Arboretum...

 While we were in Seattle, we had a chance to walk around the arboretum.  It was strangely sunny and we took full advantage of the good weather to stroll about.  We even met up with one of my friends who's a transplant from New York City.

 One of the things that just blew me away was the sheer size of things.  A normal tulip tree looks pretty, but when the blooms are easily two feet across, it makes the flowers even more magical.  Almost as though you've stepped into some kind of primordial forest or something.

A bouquet of blossoms rested on a fanning of dark emerald leaves with these rhododendrons; they took on a flowered crown-like appearance.

 Lots of luck!  This little drip of a creek was flanked by a heavy mat of clover (also known as wood sorrel).

 In the more "swampy" area, there were these lovely yellow water flowers.  They looked to be calla lilies, but I wasn't sure.

 Stark and white, the blossoms of the camilla stood out!

 I really loved the size of the trees and how they seemed to create a magical canopy overhead.

All around, life was pushing its way through or flourishing brightly.  The flowers were bursting into life and it made it feel like spring.