The Spring Snow falls in The Fault in our Stars

We don't have 'spring snow' in L.A.  That's the annual Amsterdam springtime ritual when the Iepen (the elm trees) shake off their seeds, so beautifully described by John Green in The Fault in Our Stars. 

The elm trees cast off their seeds every spring

'There were elm trees everywhere along the canals, and these seeds were blowing out of them. But they didn't look like seeds. They looked for all the world like miniaturized rose petals drained of their color. These pale petals were gathering in the wind like flocking birds- thousands of them, like a spring snowstorm. 

The old man who'd given up his seat saw us noticing and said, in English, "Amsterdam's spring snow. The iepen throw confetti to greet the spring."

Jacaranda trees bloom briefly in May and June

We don't have Iepen (elms) in L.A. - at least not in any number to create the slightest sort of flurry - but every year in May and June the Jacaranda's purple the sky with their shock of color. 

The short-lived blooms ends up strewn across lawns and sidewalks in bright little pick-me-up pops of purple. There's no festival but it's an annual  brightening that brings me joy.


See the spring snow in Amsterdam at the Springsnow festival site here.  TFIOS director Josh Boone has indicated that he will be shooting in Amsterdam - what would a TFIOS movie be without a romantic dinner at the fictional canal-side restaurant Oranjee and a trip to Ann Frank's house? Since the production starts shooting in August - but the seeds are snowing now - are we doomed to faux CGI elm seeds scattering in the air?