April 10, 2021 • 85

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #143: Colorful Spring

Amy’s challenge this week comes at just the right time as spring is “exploding” all around us in New Hampshire. One of the wonderful things I love about spring is it’s joyfulness. After the dreariness of winter, the bursts of color as the trees and flowers bloom seem miraculous.

Eager to welcome spring, I bought a small container pot of miniature daffodils about a week ago. Within 24 hours of bringing them home, the flowers bloomed. I was astonished at how quickly the magnificent yellow and orange flowers appeared. Their beauty is vivid, delicate and tender.

Daffodils in My Living Room. Before and After Blooming.

Another feature of spring is its transience. One day, I’m enjoying the apple and cherry trees in bloom and the next day, I’m watching their pink and white petals falling to the ground and carpeting the sidewalk. Speaking of cherry blossoms, here’s an image captured in Paris several years ago of a man enjoying some fresh air under a bower of pink blooms. I loved how his shirt matched the flowers.

A Bower of Cherry Blossoms, Paris, France.

Wisteria is a stunning spring bloom with magnificent purple petals. I couldn’t resist re-posting two of my favorite wisteria images captured at the Villa Bardini in Florence.

Wisteria Close Up. Villa Bardini, Florence.
Wisteria at the Villa Bardini, Florence, Italy.

I’ll end my post with a poem that sums up the beauty, hopefulness, and patience of spring and its transformative power in ourselves and in nature. 

Instructions on Not Giving Up
Ada Limón - 1976-

More than the fuchsia funnels breaking out
of the crabapple tree, more than the neighbor’s
almost obscene display of cherry limbs shoving
their cotton candy-colored blossoms to the slate
sky of Spring rains, it’s the greening of the trees
that really gets to me. When all the shock of white
and taffy, the world’s baubles and trinkets, leave
the pavement strewn with the confetti of aftermath,
the leaves come. Patient, plodding, a green skin
growing over whatever winter did to us, a return
to the strange idea of continuous living despite
the mess of us, the hurt, the empty. Fine then,
I’ll take it, the tree seems to say, a new slick leaf
unfurling like a fist to an open palm, I’ll take it all.

We are sure you’ll enjoy Amy’s gorgeous wildflower post this week and we invite you to share your “colorful April” photos taken in your local area or during your travels. In your post, please use the lens-artists tag and include a link to Amy’s original post. Please join us. You always inspire and delight us!

Next week, Tina will be leading us for LAPC #144, so be sure to visit her site next Saturday at noon. In the meantime, have a wonderful creative week and please stay safe.

Categories: LENS-ARTISTS, Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, Photography

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85 replies »

  4. The cherry blossoms and the Italian wisteria are magnificent, Patti. I first encountered wisteria at Descanso Gardens near Pasadena some years ago. Besides the beauty of the flowers, the scent was magnificent, reminiscent of lilacs to me. Happy weekend.

    janet

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  5. How joyful to see these daffodil blooms within 24 hours! Beautiful pink color of cherry blossoms in Paris. The view of Florence from Villa Bardini is stunning. You captured the beauty of Wisteria.

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    • The wisteria is just amazing in Florence. I haven’t seen it yet in New Hampshire. It’s a bit too early for it. I hope you have flowers blooming near you, too. Thanks for your kind words.

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  16. They are all beautiful and the picture of Florence is sublime but I could never see cherry trees in bloom as obscene. Perhaps I am just very broadminded when it comes to the excess of flowering cherries 🙂

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    • It is an odd choice of words–“Obscene.” I thought the poet meant that given her state of mind they seemed obscenely joyful or extravagant…?? I agree with you. I love the excess of blooms! It reminds me of nature’s generosity.

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      • It is certainly not the typical ‘hurray – spring is here!’ poem. I was taught always to think about any word that seems strange in a poem and old habits die hard. A poet not minded to be joyful wondering if she can take it all and carry on like the trees.

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  19. Wisteria in Florence is astonishing, what time of year were you there? It is so easy to miss spring blossoms. I love the poem. I get great joy out of watching the fresh green shoots turn into leaves in my garden. Bright, fresh greens and some that are almost yellow. It is such a delight.

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  21. Beautiful response Patti – I loved your little daffodils but truth be told I liked them just as well as stalks! And of course your travel images with the glorious flowers were wonderful. I especially loved the one with Florence in the background. Terrific post as always

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    • Hi, Ingrid. It was fun to watch them bloom overnight. I just wish they lingered a bit longer. In a few days, they had already started to fade and shrivel. But it was glorious while it lasted! And thanks for your kind words about the photos!

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  27. Such wonderful sunlight on that wisteria! And you make me nostalgic about travel with that shot of the man sitting under the arch of cherry flowers. Paris in springtime indeed!

    Thanks also for introducing me to Ada Limon

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    • I didn’t know you love wisteria!! It’s one of my favorites, too. Florence has so many places with them all over the city. I love it! I hope your weather is warming up and it’s sunny now.

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      • Oh, it’s warming up a bit for some days. They say we could get some 15 C Sunday. That would be the warmest day this year so far…But the sun is shining!

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  31. Beautiful photos, especially the Parisian cherry blossom and the wisteria. April is too early for the latter here so I must wait a while longer to see what is one of my favourite flowers, but meanwhile I can enjoy your wonderful examples 🙂

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  32. Pingback: Lens-ArtistPC-143-Colourful-April – WoollyMuses

  33. Patti, what a lovely series of spring flowers. I can image how pretty the daffodils looked in your home when they bloomed! What a great idea to purchase them. And, I love seeing the delicate small flowers on wisteria vines!

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