Colours

Not enough people wear bright colours in Vancouver, I decided, after my friend Ros showed up for lunch in this cheerful jacket. It was a perfect contrast with the beige cob buildings in the City Farmer garden in Kitsilano.

 When I met Ros after her return from winter in Mexico this week, the first thing I noticed was colour. The intense red of her puffy jacket and wide red scarf stood out to me like a stop sign. The clothes are not from Mexico – they’re Ros’s winter wear here – but they put me in mind of the bright colours I associate with that country.

Which made me think about the colours of Vancouver, and why Ros’s red made such an impression.  Winter here is green and grey, serene and beautiful. By this point in the year, though, I think most of us are colour-starved. It may be why we go a bit mad over our spring flowers.

We can’t do much about nature’s hues, but I wonder why, when we have a choice, we choose drab?

All winter, our sidewalks are parades of dark coats under black umbrellas. Our cars are grey or black or white – what happened to the bright flash of blue and red and yellow on the highways of my youth? Even our houses, at least in my part of town, are dull whites, beiges and grays. Except for the totally trendy ones, which are black.

I confess I fit right in. My house is white. My winter coat is long and grey.

Ros dares to stand out on our dull winter streets. Her red is a reminder that there are other, more cheerful colours in this world.

I'm a duller photo subject altogether, although I've ditched my winter grey for slightly brighter purple. 

Spring is late in Vancouver this year, as you can see from this plot at the City Farmer garden. It still has the drabness of winter.

The main part of my favourite garden in Vancouver, also in Kitsilano, hasn't burst into full spring colour yet.  

But outside the picket fence, passersby can glory in purple crocuses and white snowdrops.

It's a stunning show of colour the entire length of the fence. 

A Pink Dawn viburnum is blooming at the front of the house.

Under it, what a show of blossoms for colour-starved Vancouverites!