Category: colours

A quick visit to Bodnant Gardens – mid-May

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date March 5, 2019
1 Comment on A quick visit to Bodnant Gardens – mid-May

Instead of my usual series of posts where we visit the same garden every month of the year, we have decided to look at two gardens one large and one small. This is because it is impossible to find another good garden that is open all year and easy to get to.

For the big garden we have chosen the National Trust’s Bodnant Garden in North Wales which we shall look at over the seasons and for the small garden we have chosen Wildgoose Garden and Nursery closer to home here in Shropshire which we shall visit each month during its open season.

To start this series I am going to look back at a visit we made to Bodnant back in May 2018 to give an idea of its beauty.

A final day out on our Anglesey holiday was to visit the gardens at Bodnant just slightly inland from the North Wales coast. It is a garden we have visited and enjoyed many times before and at all times of the year. The one strength of the garden is that is has so many different faces to be discovered and enjoyed.

In recent years a rectangular border alongside a tall stone wall has changed completely becoming a hot border, full of flowers and foliage the colours of fire. On a sunny day they really light up.

Directly opposite and in complete contrast is a formal area of low trimmed hedges holding together borders of tulips.

The Winter Garden at Bodnant is one of the best in the UK, and although superb in its special season, the winter, it is still an interesting garden in the summer.

The narrow gravel paths take us into the shady areas beneath mature deciduous trees. Bluebells added a blue mist to the rich green grassed areas.

What many visits make the journey to Bodnant for are the bright clashing colours of rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias. We however are not great fans of these acid loving bloomers, but here are a few shots for those who do.

An area of Bodnant gardens we have rarely reached over the years because of my mobility problems is the deep steep-sided valley with tall trees towering over a beautiful sparkling stream which meanders along its length. After recent surgery I can now manage to get down to this magical dingle. The magical atmosphere is created by the huge trees that tower above visitors who wander the gravel paths along the valley running close to a clear mountain stream, and on the banks beautiful bog and water loving plants grow happily. Primulas, hostas, ferns and Skunk Cabbage add colour and texture to the scene.

No doubt it won’t be long before this great garden is featured in another of my greenbenchramblings posts as we usually wander around its Winter Garden early in the year.

Tags ancient trees, Bodnant Garden, gardens of the National Trust, gardens of Wales, hot border, hot garden, National Trust, National Trust Gardens, rhododendrons, stream garden, streams, The National Trust, trees and shrubs, winter gardens

colours flowering bulbs garden design garden photography gardening gardens grasses hardy perennials ornamental grasses Shrewsbury Shropshire South Shropshire Winter Gardening winter gardens

My Garden Journal 2019 – January

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date February 4, 2019

Back with my new journal for a new year, my Garden Journal 2019. January is often described a s a quiet month in the garden and gardeners are often told to keep inside in the warm, order seeds from catalogues, clean their sheds and sharpen bladed tools and clean up all tools. But in reality a good garden is a good garden for 12 months of the year and a good gardener keeps his bladed tools sharp continously, all his tools are cared for througout the year and there is plenty to look at and enjoy in the garden and plenty of interest to be found in plants.

I begin my January journal entries with the words, “What is in flower in our Avocet patch early in January? A quick wander around on a calm, dry day with camera in hand provides the answer. I thought I wouls be out in the garden for 10 minutes or so but there was so much t lok at that it was three times longer.”

I shared a set of 8 photos showing “Violas, Cyclamen, members of the Primula family and even an adventurous Rose.”

I then went onwards with my camera into the greenhouse which is not yet heated at all, so we are simply keeping things ticking over. Soon we will put heat on and the heated propagating bench in readiness for the exciting task of seed sowing. I wrote, “The greenhouse is a busy place in the winter full to overflowing with over-wintering sensitive plants, autumn seedlings ticking over and cuttingstaken late in the year.”

Examples of these sorts of plants are shown in the set of photos, including seedling Achilleas, Fuschia thalia and Sedum Matrona cuttings.

On the opposite page I looked at some of our many grasses that shine in January and shared a set of pics. “Grasses come into their own in January both deciduous and evergreen. Carex are exceptionally valuable winter grasses.”

