There is a sort of magic in watching the trees transform from bare branches to laden with blossom; to see the woods transform from brown leaves and frozen puddles to a blanket of thimbleweed and bluebells. Some of the first trees to blossom in my region are the cherry blossoms. The white blossoms of plum cherrys, "blushing bride" trees and "snow goose" blossoms (even the colloquial names of each type is delightful) proceed the more traditional pink cherry blossoms. I think this tree might be a Prunus 'Oku-Miyako' or blushing bride tree, but I'm hardly an expert at identifying flowers. I'm fortunate to have a number of cherry trees on my doorstep, a row of pink blossomed trees set to burst into color in a few days perched outside an office building and this pearly beauty only a short walk from my home. This tree bloomed at the perfect time for me to capture Lee Renee Jewellery's latest addition to her flora and fauna collection. Her new pieces feature the most beautiful cherry blossom buds alongside pink tourmalines and delicate diamonds. Even the shapes of her bands seem to echo the sloping branches of a cherry tree as they bend under the weight of new blooms. As a lover of nature I really enjoyed photographing these pieces in scene, petite gold flowers nestled inside white petals as bees hummed by.
Each new flower transforms a bit more of our landscape and weaves a delicate new scent into the air. Spring is so much more than just the change in scenery, more than just what you see with your eyes. I feel like my senses are also waking up from a winter of slumber, my ears becoming accustomed once again to the myriad of bird calls that fill the air and my nose to the heady scent of wild violets and cherry blossoms that fill the air every twilight. Twilight seems to be the richest hours; that time between day and night when the air is a bit thicker, the village is more still and thus the birdsong more arresting against the quiet. Some evenings I even spy a wee hedgehog nosing his way through our back garden. Jewellery like Lee Renee's makes me feel a bit more connected to nature; like little keepsakes of spring we can carry and wear into other seasons.
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