Virginia in Spring

This time of year, all of Tidewater becomes a garden.

Flowering trees and shrubs fill the vivid green landscape 

with swaths of vibrant color.

I think there's nothing more lovely than spring here in Virginia.

Here's a breathtaking garden in the north part of the state:

agrowinggarden.com

This one is from the Norfolk Botanical Gardens:

norfolkbotanicalgarden.org

And home sweet home:

avirginiashire.blogspot.com

To live with the flowers each spring...what more could we ask for?

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April Showers

Yesterday and today have been cool, cloudy, and gray.

Thunder and rain have prevailed.

However, everything has turned the most exquisite shade of spring green

because of the moisture.

notquitesusie.com

So here finally are the April showers 

we have come to expect.

counterfeitkitchallenge.blogspot.com

The issue here is that we expected 

April showers would have arrived--and departed--

earlier than a couple of days before May.

Better late than never?

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Bridal Wreath Spirea

I've  mentioned in this blog before

that my grandparents' house was surrounded on three sides

by bridal wreath spirea.

Their house was painted a crisp white with a sky blue roof,

so when in bloom, the spirea gave the whole place an unequaled charm.

en.wikipedia.org

I thought of my grandparents' spirea after seeing a magnificent one in bloom

in our neighborhood yesterday.

Funny how an image can  instantaneously transport us back to an earlier time.

If I ever live on a sunny plot of land again,

I will surround my house with flowering shrubs,

and I'll save at least one spot 

for a bridal wreath spirea.

For old time's sake, of course.

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Snowball Bushes

Today we went walking around the neighborhood 

since it was such a beautiful April day.

And I was pleasantly surprised to see 

a snowball viburnum, laden with round white flower heads.

There were so many flowers, 

the whole shrub bowed down under their weight.

Such are the riches of spring.

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Pink Creeping Phlox

Rain and thunderstorms last night

gave way to a perfect April day today.

The rain must have been good for the wildflowers,

for it seemed that everywhere I looked 

there were masses of buttercups and creeping pink phlox.

treefarms.com

There just isn't enough sun around my house for "moss pinks"

to thrive, but it's a treat to see them carpeting medians and meadows

around the Shire. 

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Maple Seedlings

This time of year,

the trees let fly all manner of seeds 

to ensure their species survive and grow.

They release so many that there are plenty to spare;

the extras litter the ground, mess up decking,

and clog old-fashioned gutters.

Everyone you look there are catkins, 

strings with thousands of tiny seeds that pop off

at the slightest provocation, 

infinitesimally tiny denuded pine cones

and maple seedlings.

distractednaturalist.com

The messiness of maple seedlings I can forgive

because they spin to the ground with such energy,

delighting in their release to the waiting arms of spring.

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Buttercups

To see a world in a grain of sand

and heaven in a wildflower,

hold infinity in the palm of your hand

and eternity in an hour.

                        --Blake

theguardian.com

Beautiful spring weather today

brought out fields of buttercups.

I love the way they look,

so golden in the sunshine.

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An April Day

Yesterday, 80+ degrees and we all luxuriated in a preview of summer.

Today, cool winds under blue skies.

That is capricious April, isn't it?

 

Robert Frost captured the fickle nature of April well

when he wrote:

The sun was warm but the wind was chill.

You know how it is with an April day.

When the sun is out and the wind is still,

You're one month on in the middle of May.

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Wisteria

Acknowledging the mystery of wisteria,

the 18th century Japanese poet Yosa Buson once wrote:

In pale moonlight

the wisteria's scent

comes from far away.

Here in the Shire, just before Easter,

the dusky lavender wisteria began to bloom.

Cascades and waterfalls of pale purple 

spill over trees and shrubs along the roads,

and for a time, we will drive past a tangled wall of violet.

But in the still of night, if you are standing in the right place,

its delicate perfume will encircle you.

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Monday after Easter

Although the weather has been gray and cloudy

for a few days, today is sunny.

The added light makes all the flowers in the neighborhood extra lovely.

From my home office window, I'm fortunate enough to see 

 a lush yellow Lady Banks Rose, like this one:

Photo credit: S. G. Rager, 2008 via maasnursery.com 

and a pink dogwood, and one of my most favorite trees:

a sweet bay magnolia about to produce its white, lemony sweet blossoms.

Blue Monday?

Not here.

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Easter Lily

Happy Easter 2014!

Easter is a special spring holiday,

a quiet celebration of rebirth in all its forms.

This time of  year, Easter lilies are a favorite decorative choice.

And I've often wondered about the symbolism of the white lily at Easter.

morguefile.com

According to an article in The Edmonton Sun,

white lilies are said to have sprung up on Mount Gethsemane,

where Jesus wept and prayed before his betrayal by Judas.

