The Power of Yellow

Goodness, we all need some brightness in our lives just now. The unremitting bad news every time we turn on a news bulletin. The fiasco calling itself the British government. And if all that’s not bad enough, the clocks turn back at the end of the month, leaving us plunged into the darkness of winter.

Leya’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #221 this week gives us an opportunity. Ann-Christine asks us to showcase our favourite flowers. Well, that’s a bit of a task. But what I do know is that a yellow flowers always brings me cheer. The earliest aconites. The first bright-faced daffodils poking through the ground at the beginning of spring. Primroses. Celandines. Even dandelions and fields of rape. Vivid gorse bushes pointing our way on a country or seaside walk. Or – and this is where we’ll begin, summer sunflowers. They always bring a smile to my face as they gradually turn their faces throughout the day to face the rays of the sun. Bees constantly scramble over the heads crammed with seed that will feed the birds – and us – over winter.

Even their hangdog look as they droop and die is characterful.

For the rest, I’ll just give you a small gallery of some of the yellow flowers that bring me cheer year after year, in public places, in gardens, in farmers’ fields and in city streets.

Author: margaret21

I'm retired and living in North Yorkshire, where I walk as often as I can, write, volunteer, and travel as often as I can.

61 thoughts on “The Power of Yellow”

  1. Yes, it is a lovely cheery colour, Margaret. Where’s that laburnum? Looks gorgeous. And I love the gorse- reminds me of Anglesey, or the Yorkshire coast, of course. That last shot is beautiful too. Lots of reasons to celebrate a happy life.
    As for the rest, don’t turn on the news! Are you off to London to see the family soon… or elsewhere?

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    1. That laburnum is at Newby Hall. It’s magnificent, isn’t it? And I love coastal gorse too. I don’t turn on the news much Jo. I certainly don’t watch it. But living here, it’s impossible to ignore completely the mess we’re in.

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  3. Thanks for the cheerful post! I do love a happy yellow. Gardening in general makes me happy and so does sharing and seeing what other gardeners are up to, like here. It’s my balm and refuge from what so often seems like humanity gone crazy. 🙂

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  8. A beautiful set of pictures, love the laburnum. I’m spending as much time as I can outdoors with the dog at the minute. Current events are predictably rubbish. I just do a quick run through the headlines in the afternoon to see if Truss is still hanging on in there.

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  11. Rape is a bit too omnipresent round here. Good to look at, but not to smell, and to be avoided at all costs by hay fever sufferers ( not me luckily).

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  20. Yellow is a cheerful colour. I actually like the autumn colours, but now you’ve made me want summer back. Sunflowers always make me smile (and they remind me of triffids!)

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  22. Margaret, you really brightened my evening! Yellow! The sun and shine for us all. A great collection of yellows, and I realise I did not have a single one in my post! This was answer enough – thank you!

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  23. A wonderful set of choices Margaret – your case for the cheerfulness of yellow is very well made – and of course for the need of relief from the gloom of the daily news! The entire set is wonderful but my favorite of all is the field of yellow under the dark blue sky. Mother Nature at her best!

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  24. Just when you think things couldn’t get worse they do. Apologising for her mistake doesn’t undo the damage done to the markets. What’s that Lizzie? You have saved me £66 a month on my electricity bill? Well thanks for that, but what about the £500 increase in my mortgage? Not your fault? Blimey, you just couldn’t make this stuff up.

    Anyway, back to the flowers. Your sunflowers are fabulous and yes, we all need some cheery colours right now. I always thought yellow was very much a colour for the spring garden, but I am changing my mind. And it is a superb contrast to the blues and purples I favour.

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    1. Your comment posted yesterday is already woefully out of date. A bad situation has become …. there are no words. And yellow? Yup, I’ll take a yellow flower at any time of year. Or any colour. I’m not choosy.

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  25. Ah yes, yellow is such an uplifting colour in these gloomy times. And, bravo for such a tour de force of yellow flowers. It is now three days since you posted this and Liz has just gone!!! Time for some cheer, but horror of horrors some commentators are saying that Johnson may throw his hat into the ring AGAIN. Speechless here.

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      1. I just heard that Johnson is flying back to the country – am still speechless. It absolutely should be a General Election. Though it looks like the Tories will hang on as long as they can and put party before the country as usual.

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  26. What an uplifting gallery – very much appreciated and needed right now. Did you see the in my view sensible proposal not to change the clocks this year as it would generally lower out consumption of electricity? Not coming from the government, need I say.

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      1. What’s that old expression? Like shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic. I doubt that 40 or so days in the top job should qualify for the PM retirement package either, or is that the only incentive to run for the position. Hang in there Margaret it has to get better.

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