From
苏轼《赠刘景文》 (Su Shi, Northern Song, 1090, presented to his friend Liu Jingwen):
荷尽已无擎雨盖，
菊残犹有傲霜枝。
一年好景君须记，
最是橙黄橘绿时 (The lotus is spent, no more umbrellas against the rain; chrysanthemums wither, yet frost-defying branches remain. Of the year's finest scene, sir, you must remember - it is when oranges yellow and tangerines green).
苏轼 frames late autumn - not spring - as the peak of the year.
