Spring Meets Fall

Spring and fall are my favorite seasons, in that order. I love all of the promise, light and color that spring brings, and the crisp leaves, cool air, the return to post-summer routine, and some semblance of calm that fall brings, before the craziness of the holidays begins. And have you noticed the cool shadows of fall?

I also love the deep colors of fall, especially the leaves and flowers. Yesterday, I went to my favorite neighborhood market specifically to buy red-orange dahlias for my kitchen. While there, I decided I needed orange tulips for my office too. When I arranged the dahlias, they looked pretty sparse in the vase I had chosen (a Deruta Italian pitcher – my favorite kind of flower vessel) so I added the tulips, and loved the way the spring tulips co-mingled with the fall dahlias. The arrangement ended up on my desk, instead of in my kitchen, and it is just the inspiration I needed to crank out some work… and I get a little lift every time I look at them. Aah, the power of color delights my senses once again!

I also visited the gorgeous and lush dahlia garden at Volunteer Park and again thought about how lovely spring colors mingle with the beautiful fall dahlia blooms.

With names like Wild Man

 and Wynn’s Dapper Dad,

and colors ranging from lavender

 to bright pink

to chrimson red

and even a hybrid of colors.

From huge full heads

to dainty darlings

to stunning star-like blooms, it is a fabulous display.

If you live in Seattle, I hope you get the chance to see the blooms in person before they are gone. If not, pop down to Pike Place Market or your local farmers market and buy some dahlias for your home and office. Either way, I hope you enjoyed these shots, and that you’re relishing the changing of the season.