This spring has been the rainiest in the last 80 years in Colorado. And what it has given us are more weeks to enjoy the spring, and all that it provides. The trees are greener, the grass is practically glowing, and the flowers are blooming later and brighter than I’ve ever seen before. Even though the rain brought grayer days than we used to here in Denver, the gorgeousness it provided was more than worth it.

My phone has turned into a repository of greens and pinks and delicate white blooms. I can’t get enough of all the beautiful colors of the season.

And as the summer comes into full swing, and brown spots (hopefully don’t) show up on lawns and dotting bushes, I turn to the beautiful pictures on my phone as a reminder of the beautiful season we’ve just completed. But it also serves as a rich and varied source for design inspiration. The colors are captured, and I can pull the pictures onto my screen and use them as palettes.

While I am aware that my noticing plants and trees and yards means that I’m getting older, and paying more attention to gardens and less to personal style, I’m okay with that. My fanny pack and wide-brimmed hat that I wear on walks are clear indicators of that shift. But the colors this season changed my brain somehow, and my mood, and made me brighter and happier too. And maybe just a little more grateful for the gloomy rainy days, knowing that afterward, we can appreciate the colors they bring with them.