It is the blossoms season again with many people visiting the fruits tree vineyards of Haspengouw from Alken to St Truiden Hoepertingen, Vechmaal, Heks and Borgloon regions in Flemish Belgium, to admire the breathtaking views of clusters of trees engulf in their sunday best costume of blossoms.
In addition Hasselt has its own compact Oriental Paradise in the form of the Japanese Garden with its own explosion of cherry tree blossoms at this time of year. A yearly treat for locals and tourists alike.
My only slight problem with this blossom phenomenon is that I don’t know where to look…… it’s like an optical overdosis of colours filling up the whole spectrum of my naked eye. It’s like having to eat a whole jar of honey in one go or being plunged into a swimming pool of smarties and being asked to immediately figure out just how many different colours there really are. Dare I say it’s too intense, it’s too beautiful and because of the huge numbers of trees involved that are all fighting for your attention you just lose focus. These individual trees actually get lost in the masses to the point that we don’t actually see them individually anymore.
Being the very odd and eccentric person that I am, I have discovered a new way to enjoy the blossoms with greater appreciation.
By stepping out of my front door and going for a walk or jumping on my bike and start riding around my neighbourhood. The concrete jungle of my home town. In any street, alleyway, open town square, shop, church, house, office block, or the other side of someones garden wall or fence can be a breeding ground for these seasonal appearances. Naturally I would have to include the small playgrounds and parks with my town center.
Disclaimer
Before you look at the examples shown below let me hasten to add that I have absolutely no professional or amateur photography skills in addition to the poorest possible photographic material ever created ….. my smartphone. These primitive photos cannot compensate visually to being able to observe these flowering trees in blossom with the naked eye or through the lens of an amateur or professional photographer. Its merely an additional visual aid in trying to convey a simple point. The second disclaimer. I did not pay enough attention at school several decades ago so I don’t know the difference between a fruit tree and a non bearing fruit tree and if that even exists. All I know and can see is that a particular tree is in flower. End of disclaimer.
Anyway the first two examples are from Haspengouw and the rest are situated in various locations in and around Hasselt town centre.
I purposely choose this first example in the town centre to demonstrate a point about the amazing effect that a flowering tree has on it’s environment. It seems to somehow erase any ugliness in it’s vicinity and redirect all visual attention to itself.
It’s almost as if you can hear the tree saying “Look at me, Look at me!!”
…….it’s either that or I am going through the second stage of schizophrenia!!
But even when the physical surroundings our acceptable, a tree in blossom still stands out.
It’s like a subtle street battle where these trees always wins.
W
And whats your home town blossoms like??
