Spring sprouts and blossoms turn the capital city into a picturesque land. (Photo: Wang Zhuangfei/China Daily)

Smarter residential landscaping means we can savor the spring season without joining the crowds at formal public gardens.

While visitors are flocking to parks and scenic spots to enjoy the springtime in full blossom, many people are enjoying easy access to beautiful flowers in their residential areas.

"There are colorful blooming flowers in the places where I live and work, and even along the road. Sometimes, it's not necessary to go all the way to parks for beautiful flowers," says Ma Limei, 37, an editor in Beijing.

Ma visited the Beijing Botanical Garden and Yuyuantan Park recently with her family and colleagues.

However, like others, she found her enjoyment of flowers was spoiled a bit by the overflow of tourists.

The residential area where she lives has such flowers as yulan magnolias, which have been cultivated in Chinese Buddhist temple gardens since AD 600, as well as apricot and cherry blossoms.

She finds it convenient and pleasant to enjoy flowers when she leaves home every day and again when she returns.

"I love the spring in Beijing very much because there are a variety of flowers. Sometimes I'm feeling blue, but I become happy as soon as I see these gorgeous flowers," she says.

Ma likes to take photos of flowers and draw them. She notes that ancient people created poems about, and paintings of, flowers. But people can take photos instead to preserve the beauty they have seen.

Other Beijing residents enjoy blooming flowers in their neighborhoods.

"It's so great that I can admire the beautiful flowers as soon as I walk out of the elevator. Compared with parks, residential communities have fewer visitors and the atmosphere is more relaxed," says Shi Peifang, 62, a retired accountant.

She walks with her 3-year-old grandson every day in the alleys lined with flowers and trees near her home.

An Jin, 27, who works for an international company in Beijing, says: "You can sense the arrival of spring everywhere. Enjoying flowers in the place where you live is to find the beauty around you, and relax a bit and indulge in a moment of peace when you have time." Her mom loves to walk around the community to take photos of flowers.