Carex elata aurea Carex elata aurea

Calamagrostis “Northwood” Miscanthus sinensis Carex “Evergold”

Carex elata “Evergold” Uncinia rubra Carex “Frosted Curls”

Carex elata “Bowles Gold” Anemalanthe lessoniana

Calamostris brachytricha Carex buchanii

On the following double page spread I moved on to look at some of our berries and foliage plants giving interest in January. On the first page I wrote, “Throughout the winter birds especially members of the Thrush family enjoy gorging on the berries on our trees and shrubs. We grow berrying plants for the birds to eat as well as for our own visual feast. By January a few are still left over.”

Guelder Rose Mahonia “Winter Sun”

Honeysuckle berries Malus “Admiration”

Native Holly Iris foetidissima

Cotoneaster Libertia

Sarcococa confusa

We can now look at the opposite page and consider some of our interesting foliage, where I wrote, “In January interesting foliage catches the eye, variegation, dusting with silver, glaucous or ruby coloured.”

Eucalyptus parvula Rhamnus aureomarginata Eleagnus ebbingei

Coprosmia “Pacific Night” Pinus mugo “Mumpitz”

Hedera helix “Long Trail Yellow” Hebe

Budleja “Lochinch” Euphorbia lathyris

Over the page I wanted to share the disaster we had with our old fence that backed our Seaside Garden. I wrote, “I shall now report on the progress we have made with our winter projects and look at work in progress too. You will not be surprised that strong winds broke down the fence panels backing the Seaside Garden so this area neededa complete renovation. The old fence was soon replaced jointly with our neighbours and the new, better quality fence presented opportunities to put up vine eyes and wires. We planned to plant plenty of new climbers as well as renew and replenish the other plants and artefacts. We decided to include more plants this time.”

The new fence ………………….

The trellis goes back up and the vine eyes and wires are being fixed up.

The climbers are planted ……………. and grasses soon join them.

To finish the month of January off, we can have a quick look at what the finished revamped seaside garden ended looking like, ready for the growing season ahead.

I wrote, “We had great fun rebuilding the Seaside Garden despite cold temperatures made more severe by the icy cold winds. So, wrapped up well against this typical January weather we put up old fishing nets from Scotland, sea-washed driftwood from Devon and Anglesey plus shells and pebbles.”

“Avian des res!”

“House Sparrows”

“Titmice”

“Wrens”

“Meanwhile we continued to change the 3 beds around the back grass into a new hot garden. Sadly we messed up the grass so had to also prepare this for repair. We have now finished planting the new plants and repaired the grass area ready for seeding in March.”

So there we have my entries for January in my 2019 garden journal.

Tags climbers, climbing plants, cyclamen, flwering bulbs, grasses, seaside border, seaside garden, spring bulbs, spring flowers

autumn autumn colours colours garden design garden photography gardens gardens open to the public lakes landscapes light light quality ornamental trees and shrubs pathways Powis Powys shrubs Wales woodland woodlands

Gregynog Part 2 – the woodland walks

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 25, 2019

Here we are back at the NGS garden, Gregynog where you left us just starting out on our exploration of the park’s woodland. We wandered past the rose hedge along the gravel drive before turning off to the left along a gravel track which took us past mature trees, both conifers and deciduous, with an understorey of shrubs. Autumn colours were beginning to show in their foliage.

Acers beneath the tree canopy provided bright splashes of colour.

We soon found ourselves having to cross over the driveway to enter the woodands and almost immediately came across the lake. We began to meet several other couples and families taking advantage of the weather and the woodland trails, as well as a few more serious runners using the “Green Gym”. We took the path that took us almost all around the lake and then took a side track, grassed underfoot, into the woodland itself. We walked beneath mature wrinkled Birches which let plenty of light through to allow an understory to grow away happily.

After walking half a mile into the woodland the pathsides were a mass of tall growing golden leaved brackens. The tallest were the same height as Jude, the Undergardener.

On the wood floor beneath the trees a carpet of colourful fallen leaves gave a soft surface for us to walk on.

A final surprise were the dens built around and against the tree trunks by young visitors enjoying the special woodland atmosphere.

Leaving the woodland we could see the hall through the trees, and then we discovered the “Green Gym”, where wooden gym structures awaited the fit and healthy visitors.

