Gaku-ajisai (Hydrangea macrophylla f. normalis) flowers in Kita-kamakura

The rainy season has just started and every plant keeps flourishing and blooming vigorously throughout Kita-kamakura. The rich moisture and moderate temperature of this season are energizing the growth of life greatly .

In this watery season, blue is an essential color and it creates various brilliant purples in combination with red pigments.

Everywhere in Kita-kamakura, I encounter bright blue and violet flowers and deep green leaves, which seem to be an exceptionally good gift from the wet sky during this season.

Ayame (iris) flowers in Tokei-ji

In the soft sunlight peculiar to June, the graceful color combination of the rich purple of the Ayame (iris) flowers and the Prussian blue of the Gaku-ajisai (lacecap hydrangea) flowers is creating an unusual Rimpa-style scene which can only be found in this season.

Iwatabako (Conandron ramondioides) flowers in Tokei-ji

The royal purple flower of Iwatabako is one of the beautiful emblems of the rainy season in Kita-kamakura.

I feel that these tiny flowers (about 1.5 cm across) are silently whispering with each other about the heartfelt joy of blooming on the moss-covered surface of weathered rocks.

Ayame (iris) flowers in Meigetsu-in

The particular beauty of an Ayame flower consists in the subtle delicacy of its figure and the graceful quality of its colors.

The deep green leaves of Ayame stand upright like straight and sharp blades and emphasize the exceptional grace of this flower of rain.

Ayame (iris) and Matsuba-giku (Lampranthus spectabilis) flowers in Kaizo-ji

The colony of the rich magenta flowers of Matsuba-giku (Lampranthus spectabilis) is shining in the mild sun as if to contend with the purple-striped white flowers of iris in beauty.

Iwatabako (Conandron ramondioides) flowers in Kaizo-ji

Gaku-ajisai (Hydrangea macrophylla f. normalis) flowers in Kaizo-ji

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers in Kencho-ji

Ayame (iris) flowers in Meigetsu-in

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers in Meigetsu-in

Ajisai ( hydrangea) flowers in Meigetsu-in

Ayame (iris) flowers in Meigetsu-in

Ajisai (hydrangea) flowers in Kita-kamakura

A water lily flower in Kita-kamakura

When the rainy season sets in, the gentle flower of Suiren rises to the water surface as if to give this moist season a hearty welcome.

As the name "Suiren (sleeping lotus)" suggests, this short-lived aquatic flower repeats its opening in the morning and closing in the late afternoon for about 4 days.

Day by day, this flower changes its figure by bits like a growing nymph under the rainy sky.