Beauteous Blossoms All Abloom

A "Saucer Magnolia" in the center of town is in full bloom. It was quite windy today, and it was mesmerizing standing beneath its blossoming canopy of swaying petals and limbs.

Pink Gardens' own forsythia is very sparse this year. The landscapers trim it back every fall even though every year I tell them not to. I'm going to hang a sign on it later in the summer "reminding" them to let it grow out this fall in case I'm, once again, out on a walk when they come. 

A "lawn's eye view" of a brightly colored daffodil at Pink Gardens. The Royal blue garden globe really enhances the sky on days like this. I love the juxtaposition of colors in this photo, and the way the daffy seems to be trying to escape from the image, lol.

A shadowy view of a gorgeous Andromeda bush in town, Pieris japonica. When picked these creamy flower branches can be dried and used in year-round arrangements. 

Another low view of one of my Daffodil varieties. When I was a child we had so many daffodils I could lie on my back in beds of them, soaking up their aroma and watching the clouds drift by. Later, at Vassar, there was an entire hillside of daffies under flowering fruit trees, and I could do the same thing.

This is the way a forsythia should look—long flowing branches of bright yellow flowers, unkempt and wild, bursting with color and shape. Ours has been trimmed into a tight "ball" for several years now and has very few flowers in the spring.

A close-up shot of the Andromeda bush shown earlier in this post. I captured this really large honey bee enjoying the flowers as much as I was!

Lavender, purple and white Hyacinths blooming in front of an assisted living facility in town.

Tiny lawn violets sprucing up the grass of the condominums that border Pink Gardens' property. These have always been one of my favorite spring flowers. They're so early this year though. When I was in grade school, I made little bouquets using spring violets for May Day (May 1st), hanging them on friends' front doorknobs and running away after I rang their doorbells, lol.

Two more shots of the magnolia in town. These shots remind me of antique Asian prints or ceramics.

BTW:

"Mama Mallard" may not sport her hubby's bright green head and neck feathers, but she has a beautiful blue stripe on her flanks. She stands, deep in thought, lol, in this spot of very shallow water on our property almost every day while her mate swims nearby in deeper water. I think they must be nesting in some way. Or she's just smart and lets him forage for food and bring it to her, lol.