Papery Purple...

The days, weeks and months are sliding past and I seem to be tracking the passing time through the municipal flower beds that I peer out on during my routine car drive to work - from the primroses, daffodils and now the bright, bold tulips....

And of course, there is always the garden centre which brings another layer to this floral calendar. The purple flowers drew in me, as ever,  especially with their papery petals and spindly stamens, even when they are spent and beginning to droop.

And for those not fully in bloom, the hairy buds seem to be covered with fibrous Mulberry paper...

And nestling inside is the central mound of pistils that looks like the compound eye of some strange insect, staring out at us!

Full-blown Tulips in Their Finery...

 

The dazzling tulips had long been full-blown by the time I got to see them. Their elegant, fading petals had been buffeted by gusts of wind typical of early Spring and curled, shrivelled and twisted by the sun. Nevertheless, all this seemed to add to their beauty...

The colours were still vivid and the flowers appeared ever-larger, a burst of flaming petals that resembled flounces of Asian silk...