Springtime in Virginia

The past few weeks, every time I drive some place I think that I need to write about how beautiful Virginia is in the springtime. I have lived in 4 different states in basically 4 regions of the country and I don't think any place I've lived is as pretty as Virginia in the spring. I love flowers, and they just keep appearing in strange places here. First come the daffodils - not in suburban gardens but all along the freeways! There must be millions of them, literally. It shocks me. I'm driving along a mostly cement freeway and suddenly there is a burst of yellow daffodils. They are all along Highway 66 heading into D.C. I wonder who planted them? Then of course there are the cherry blossoms. This is just a guess on my part, but I think maybe because DC is famous for the cherry blossom trees everyone in the region wanted some for themself. Almost every boulevard in the town I live in is lined with cherry blossom trees, and many, many residences have them as well. During the short time that they are in bloom I drive along and think to myself "This is like heaven." (I cannot imagine the ecstasy I will be in if there are flowers in heaven, given that I get almost breathless looking at the flower lined boulevards here on earth!) The trees are in such abundance that when the blooms are spent and a bit of a wind blows, it appears to be snowing flower petals. And the petals pile up along curbs and driveways and look like snow. Even that is beautiful, though a bit sad. Next comes something I don't know the name of. Some vibrant lavender blossoms appear in thin strands on tree branches. I don't recall seeing these trees in front of any homes. I always see them randomly in the woods, which are everywhere here. You drive along Highway 95 and it appears to be all woods. Here and there within the woods are these trees covered in lavender blooms. At the same time, what I'm pretty sure are dogwood trees begin to bloom. And WISTERIA, again, wild - just randomly where you least expect it. Loads and loads of wisteria. Again, absolutely heavenly. Oh! And I cannot forget the azaleas. I see them in a lot of residential landscapes. Last year at this time we went to the National Botanical Gardens and truly I thought I had died and gone to heaven. There is a huge woodland garden area with drifts of azaleas as far as the eye can see. There are red, white, orange, pink and purple azalea. Just stunningly beautiful.