Bluebells. For me, they’re a sign of home. My tiny garden is so full of the sturdy, Spanish ones that I can’t plant anything else without digging a few up, no matter how careful I try to be.
We stumbled upon these ones growing wild on Darwen moor, not far from Sunnyhurst Woods, on our way to the Jubilee Tower last spring. A field of bluebells is enough to stop even the most experienced of ramblers in their tracks. It makes me happy to think that this year’s flowers aren’t far away now.
My first picture of a bluebell covered spring meadow is really more of a blur, but I hope it captures the impression. I’m sharing it in response to the weekly photo challenge, together with a close up shot, for those who find the first shot a little too impressionistic!
I’m off to Texas soon and hear that their bluebonnets are looking great. I hope they hang on a little longer!
My love of English bluebells runs deep, but bluebonnets hit pretty much the same spot. To me they look like tiny lupins (or lupines as they’re called in the US). But then, to my eye, almost any flower is beautiful in the mass, especially in a wild, or natural setting.
Do you have a flower that will always make you think of home?
Susan Rushton 
So very beautiful, Susan. I wait with great anticipation for the first flowers of whatever sort to open here in the Chicago area! In the meantime, I enjoy the beauty of photos like yours.
janet
I hope you’ll start to see them before too long and that all the anticipation makes them even better!
I love the meadows of bluebonnets and follow a master of Texan flower photography:
I wish you luck in finding some đŸ™‚
Thanks HeyJude!
Lovely!! It’s the frangipani for me, they were everywhere in my hometown. I have one planted in my garden now and it’s flowering away!
I like them too, though they’re indoor flowers in my part of the world.
Thanks for visiting and for the Follow but more importantly for introducing me to your wonderful blog and love of gardens, flowers, nature and photography. I think we share a lot of the same loves and I very much look forward to exploring your site and to following you in the coming months Susan. With best wishes đŸ™‚
Thanks for your kind words Andrew – the feeling is mutual!
Good Easter morning, and thanks for your question. I’m from North Carolina, USA, and my parents always had azaleas blooming around their house at this time of year. Theirs were coral-pink, and my mother was great at arranging their stems into our Easter dinner table centerpiece. This week, the azaleas in our yard and neighborhood in Georgia (USA) have been showing off, and the memories of home have flooded my heart. Although some people insist on trimming azalea plants into hideous balls, I will always love the splash of color which the blooms add to the dappled shade and tender green of Spring.
My heart has been stolen by native azaleas I’ve seen in the South of America this year in shades of pink, yellow, coral and apricot. They’re so ethereal. I have a few to post but I’m in photo gathering mode at the moment, so it may take a while to process them and dig out the best ones. If I could only learn to take less shots, it would help!
Gorgeous shots, can’t wait for bluebells walk this year.