Therefore, white lilies are said to symbolize hope, peace, and the renewal of life.

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Dyeing Easter Eggs

I've always loved dyeing Easter eggs.

But I generally stick with the Paas dye tablets.

No wax, no stickers. Just the dyed eggs. 

Of course, a lot of people get more elaborate.

These are charming. They remind me of tissue paper:

besthomechef.com.au

These eggs have a Polish "Wycinanki" design 

(the art of intricately cut paper).

It makes a beautiful Easter egg:

inspirebohemia.com

These show off a bit of country charm:

southernmamas.com

I think these are my favorites. I love the flowers and the bright colors:

eastvalleyguide.com

Beautifully decorated eggs,

the symbol for new life.

One of the best parts of Easter!

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Easter Trees

In recent years, people have not been content

to leave decorating trees confined to the Christmas holiday season.

Whether outdoor or artificial,

decorated trees have become a creative opportunity

for Halloween, Valentine's Day, and now Easter.

Can you imagine taking the time to hang over 9,000 easter eggs in an apple tree?

Christa and Volker Kraft don't hold back 

when the urge to decorate for Easter takes over:

afancifultwist.typepad.com

Here's another view of a Christa and Volker decorated egg tree.

kissudebury.com

These next ones don't elicit the same kind of awe and wonder as the Krafts' trees,

but I love the simplicity of these:

craftionary.com

Here's a designer's take:

designmom.com

Finally, there is the Christmas tree shape:

betweennapsontheporch.net

You knew somebody was going to do it.

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Easter Table Decorations

My mother's family always celebrated Easter Sunday with a breakfast

--a tradition that dated back to the early 1880s

when my great grandparents immigrated from Germany. 

My grandmother always decorated the Easter table with a white table cloth

and a large glass bowl filled with dyed Easter eggs.

I'm curious to see how people decorate their Easter tables nowadays.

It seems decorations are more elaborate than in my grandmother's day.

Here are a few from around the internet:

I have to admit, a blue Easter table is something I never thought of:

stupic.com

How about a vigorous carrot orange for all the bunny lovers out there?

topdreamer.com

I have to confess, when it comes to Easter,

I still prefer the bright pastels like this pink centerpiece:

planningitall.com

Or this, which I think is my favorite:

verymerryvintagestyle.blogspot.com

If you don't have time for an elaborate table decoration,

there's always time to pull off a little napkin art,

like this napkin bunny from Ingrid Brown Interior Design:

ingridbrowndesign.blogspot.com

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Easter Wreaths

I always like to see the different ways

that people decorate their doors with wreaths.

This time of year, a lot of doors

become the backdrop for wreaths and garlands with an Easter theme.

There are bunny wreaths:

styleblueprint.com

and  wreaths of bunnies:

loveitsomuch.com

And some wreaths with bunnies 

tucked in the shelter of their curve:

ebay.com

Not to mention wreaths of colorful Easter eggs:

sewcreativeblog.com

All designed to greet guests

--and Easter.

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Easter Crafts

Easter arrives this weekend,

so I thought it would be fun to see 

how others are celebrating the holiday.

I thought I'd start with Easter crafts.

After a brief perusal of Google images,

there appear to be two stars of the Easter craft show:

bunnies and chicks.

99crafting.com

They show up in all kinds of craft projects, 

which seem to focus primarily on utilizing drinking cups: 

sheknows.com

and paper plates:

rhealananetwork.com

I'm sure there are more sophisticated Easter crafts out there,

but probably not as much fun.

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Carolina Jessamine

Early every spring, I like to walk the nature trails nearby

and see if I can find the first of the Carolina jessamine winding through the trees.

Ordinarily, the blooming jessamine is the first sign of spring here.

But this year I got busy and didn't go out.

And I assumed I had missed the bright yellow trumpet-shaped blossoms.

But not so.

Like a lot of plants this spring, it was just delayed.

en.wikipedia.org

This afternoon I took a break from work to walk outside.

And to my delight, I saw a few of the five-petal flowers on the ground.

They smell so sweet, a little like talcum powder.

Yellow Carolina Jessamine blossoms against a sky of Carolina blue.

Another nice thing about spring--

whenever it arrives.

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Dame's Rocket Wildflower

While driving around the Shire today,

I spied a small meadow full of dame's rocket wildflowers.

flyoverpeople.net

It's always a lovely surprise to find a field of tall purple rocket.

Another nice thing about spring.

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Edible Violets

Just a week ago,

one shy violet peeked out from beneath its green leaf.

Today, there are dozens of purple violets standing on slender green stalks.

There are more  this spring than I've ever had, 

and since they are supposed to be edible,

 I've been tempted to "harvest" a few

to try some recipes.

food.com

I found recipes for violet syrup,

violet sugar,

sugared violets,

violet vinegar,

and violet tea made from the leaves.

