Spring colour...

This weekend has been one for doing things on a whim. A change of plans found me home alone so on Friday evening I took myself off to the theatre to see the musical about the Kinks, Sunny Afternoon. Worth a look if you ever get a chance to see it - surprising just how many of the songs are an integral part of my memories, even though I would not have put myself down as a particular fan as such. And then today I thought I'd take advantage of the bright morning to take a quiet walk at Blickling, forgetting that it was Easter Egg hunt day and the place was heaving! From the lake it was peaceful...

Something about water, reflections and skies that appeals to me every time...

There is a fair sprinkling of fresh green in the trees but in the woods by the lakeside there is still a feel of early season with the sun casting shadows through bare branches...

It was blowy and these grasses were trying hard to escape out of shot but I loved the sun shining through the feathery seedbeds...

There are lovely bluebell woods at Blickling but just a little bit early today - they are just opening but in a week or two of sunny weather they will be beautiful...

The spring blossom is so pretty...

There are still some late daffodils but the bluebells will soon steal the show...

I can't help thinking the sheer variety of shapes and colours employed by nature to ensure plants survive is quite overwhelming. Even those we might consider to be weeds like the humble dandelion (which my mum was viciously removing from her garden with an ancient gardening tool that looked like an instrument of torture!) have such a beautiful structure and design, its fragility just waiting for the breeze to carry those seeds away...

Back in the main garden I avoided the main areas crowded with families hunting purple wrapped treats and headed for the tulip beds. I always love this area with its gradation of colours from the yet to open darkest purples through pinks, reds, oranges and yellow with white in the very distance...

I love tulips. On the whole I'm not much of a one for big blousy blooms but I do love these, with their velvety petals and upright habit. En masse like this they are stunning. And infinitely more impressive than the odd ones I have dotted around my courtyard garden at home.

I'm pretty sure I took similar photos of these definitely unsubtle blooms on a similar walk another year...

Even though there was a nip in the air today, its difficult not to really feel Spring is properly here with  so much colour in the flowerbeds. 

Whilst not wanting to wish the time away, I am very ready for some warmer days.

S x