Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #143 – Colorful April

When winter melts away, spring brings a new beginning; colors begin to awaken under the warm sunlight, April showers, and gentle wind. So our theme for this week is “Colorful April”.

Let’s start with green. Many agree green is the “First Color of Spring” color. As we walked in our local park, we were surrounded by 50 shades of green. Amazing!

“Colors are the smiles of nature.” Leigh Hunt

March and April is the time of the year to enjoy wildflowers in Texas. These wildflowers provide critical habitat for pollinators and beneficial insects, also help water conservation and improve soil health.

“The Earth laughs in flowers.“ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Texas designated the bluebonnet as the official state flower in 1901. Bluebonnet flowers were named for their blue color and sunbonnet-shaped petals.

“Happiness held is the seed; Happiness shared is the flower.”

John Harrigan

We owe special thanks to Lady Bird Johnson for her vision of develping and researching wildflowers. Her initial efforts enable us to enjoy coloful wildflowers while driving through the countryside and highways for hours in many parts of Texas, especially in the central part of Texas.

Today, Texas Department of Transportation sows about 30,000 pounds of wildflower seeds each year. TXDOT rules delayed all mowing, unless essential for safety, until spring and early summer wildflower seasons were over.

Many people take these acres and acres of wildflowers for granted. They might think because they are wildflowers that they grow on their own, including my husband. I’ve had to explain to hubby a few times how much effort Mrs. Johnson put into beautifying our environment. Ladybird and President Johnson worked together to beautify the U.S. Highway system beginning in the 1960s. The Highway Beautification Act was signed into law in 1965, establishing among other things an Austin, Texas wildflower research center.

“My heart found its home long ago in the beauty, mystery, order and disorder of the flowering earth. I wanted future generations to be able to savor what I had all my life.”

~ Lady Bird Johnson (1912 – 2007)

Happy to see this colorful Green Heron at the park. 🙂

We invite you to join us and share your photos of colorful April in your local park, garden, neighborhood, or your own backyard. Please use the lens-artists tag and include a link to my original post.

Thank you for being part of LAPC community sharing your creative photos and beautiful stories with us.

Next week, Tina will lead LAPC #143, be sure to visit her site next Saturday at noon.

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