So that was our day out at Gregynog, a completely new garden to us and one we would enjoy visiting again.

Tags acers., autumn, autumn colours, autumn leaves, deciduous trees, gardens of Powys, Gregynog, Powis, Powys, pruned shrubs, woodland, woodland garden, woodland walks

architecture autumn autumn colours colours garden design garden furniture garden paths garden photography garden seat garden seating gardens gardens open to the public light light quality ornamental trees and shrubs pathways Powis Powys roses shrubs trees Wales Yellow Book Gardens

Gregynog – a garden with woodland walks

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 23, 2019
3 Comments on Gregynog – a garden with woodland walks

Another NGS garden we visited last summer is called by the wonderful name Gregynog.

Gregynog is situated in the county of Powys and just has to be worth a visit sporting such a magical name, like something out of the Hobbit or a Hans Christian Anderson tale. Winding lanes eventually led us to a scented drive lined with roses. Here we gained the first glimpses of the half-timbered hall itself and the brick-built reception buildings. October light helped us to appreciate the garden, woodland and buildings.

The gardeners here certainly know how to prune and shape common shrubs to give them an extra edge. The first two photos are of Cotoneaster, trimmed to domes.

The garden around the front of the hall afforded us more opportunities to enjoy the gardeners’ pruning and trimming work.

The low sunlight caught this stand of asters lighting it up from a distance and as we walked closer to look we spotted this wonderful old seat, carved from a fallen tree.

We continued around the building all the time getting views of the hall above us.

We then came to a walks sign directing us to choose a walk to follow and we chose to make our way to the woodland walks and lake. We walked back alongside the hedge of scented roses at the side of the driveway, taking in their delicate colours and rich aromas.

As we reached the end of the row of roses we turned towards the woodland walk, aiming towards the lake, passing an Acer grove along the way, but this is all in part 2 of these posts about our visit to Gregynog.

Tags berried shrubs, cotoneasters, flowering shrubs, garden seating, gardens of Powys, Gregynog, Powis, Powys, shrubs and trees

colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens hardy perennials light light quality ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture sculpture Shrewsbury Shropshire trees

My Garden Journal 2018 – December

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 18, 2019
1 Comment on My Garden Journal 2018 – December

Here we are with the final visit to my Garden Journal 2018, as we discover what has been going on at out Avocet patch in December. It has been a year of difficult weather for us gardeners with freezing winds, a wet spring followed by a drought in the summer. It has been a bit of a trial really encouraging things to grow and struggling to get new plants established. But of course none of this spoilt our enjoyment of our garden and gardening itself.

I began my entries for December by writing, “December arrived on the scene feeling milder but certainly not brighter than November. Thankfully the winds were gentle and had turned from the cold air carrying Easterlies to the warmer, wetter Westerlies. The winter sun sends low rays of light that capture the colours and textures of our trees especially Betulas and Prunus serrula.” I then featured photographs of our Prunus serrula and some of our Betulas.

Over the page I moved on to look at our ferns and then small shrubs with many coloured foliage.

I wrote, “Ferns are so useful in the garden mostly in places of shade or partial shade. In December they still look fresh and vibrant. A few though show browning of leaf edges and some die right down turning a rich gingery-brown.” Then I shared a selection of photos of some of our ferns.

On the opposite page it was our small shrubs that sport interesting foliage that featured. We have only recently started using low growing shrubs for their foliage as we are discovering how much interest they can add to a border when flowers are lacking. I wrote, “Winter is the season when evergreen broadleaved shrubs come to the fore, leaf surfaces get glossier, colours darken and extra colour appears especially pinks, creams and rubies. Here is a selection of shrubs we have just bought especially for their foliage, although some will also flower and fruit.”

Turning over the page we can see glaucous foliage being featured. I wrote, “As the last leaves fall from our deciduous trees and shrubs, we can appreciate their skeletal shapes. At the same time evergreens come to the centre stage. But I am going to show our evergreys in my December journal entries.”

Here is a selection of photos of some of our many glaucous foliaged plants, a climber, some shrubs and some herbaceous perennials.

