Oh, love I love flowers! Well, I love nature in general. But I must admit that as a child I had great expectations of being able to visit Holland someday, all because of the pictures of beautiful flowers that seemed to grow there. 
I had no idea that I would, one day, live in the Netherlands.
The beautiful flowers I dreamed of seeing, and some that I saw only in my dreams (yes, in my dreams I do see flowers that I have never actually seen with my eyes!) colour my life. And real blossoms colour my view once the spring comes to life. Of course, besides the spring blossoms, there are the colourful summer flowers, some that peak in autumn and even those that make their special show during the cool months of winter. I love them all.
It has been fascinating to visit gardens like the iconic Keukenhoff, and Orchidëeon and other places. But I am a gardener at heart and am never satisfied to see only the stuff that grows in public places. I like to grow my own.
So, while this tulip is no spectacular hybrid, it is my first spring bloom for 2024, and I share it with you here. Enjoy it. As I said, it may not be anything spectacular to the hybridisers but simple as it is, enjoy! Imagine the Creator’s brush strokes generating crimson red streaks on the delicate white petals. Close your eyes and conceive of a sponge dabbing the yellow in between.
As I look at the flower, I remember what my son said to me some forty something years ago. It was one morning when I joined him is his bedroom as his eyes quietly surveyed the flowers in the garden and the birds that flitted among them. He turned to me after what seemed an eternity of quietly perusing the natural beauty and he remarked, “Mommy. God must have plenty paints up there in the sky!”
The second photo (with the butterfly amid the blossoms) is over three years old. I thought I’d add it here. Taken at Denekamp in 2021, it shows how natural beauty is even more interesting when flora and fauna appear in combination- That is life indeed.