Madder, in small quantities with undyed yarns may even make them stand out more........And the textures are there - in barks and plantlife, and rocks and stone - but easily overlooked

Violets are typical examples of overlooked detail - their tiny short stemmed flowers hidden among the dead leaves in spring.