One of our recent plant discoveries that we have been absolutely deilghted with is Coronilla glauca Citrina, a wonderful shrub that we grow as a climber on the trellis around our oil tank. In my journal I wrote, “Coronilla glauca Citrina is an underated winter flowering shrub with glaucous foliage and citrous coloured pea-like scented flowers. Grey and lemon together is a beautiful partnership. Equally underated are all the members of the Cotoneaster family.”

And here are a few of our many Cotoneasters, a family of shrubs we have grown in every garden we have ever had.

Turning over once more we discover two pages concerning our ongoing garden projects whch we started in the autumn.

We were forced by circumstances to rebuild our Seaside Garden when gale force winter winds broke the fence behind it. With our next door neighbours we soon got new ones back up. Seeing every negative happening as an opportunity we saw this new longer fence as a great place for interesting climbers and we decided to start the Seaside Border all over again. So at the end of the month we got started, but there is lots more to keep us occupied through part of January. I wrote, “Strong December winds destroyed a section of fence, the one backing the Seaside Garden. To repair it we had to strip out the area, plants and artefacts, but this did afford us the opportunity of refurbishing it.”

Here are some of the new plants waiting to go into the “new” Seaside Garden to join those we saved.

On the opposite page I talk about carrying on with our other editing jobs that we started in the autumn. I wrote, “As December draws to a close and the holiday times approach we take advantage of any dry days to catch up with our projects, new steps for the Chicken Garden, planting hundreds of bulbs and replanting the Hot Garden in its new position.”

And so to the last page of my 2018 Garden Journal, when I wrote, “December ended frost free. Sunshine caught special features of plants while raindrops hung on leaves, twigs and sculptures.”

Here is the final selection of photos for 2018, showing winter sunshine working its magic on foliage and droplets of rain caught after a shower.

“The end of my 2018 Garden Journal.”

colours garden design garden paths garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public lakes light light quality ornamental trees and shrubs Powis Powys shrubs trees Wales water in the garden woodland woodlands

The Dingle Garden in December

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date January 16, 2019

Here we are with the final report of our monthly visit to the Dingle Gardens near Welshpool. As we drove down to Welshpool the weather just could not make its mind up what it was going to do, sunny with blue skies one minute, showers of cold rain the next. But once we were actually wandering around the gravel paths of the garden, it settled and we had a dry period for most of our walk. A few minutes of rain arrived just as we finished.

The light was dull and we noticed how variegated plants really came into their own. Gold and green, silver and green, grey and green in every possible combination and patterns. Just see in the first photo how the variegated shrub across the lawn shines out against darker foliaged trees and shrubs.

Variegation in conifers fails to impress me, as sadly it just looks like a bird has been perched above the foliage for a while! See what you think!

Variegated groundcover plants are very effective in the woodland garden as they brighten up dull areas. Silver variegation create mirror effects reflecting any light that gets through the tree canopy.

The raindrops hung around on glaucous foliage and we were surprised just how many plants in this woodland garden displayed glaucous leaves. Variegated foliage adds extra bright spots to woodland patches but glaucous foliage creates gentle subdued spots.

The oldest surviving plants in the UK are the ferns, lichens and mosses and they love the damp atmosphere of the sloping woodland garden here at The Dingle. They add such beautiful shades of bright green and bluish tints, but a few go golden and ginger as winter takes a deeper grasp on the garden.

Berries that were at their most prolific during the autumn months remain in evidence but only just hanging on in ones or twos.

Coloured bark adds interest to decorative trees in the winter and those that peel and drop sheets of their bark are even more interesting.

So, after twelve visits to the woodland garden at The Dingle near Welshpool, we come to the end of this year of visits. Next year we will begin a new series of garden visits. But for now I shall finish this series with a few general views of different parts of the woodland gardens.

Tags foliage, foliage colour, foliage plants, gardens of Powys, glaucous foliage, shrubs in winter, The Dingle Welshpool, trees and shrubs, variegated foliage, variegation, winter, winter garden, winter gardening, winter shrubs, woodland, woodland garden, woodland gardening

autumn autumn colours colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public hardy perennials ornamental trees and shrubs Powis Powys trees Winter Gardening winter gardens woodland woodlands

The Dingle Garden in November

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 11, 2018

Back to wander around the gardens at the Dingle near Welshpool, for our November visit. We expected big changes after recent strong winds and heavy rain. We did not anticipate seeing many leaves left on deciduous trees and shrubs, but hoped for signs of late autumn colours in foliage and berries.

