Spring is Here...

It's been a lovely few days over Easter- despite a little rain- and so many of the plants and flowers are blooming giving bursts of colour amid the greenery.

Did you know that you could find out what native species of trees and plants have grown in the area you live?  You can use the postcode database on the Natural History Museum website to find out. Very helpful if you want to plant native species in your garden...

You can find out about different plants- there's a long list of names. But I can see it would be a useful starting point if you were setting a scene sometime in the past and had your heroine picking wild flowers or herbs, even being presented with a bouquet- and you'd added in a flower that wouldn't or couldn't have been there at that time.

Meanwhile here are a few flowers from my garden, thought sadly my self-seeded bluebells are not the native species that were once so abundant in the woods of my childhood.

 Bluebells Forever...

                                                            And the Hawthorn Blooming

A Picture Can Inspire a Thousand Words or More...

Yesterday I was looking at some photos taken while I was in Dorset a few years ago- it's a very scenic place to visit at any time of the year.

I often find that when I've taken a photo, concentrating on a scene or subject, something off to one side has been captured. It doesn't have anything to do with what I'm interested in, but later on those unexpected scenes set off the creative tingles...

Where've they gone?

I won't throw out magazines (recycle) until I've looked at each page for interesting faces, places or information I might find a use for later on. (My husband despairs and tries to throw things out when I'm not there to scream "stop!")

As it's the Easter holidays and next weekend the Royal Wedding and the May Day Bank Holiday, you might be out and visiting old houses or markets.

Guide books and postcards are great prompts for stories or for settings.

I have a few old postcards that I've picked up over the years- currently in a box that was put somewhere I can't remember...I must look it out.
(Postcard collecting is apparently a serious hobby and there are books about it.)

So here are a few photos for you that might inspire a story...

Stopped for lunch or something else?



Wait for me!