Springtime | A pink explosion

It's May but temperatures aren't exactly Spring at the moment.  This week we have had more rainy days than sunny ones.  I've always attested loving autumn colours but somehow this year, my eyes have been opened to the vibrant Spring colours.  As winter fades away, you notice buds appearing and suddenly one day you get an explosion of colours.  Mainly pinks from magnolias and cherry blossoms, and purples from hyacinths and wisterias.

My loves

I've not been to Greenwich Park for their cherry blossoms but heard from Rachel that we should make a visit this Spring.  We agreed to but had no idea when would they be in full bloom.  CY helpfully pointed out that we could monitor via Instagram posts because you can be sure of many posts once these trees are Instagrammable.  Such is life now with social media now isn't it?  It's a bit sad, this silent Instagram competition.  Anyways..

We met up for a pub lunch on a Sunday before making our way to the row of trees in full pink bloom and even more so, the throng of people trying to capture their perfect pink shots.  Some were clearly dressed for the blossom occasion.  Spotted: a guy wearing a long pink coat posing away.  A group of girls had a picnic set up with various props.  Just meters away we had a couple dressed up and posing for a photographer (engagement shoot?).  And in between them, a lot of Instagrammers.  Some were posing with lower branches, some were pouting, and some were playing with perspective.  What a busy sight it was!

Isabelle says "what is going on?"

With our fav Rachel yi-yi

As we had two kiddos in our group, it was a bit difficult to navigate through the crowd.  And of course Isabelle had no idea what the fuss was about, she just wanted to wander about on her own.  We did try to take a few photos, which later on I had to crop people out.  ;) To be fair, the bloom was beautiful and I made a mental note to visit again on a quiet weekday.


Which we did a few days later, with two of our classmates and their mums.  This time round we set up a picnic mat and had a full blown picnic with the kiddos.  The kids roamed around barefooted in the sunshine and there was no crowd.  It was really nice.  If you notice closely, most of the shots Isabelle was busy eating.

And we decided to get the girls to get together to take some shots under the blossoms.  Which was a huge challenge cos each of them started tottering away in different directions.  It was like herding sheep!  Finally one of the mums suggested getting them to sit down.  Which worked - yay.  And suddenly we realised that strangers were also taking photos of our girls cos it was too cute a sight to behold.

Just when I thought that was the last I'd see these pink blossoms, it was a surprise to see there were also a few cherry trees on our way to our childminder's house!  And because it was toward the end of the blossom season, most of the petals were on the ground, leaving a pretty pink trail.  Wow, and best thing?  There was no one in sight lol.  This was a residential street.

And only God could have made me choose these blossom colours for Isabelle to wear that morning.  Had to chuckle when I saw the photos on my phone.  He knew I wasn't done with the pink then!

Admiring petals falling to the ground

Goodbye pink blossoms, you came and left within a few weeks.  It was fleeting yet lasting.  You have left lasting impressions - in our minds, on our phones and forever etched on Instagram.