Springtime Colours and Gems

Springtime in Melbourne (September to November) can be slow to start, unlike places further north like Sydney, where people might be able to start wearing t-shirts and light jackets during the day. Melbournians, though, are still wearing layers of clothing, including a winter coat. But the mornings are getting lighter and the days are not so cold. The trees have gone mad, though, with new leaves everywhere and spring flowers are starting. The local asparagus season has started which makes September a very special time for me.

The colours of spring are quite varied. The first colour you think about is green – green leaves, green asparagus, green lawns. There are actually quite a few green gemstones to choose from. Emeralds, of course, but peridots, jade, chrysophase, tsavorite and dematoid (green garnets) aventurine, fluorite, chrome diopside, sphene, tourmaline, apatite, and more. As you can see from the photo above, I‘ve chosen jade.

When I look at the flowers that are everywhere, though, it is hard to narrow it down to one colour. Lovely Victorian micro-mosaic pieces depict flowers, like this pendant/brooch, with its detailed study of a bunch of flowers. Other pieces focus on just one type of flower. For instance, the Victorian gold lined micro-mosaic bracelet, pictured at the top of the post, features lovely flowers, maybe lilies, which are soft pink and white with green leaves.

The next piece also has pink and white gems. It is a lovely gold necklace in the form of a garland of flowers made up of small pearls and with dark pink pastes in the centres of each flower, as berries and as small leaves.

So I think pink will be be my second spring colour while I wait for the weather to get warmer.