The first pic at the start of this post shows one leaf that was still hanging on against all odds, even after all our recent strong winds and storms. Below is a selection of photos of flowers still going strong in the woodland garden, some late blooms from the summer and some early winter blooms.

Throughout the woodland garden where there was a clearing the ground was covered in low growing perennials often covered with a carpet of fallen leaves.

During our visits over the year to The Dingle Gardens there has been an area that has been much wetter than elsewhere, often with water running off the bank across the paths and on down to the lake. On this visit we noticed and heard that work was in hand to add extra drainage systems to rectify the problem.

Berries are signs of the year’s end, there to help keep the plant populations viable. Alongside them in this garden of trees and shrubs there were signs of new life in the form of leaf and flower buds waiting to unfold for us to enjoy in the future.

There was so much to enjoy as we wandered the garden paths that I took lots of photographs, so I thought I would finish our November post about our Dingle Garden visits with a photo gallery. As usual click on the first photo and navigate using the right arrow.

So just one more post to go which will be for our December visit to this wonderful woodland garden.

Tags autumn, autumn berries, autumn colours, autumn gardens, autumn leaves, berried shrubs, berried trees, gardens of Powys, ornamental shrubs, ornamental trees, Powis, Powys, The Dingle Welshpool, Welsh gardens, Welshpool, woodland garden, woodlands

arboreta autumn autumn colours colours garden design garden photography gardening gardens gardens open to the public ornamental trees and shrubs outdoor sculpture sculpture trees

Autumn in an Arboretum and Afternoon Tea

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 7, 2018

We were lucky to receive a voucher for an afternoon tea from our son Jamie and daughter-in-law Sam, and of course little Arabella and decided to redeem it at a hotel down in the Cotswolds, near the village of Moreton-in-the-Marsh.

We drove down early and spent time wandering Batsford Arboretum, enjoying the colours of autumn leaves before the winds blew them from the branches. It was a dull day but the foliage glowed through the gloom. Most colour came from Acers and Liquidamber of many varieties of each. The wind had already whipped many leaves from their branches.

Of course autumn isn’t complete without the red, pinks, oranges and reds of berries, provided by Sorbus, Malus and here at Batsford by the unusual tree called Zanthoxylum planispinum (photo below left).

One area of the arboretum was strongly influenced by Japanese garden styles, complete with red painted wooden bridges.

While looking at this statue of Buddha we had to suddenly take refuge in the Japanese tea house nearby from a quick but heavy shower in.

We only just allowed ourselves enough time to reach Charingworth Manor for our afternnon tea booked for three in the afternoon. On the journey there it began to rain slightly and the temperature dropped so we were glad to get inside this beautiful Cotswold manor house to the warm and dry. We sat to enjoy our tea close to a huge log fireplace of golden Cotswold stone.

What a great day we had with autumn foliage, an amble around an arboretum finished off in style with afternoon tea.

Tags arboreta, arboretum, aut, autumn, autumn colours, autumn leaves, Batsford Arboretum, deciduous trees, garden in autumn, Gloucestershire, ornamental shrubs, ornamental trees

autumn autumn colours colours garden photography gardening gardens hardy perennials ornamental grasses ornamental trees and shrubs trees

My Garden Journal 2018 – November

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date December 3, 2018
2 Comments on My Garden Journal 2018 – November

This is the penultimate post in this 12 part series about my 2018 Garden Journal so here is what was happening in our patch in November.

The first couple of pages dealt with the continued redevelopment of our old hot garden. We intended to give it a completely new look including bark access paths through it.

I wrote, “The re-development of the old hot garden continued to the end of the month and into the first days of November.” The first picture shows Jude the Undergardener holding up a huge root which Ian managed to dig out of the bed. He had to cut it off at both ends as it was extending beneath the lawn in one direction and out of our garden in another. It sat horizontally in the soil just above the boulder clay layer. We have no idea what plant it belonged to originally. One of our gardening mysteries! The second photo shows Ian our garden helper raking over the soil which he had meticulously double dug after adding lots of organic compost. This first addition of compost was dug in before a second batch was added as a thick mulch.