Apparently both leaves and flowers are edible, 

so I can also make a violet salad.

girlinanapron.blogspot.com

And yet ...

I think I'd rather look out my kitchen window for a few more days

and see dozens of purple violets instead of  

picking them and eating them up.

But I keep thinking how lovely sugared violets would be 

on a white-frosted Easter cake.

Stay tuned ...

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A New Leaf

This spring, I observed the emerging leaves.

It's interesting that spring-green leaves

begin as tiny burgundy red buds.

Then they turn a rusty orange.

And the pale rust of orange evolves into a light yellow gold.

And then, warm temperatures and longer light

turn them into the palest of spring green.

And that's where we are today.

Tender green leaves coloring the trees.

A new leaf...the most recent pleasure of spring.

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Dandelions

A Dandelion by any other Name

As I was driving home today,

I noticed the lawns and grassy medians 

were filled with bright yellow dandelions.

I know some people regard them as weeds,

but to me they are a beautiful little flower available for the picking.

Dandelions have been around for hundreds of years,

and in that time, they have accumulated

some pretty interesting nicknames.*

For example: 

Blowball, cankerwort, and cochet, which means young chick.

Also lion's teeth, swine snout, and wild endive.

To some, it's exalted as priest's crown.

To others, the more vulgar pisse au lit, 

which to put it in polite terms means urine on the bed.

Then there's also Pu Gong Ying in Chinese.

I don't know the literal translation, but given the latter French example,

perhaps it's better not to know.

One term that I thought sounded very romantic,

but which in reality is less so is salade de taupe.

And while salade de does mean salad of, 

  taupe in French has two meanings:

 tawny gray-tan color 

and vole.

Those darn voles again. 

Even the dandelions.

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*http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/706.html

Azalea Gardens

I'm sure they have azaleas in other parts of the country,

but I was never aware of them until I moved to Virginia.

Since azaleas love acid soil and the shelter of pine trees,

they are happy growers here. 

Norfolk Botanical Gardens from thelittleredhen.typepad.com

Azaleas are prolific bloomers and ubiquitous--you see them everywhere.

They are so popular here that Norfolk 

used to have an Azalea Festival every April.

Along with a lot of people,
I was really happy to see the first azalea blooms popping out this week.

Another good thing about spring in the Shire!

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Dogwood Trees

It's Dogwood Time 

When Joyce Kilmer wrote

 that he had never seen a poem as lovely as a tree,

he must have been  referring to a dogwood in full bloom.

I noticed today that the dogwoods around my part of the Shire 

are loaded with blooms.

gardenblogwinterthur.org

The early flowers are still a rich yellow cream color,

but with another day or two of good weather,

they will turn pure white.

And other dogwood trees will show off blossoms of pink.

I can't wait.

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April Showers

Sometimes rain arrives at just the right time.

The dreaded yellow pollen has just begun to sift out of the trees

and this rainy Monday helped clear the air.

This evening with the windows open,

the air smelled so fresh; 

and the first chorus of summer insects

softly serenaded from outside.

avirginiashire.blogspot.com

The sunset was the most exquisite blend of violet and pink,

and the blooming redbud trees provided the perfect counterpoint.

It would appear that today's April showers have washed the rest of winter away,

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Tulips for Spring

I love tulips. 

In the past I've grown black ones like this:

morguefile.com

And pink and white striped ones like these:

morguefile.com

But as much as I like them, 

 I don't plant tulips anymore

 because the voles 

that tunnel secretly underground

think I have planted the bulbs

for their dining pleasure.

Theoretically, I should be able to plant them in a vole-proof pot like this:

oldhousegardens.com

In reality, the ones I grow in pots

never look as good as the ones you see in photos.

They end up with pale foliage or blossoms that unfold too quickly 

and blow away with the first gust of wind.

Somewhere, a few voles are having a good laugh at my expense.

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Violets in Spring

While flowering trees and shrubs make a huge show

of their gifts, the first violet of spring appears with humility.

This morning, one perfect purple violet appeared 

amidst the deep green leaves in my planter box.

It makes looking out the kitchen window a treat.

from auntiedogmasgardenspot.wordpress.com

Sometimes the simple joys are the best.

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Signs of Spring: Cherry Blossoms and Flowering Quince

This week has brought warm temperatures and sunny days.

Consequently, all the blossoms on the flowering trees and shrubs

have begun to emerge from their hiding places. 

One morning earlier this week, I passed by a house in my neighborhood

that has cherry trees planted in front. No blooms.

But when I drove past it later that day, blooms.

Spring had worked its magic.

avirginiashire.blogspot.com

And this afternoon, I noticed flowering quince 

blooming in front of a house not far from here.

I love the bright orangey-rose blossoms:

npr.org

Could there be anything more lovely than flowers in spring?

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