These fancy daylilies are really something. The colors, the ruffles, the extra petals. The hybridizers have been busy! This was in a friend’s garden and I wish I had some. They do OK in part shade, you know.

Sometimes when I am taking a photo of a flower whose petals are in direct sun, the background blacks out and I get this exciting chiaroscuro effect, straight off the memory card. Isn’t it something?

For more flowers seen around the world, visit Flowers for Today. And for more brilliant color, visit Color Carnival, two great memes.

We are going camping for a few days so I’ll post two photos today for you.

Yesterday there was a garden tour pretty close by and the weather was superb. One lovely place had this view of Puget Sound from their backyard. For more scenic loveliness, visit Scenic Sunday.

Another garden had planted different kinds of sunflowers. They were in their element, literally! It’s a Flower for Today, and visit them for fascinating photos of flowers around the world.

See you in a few!

I wish it was easier to find out the name of flowers you don’t know. This one is an oldie; my mom grew it when I was a kid in Queens, New York, in her beautiful garden. It grows well up here in Seattle and reseeds itself. It’s two or three feet tall, and kind of hard to photograph, with deep, brilliant magenta flowers and silvery foliage. I figure magenta is a kind of pink, so I’m including it for Pink Saturday.

Does anyone know the name? I’d be so grateful.

These shasta daisies are a yellow color that I haven’t seen before. I saw then on a walk in the neighborhood the other day. Nothing like seeing what grows in your neighbors’ yards for ideas about what to plant. I’ll have to try these, I think.

For more close up shots of everything imaginable, visit Macro Monday, and for more golden goodness, visit Mellow Yellow Monday. And have fun, hear?

Did you know that the “hydra” in hydrangea means these plants love water? Up here in Seattle they can take full sun, but they must have water and plenty of it. You can also root the pruned stems very easily. When pruning in the spring, just poke the extra stems in the soft ground where they will be shaded by the mother plant, keep all moist, and you will be amazed by how easily they root. New plants!

This lovely specimen is from a friend’s garden. Happy Flowers for Today!

I was lucky enough to be invited to tea at the home of a talented tea-maker, complete with little triangle sandwiches with the crust cut off. The weather was as superb as it gets, and here is a little slice of that heaven, with shadows. For more creative shadows seen in the most interesting places, visit Shadow Shot Sunday.

I admire the restraint in planting one color of flower like this. I can’t seem to help wanting one of each color. The best I can do is plant groups of similar plants in different colors, which is just not as impressive as one huge color splash like this one. A neighbor’s garden on a walk the other day was so perfectly pink I had to share it. Happy Pink Saturday to all!

Everyone loves to grow tomatoes but not everyone knows how to make sure there are lots of tomatoes on the vines. With bees experiencing serious decline for unknown reasons (although I seem to see more this year than last year in my own garden), pollination can be a problem.

The solution? You! Assisted flower sex is the answer, and you get tomatoes for your trouble. Unless you are a farmer with acres of tomatoes, for a few backyard plants you can make a big difference in yield by going around your plants with a child’s little paintbrush, or even a cotton swab, and brushing each little yellow flower in turn. Do this every few days to catch as many flowers as possible, and you will be amazed at the results. And it’s fun!

Visit Think Green Thursday for more takes on the meaning of green.

Oh, let’s try a new meme. After all, there are plenty of yellow flowers in the garden, so why not? The name of this one is Broadway. Pop on over to Mellow Yellow Monday for more kinds of yellow seen by people with cameras around the planet.

And since it’s a close up, let’s check out Macro Monday as well. Two for one!

The little plants I showed you a week or so ago are going gangbusters. Sweetpeas like to be picked, you know, so I must pick bouquets with fragrance like no other to enchant me and give away. What else can I do?

Here’s how to raise great sweetpeas: 1) You must nick the seed with nail scissors, then soak overnight in a dish of water before planting. The seeds are big and pretty easy to handle and it really doesn’t take long. You will see that the nicked ones swell and are ready to go and the ones that didn’t get the outside casing pierced sit there, small and hard.

2) Plant as directed, indoors in early spring if you want.

3) When planting outdoors, put them in a place where heat will not be a problem if possible. An eastern exposure like these have helps. But the big thing is, sweetpeas love manure. When planting, dig a double handful of bagged steer manure into the soil around each one. Then wait patiently for heaven in a flower to appear.

For more floriferous photos, visit Flowers For Today. Everyone likes flowers!

And hello to the Color Carnival crew. We all love bright colors; such a happy feeling.