Spring Blooms at Smith College – Color Inspiration!

Nothing like something (somethings!) from nature to inspire design thoughts….  I enjoy working with colors that range from subtle and muted to vibrant and bright;  nature so often does a great job of mixing both!

In New England, 2012-2013 has been a more traditional winter than last year”s.  Snow and colder temperatures arrived as they typically do for the winter, and now we still feel like it”s winter in March.  No question, spring will arrive, (and it has officially) but along with many other folks, I wanted to jump start the end of winter and welcome spring with a visit to the Lyman Plant House at Smith College in Northampton last weekend for their annual spring bulb show.
http://www.smith.edu/garden/Conservatory/conservatory.html

I visited the show on the last weekend it was running, so some of the blooms were starting to fade, but my trusty iPhone and I couldn”t resist capturing the wonderful colors!

From an article on Mass Live on February 22 (www.masslive.com):

“This spring’s event features 3,000 tulips, 1,500 narcissus, 400 hyacinths, and 2,000 other bulbs such as crocus, iris and freesia, all purchased primarily from a Connecticut importer who gets them from the Netherlands.

By the time the show arrives, “everybody is desperate for spring,” (commented) Madelaine Zadik, manager of education and outreach at the Botanic Garden on the Northampton campus.

“And it’s not just the color of the flowers. You walk into these greenhouses and the fragrance is just amazing,” she said.

“We don’t realize how we’re really lacking fragrance outdoors at this time of year.””