Wisteria Over My Head

 From a half-block away, I noticed a lavender-tinted cloud. It was a very large wisteria growing so vigorously that the home owners had built another support to span the sidewalk. Foot-long panicles covered the structure and hung out into the street, creating a tunnel. Standing under the wisteria, looking up through the tangle of woody stems at the masses of blooms above me, I was treated to all the colors of spring: every tint and tone of the wisteria, its bright yellow leaves and the fresh greens of the trees.

Tulips and Ivy

 Spring is the perfect time to wander along the brick sidewalks of Old Town Alexandria where so many houses bear plaques proclaiming their age or historical significance. A row of tulips sets off a brick wall with the most amazingly disciplined English ivy, cajoled into repeating geometric forms. I admire it with a slight twinge of envy, thinking about the ivy that creeps in my yard, going wherever it wants despite my never ending efforts to eradicate or at least tame it.

Spring Greens

As the days lengthen, every type of plant is experiencing a growth spurt. Trees and shrubs take on a new color cast. New growth might be silvery green, chartreuse or even a rosy tint. The fresh stems and barely opened leaves peek through fences or hover along the very tips of vines and branches. Their exuberance is untidy, but lively, evidence that spring is well underway. 

 

Quinceanera Dress

 While tourists enjoyed the flowering trees and tulips in the gardens behind the Smithsonian Castle, one fifteen-year-old had a different agenda. She was there for the photos that would announce her quinceanera, the big social event that marks her official transition from girlhood to womanhood. It took four people to tend to her hair and makeup, shoot the photos and wrangle the extravagantly pouffy dress. Whether or not you go in for such an extreme feminine archetype, this dress is probably something she dreamed about for years. To see her and the dress out among all us everyday folk in our sensible jackets, was akin to discovering an exotic zebra in the gardens.

Cherry Trees On The Golf Course

 The most famous cherry trees in the Washington DC area are undoubtedly the ones that circle the Tidal Basin. But cherry trees are in bloom right now all over the entire region. Even the golf courses are decorated with clusters of pale, fluffy blooms, their loose petals scattered over the less-than-pristine greens. This early in the year, the bermuda grass makes this scene look more like a farmer's field than a manicured course.  Soon enough, leaves replace petals and the trees must stand stoically, right in the line of badly hit golf balls.

Daffodils Along the Fence

 A streak of yellow daffodils have bloomed along the edge of the community garden. Some poke their heads through the chain link fence, facing out where dogs and toddlers stop to sniff and examine them. Lit from behind by the late afternoon sunlight, I see the striations radiating along each petal. Bare trees still reach skyward but the daffodils promise that soon all will turn green.

Pair Of Crocuses

 A shaft of morning sunlight angled its way through the bare trees and illuminated a clump of leaves. And there they were, two crocus buddies. They are the sturdier, more colorful kind that come after the first wave of delicate "lawn crocuses" have appeared and faded on yellowed front lawns. I marveled at the range of palest lavender tones shading to rich purple at the tips. Those brilliant yellow stamens complete the complementary pairing of colors that signifies spring. Nature teaches us the ins and outs of the color wheel