We then laid a path of bark over membrane before getting ready to enjoy planting both our new and saved plants.

On the right hand page I looked at how Jude spent time early in the month cleaning pots, cleaning the glass in the greenhouse and putting up bubblewrap insulation. Once done this allowed us to move my succulent collection into the winter safety to be found under glass. “Jude washed and cleaned all our plastic pots so that we can reuse them. Our hot bench was cleaned up and bubblewrap put up in place as insulation. My succulent collection is now snug and secure in the sparkling clean greenhouse.”

Turning over to my next double page spread I looked at our fruit and the continuation of planting up the new border.

I wrote, “This is the latest in any year that we have harvested our crop of apples from our main trees and heritage cordons. We have used the beautiful book “The Apple Book” by Rosie Sanders to check the indentification of those apples whose labels have been lost. The apples are now ready for storage and we will hopefully enjoy them through to the end of March.”

Sometimes fruit can surprise us. “This year saw us grow the biggest pear we have ever seen. Jude has now put our apples in store and I have printed new labels for every apple tree. The next stage will be to enjoy eating our apples from storage and then next spring the blossom will return.”

My diary moved on to look at us planting up the newly created border which used to be our Hot Border, “After a few days away in London we returned refreshed and ready to continue with our new border. Planting grasses and herbaceous perennials topped off by bulb planting gave us several days work. Work we love doing!”

“We planted hundreds of bulbs and dozens of grasses and perennials, all in the dry week given to us in mid-November.”

Next I moved on to consider one of our favourite tree families the Sorbus and on the opposite page I sought out flowers choosing to brighten us up in gloomy November.

“We love Sorbus in their many guises but particularly delight in the cut leaf berrying varieties. When we lost our mature tree of Quince vranja we decided to replace it with another Sorbus to add to our small collection. November is the key month for Sorbus as the fire like colours of foliage adds another layer of interest on top of their delicately cut foliage and their colourful berries. Below are some of our Sorbus trees.

Sorbus Joseph Rock Sorbus Autumn Spire

Sorbus Autumn Spire Sorbus aucuparia

Sorbus Apricot Queen Sorbus Apricot Queen

Sorbus vilmorinii Sorbus vilmorinii

On the page opposite the Sorbus I share the flowers that cheer up the November garden.

“The flowers of November are fewer than earlier in the year but this makes every one of them extra special.”

The colour orange features on the left hand side of my next double page spread, where I look at the variety of orange featuring in our November garden.

“Orange is the dominant foliage colour in our November garden, as shrubs, trees and grasses set fire to the borders.”

Opposite the oranges was a delicate watercolour pencil sketch of a hosta leaf, about which I wrote, “Take one leaf, a hosta leaf drying out and draining of colour.”

The final page for November considers colours once again. November was a very colourful month overall.

A set of eight photos display colours from our shrubs, and alongside I wrote, “Deep into the month there is still so much colour in the garden. Some foliage deepens to rich ruby shades.”

The final photo is of the foliage of a special small tree, a viburnum with leaves which make you think it is a betula at first sight. “The leaves of Viburnum betulifolium change colour so slowly with subtle deepening from bronze to dark red.”

So there is just one monthly report left to write in my Garden Journal for 2018, December, which will be my next post in this series.

Tags autumn, autumn colours, autumn gardens, autumn leaves, berried trees, berries, fruit and veg growing, fruit., garden in autumn, ornamental grasses, ornamental shrubs, ornamental trees, sorbus

architecture buildings colours light

A Short Break in London – Part 3

Post author By greenbenchramblings
Post date November 25, 2018
1 Comment on A Short Break in London – Part 3

In part 3 of this mini-series of posts sharing our London visit I will be looking at the art pieces in the Tate that attracted me most. A very random selection! But to start off I will share with you more photos I took of indications of the building’s previous use, featuring the use of concrete.

There were so many works of art that I loved at the gallery it is hard to make a selection but here goes. In the gloom of the concrete of the old parts of the building videos played so I took a couple of stills to show how they shone in the darkness.

On into the main galleries with their pristine white walls pieces of art stood out in almost each one.

A remarkable floor attracted many of the gallery visitors to exerience its magic. We were no exception. The floor somehow reacted to body heat and created white images of hands and feet. It was a strange experience!