Admittedly, my upcoming birthday and the prospect of celebrating same with dear, beloved old friends and family is undoubtedly contributing to my rosy disposition, but the sheer delight of stepping onto the front patio and being greeted each day by a hot pink azalea, a sure harbinger that spring is nearly upon us is adding mightily to my pleasure! And not only azaleas abound, but this is the time we are enveloped in Northern California with pink pink pink regardless of where we might turn our attention. We are once again awash in the beauty of camellias, oh joy!

Who would not be uplifted by the delirious abundance of ten foot camellia bushes lining one’s reality? Pink blessings, indeed!

Even the sky was atune this week to the beauty and harmony of pinkdom!

Nor did it stop there. In the midst of this late afternoon splendor I was blessed to behold, for the very first time in my life, a pink rainbow! No, really! It was exhilarating, I assure you! And did I take it as a sign? Absolutely! Wouldn’t you??

Inspired by pink I grabbed my camera and set out to immerse myself in more. And there was more. Magnolia’s tinged with pink and purples are readily found in these old, established gardens among which I live. Their petals fall to the streets below, creating a lovely carpet upon which to tread.

And pink plum trees adorn street after street after street. Who would not be touched by their cheery sweetness?

Indeed, in a single day I spotted in my garden my first bumblebee of the season, my first dear hoverbee and a small blue butterfly. Stunning! We can count the days until spring is officially here. So close. So close. A neighbor has a running start with this mass planting of marguerite daisies:

And another is dearly enjoying this pink oxalis, which she lets spread where it will. I looked it up and reassured myself that it is not a form of invasive oxalis, most fortunately, thereby joining her in appreciating the small sweet pleasure that it offers.

The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts well out of proportion to their size. ~Gertrude S. Wister

And so, dear readers, may you find yourselves soon blessed by an abundance of blossoms, all shapes, all sizes, all colors, all scents. Regardless they will lift you from your winter sleep and set you gently on the road to spring.

Love and flower blessings,
Kathryn xoxo

Posted on March 12th, 2010 by Kathryn
Filed under: Plants