trees

Trees are incredible.

Trees keep our oxygen pure.

Trees are an amazing renewable natural resource,

and trees are just plain beautiful.

I got interested in taking these photos when I thought of the Earth Day. I thought it would be a good idea to take these photos as a reminder of how beautiful Planet Earth is. And that we will be all encouraged to go green.

tulips

I love flowers and have taken interest in taking pictures of flowers for quiet sometime now. Today I’d like to share some very nice photos of tulips with you. I took these these photos from our yard on one of my afternoon walks after coming home from work. I haven’t got the time to go and check out other gardens like Minter, VanDuzen and Stanley Park.

Tulip has an extra-ordinary beauty. This long stemmed flowers create a fabulous effect in any garden with their dazzling and flashy bright colors and egg-shaped blooms. Tulips are known for their intensely-colored flowers that open wide in the sunshine. It has more sublime and prosaic color than any other flowers. I noticed that tulip has a waxy-textured leaves and large flowers of six petals. Every year parks and gardens are transformed into a tapestry of color with thousands of bulbs in bloom.

Couple of years ago, I went to visit a tulip festival in Skagit Valley, Washington. Though for some reason, I was not able to take photos, I still can picture in my mind the field after field, row after row of vibrantly colored tulips. The colors were so gorgeous, the fields profuse, its mid-night-blue petals topped by a band of pure white and accented with crimson flares , and I had seen some varieties that I’ve never seen before. There are actually about 100 species of tulips which can look different in shapes and colors.

cherry blossom

the blossom

the pail petals

the pretty in pink the clusters

the cherry tree the pink and the blue

the late bloomer

the park

the lane

the line

the chase

the talk

the wait

the text

Cherry blossoms had reached their peak in its full blown petals on many streets and parks in Vancouver City and lower mainland, transforming the sky into a pink lace making the horizon an endless archway of blossoms. It’s absolutely spectacular!

Cherry blossom is the name of the flower of cherry trees. The flowers are nearly pure white, tinged with the palest pink, especially near the stem. I find the pink color so sweet and demure that it almost symbolizes feminine beauty, love and affection. Cherry blossoms are an enduring metaphor for the fleeting nature of life that’s because they bloom and usually fall within a week, before the leaves come out. The ephemeral nature of the blossoms remind us all to take time to celebrate and appreciate the gift of life now.

The first time I ever saw cherry blossoms, I thought I was seeing clouds tinted in pink. Coming from a tropical country, the Philippines, it was a whole new experience for me. I have always looked forward for cherry blossom every spring season and I have been dying to get that perfect shot. I had nine spring seasons already and I have yet to really nail the perfect cherry blossom photo. I have tried this season despite battling with this weather and the forecasts predictions, not to mention my own busy schedule.

I thought of going to VanDusen Botanical garden last weekend but the weather was not very good so I thought it might not be a good idea thinking it’s not worth the ride and visit. So, I decided to visit closer parks instead. I’ve encountered other photography enthusiasts too vying for the right angles and positions. Since there are so many tourists on the area whose main focus are on the blossoms, it’s difficult to take a perfect shot. One thing that I just have to embrace here in BC is the cloudy overcast skies. On second thought, overcast skies makes the color of a photo shot more intense.

april blooms

Flowers are blooming all over the place and it's completely amazing. These flowers ARE right from our yards ... all in our immediate vicinity. I gaped at these fully-opened blossoms of magnolia. The tiny, unopened buds also caught my attention. And even the young twigs that have smooth, shiny chestnut brown bark. I really enjoyed taking macro photos of these striking exotic flowers. As I am taking close-up photos, the blossom filled the air around me with powerful, sweet citrus fragrance, it was awesome! I just love admiring the whiteness and pureness of Magnolia, the combination of white and its golden and rust color on the undersides are perfect. I was surprised to know that these showy-white-petalled flowers appear before the leaves.

Irises have also started to appear recently but haven’t taken photos yet. And so have a number of our other plants! I am not so much fan of yellow bulbs, I often passes them by, in favor of the more rare, exotic and alluring flowers. But the one I took caught my attention. I found the contrast between the bright yellow and the dark green background interesting.