Can’t you almost smell them? Lilac shrubs are very long-lived, I understand, so sometimes there’s a bit of a wait before they will flower, even if conditions are good. I know they can get huge, as I once saw clumps of them in Maine that were the size of small apartment buildings. Here in Seattle the acid soil can be a problem, so a handful of dolomitic lime in the fall and spring has really helped. Finally, the flowers are beginning to look like something this year. They bloom on last year’s growth, so I’ll wait until next year for a bouquet.

You might check out Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Macro Monday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Pink Saturday, Color Carnival, Outdoor Wednesday, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Try a new category or tag, perhaps My Garden or Close Up, just for fun?

I had forgotten that Swiss chard really is a biennial plant in the garden, and was disappointed last summer when the small plants I had grown from seed just didn’t do that much. But after a fairly mild winter with no really hard freezes, the plants are looking just fine. Dinner! I like to pick a good bunch, cut the stems from the leaf parts, roll up the leaves and slice in half inch ribbons. Then start steaming the cut-up stems first, add the leaves after a few minutes, and when picked fresh from your garden, they don’t take long to cook. You can cook up a nice white sauce with cheese melted into it to go over the steamed chard, or go the Italian way with chard added to garlic fried in olive oil, all mixed together on steamed red potatoes. So good.

Visit Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Outdoor Wednesday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Ruby Tuesday 2 and Macro Monday, why don’t you? And if you enjoy the photos in this blog, please click the new follow widget to the right. Thanks for visiting and come back soon.!

This is the second amaryllis plant that I have managed to make rebloom. Isn’t it pretty? This rebloom might even look better than the original bloom last year! Clever me. (Note: if you grow these, it is very important to put them in a heavy enough pot so they can’t tip over.) I use the Schultz liquid drops to make a weak fertilizer when I water so I don’t have to remember which plant needs what and when, and I think they like this regime, plus a south windowsill.

Of course, Ruby Tuesday 2 is the place to visit for more great shots with red featured in them. You also might want to visit Macro Monday, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Today’s Flowers, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), and Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Why not? If there is only one post here, be sure to click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog on top or at upper right to see the whole enchilada here.

I love anemones. They are low to the ground and have no scent to speak of, but their brilliant contrast with those black centers just float my boat. I think I like them especially because I remember them in a still-life painting, by Redon (in google images, type in “redon artist anemones”) and was entranced. Somehow the fact that these flowers existed a long, long time ago adds to their allure.

You might want to check out Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Today’s Flowers, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Macro Monday, and Outdoor Wednesday, just for fun. If you’ve arrived via a link, clicking on the curly letters above of Sara’s Fave Photos Blog will bring you the latest and complete photoblog experience here. Thanks for visiting and hope to see you again soon.

Here in Seattle we’ve had just fabulous weather the last few days. I wasn’t able to get to the tulip fields, but I did get a few wonderful photos in my garden yesterday. That lovely late afternoon light! They call it the Golden Hour for good reason. I hear it’s also beautiful at dawn, but not being an early riser naturally, I wouldn’t know about that. Late in the day for me! These bleeding hearts or dicentra are very happy in our acid soil up here, as are the sweet forget-me-nots you can see on the left. Behind the bleeding hearts is an old-fashioned red azalea bush, all just coming into bloom. I love springtime, and I’m calling it my Best Post of the Week.

You might want to visit Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Scenic Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday, Today’s Flowers, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2, for some great photos with a theme.

Author Appearance Alert! I will be meeting fans and signing books at the gorgeous shop Martha E. Harris Flowers & Gifts in Madison Park in Seattle on Friday, April 27, 1-4pm. And we’ll have jewelry made from the book to check out! Please come and say hello.

Just two short weeks ago we had an incredible ice storm, and today it was sunny and over 60 degrees out! I am just being perverse in showing this photo of the Japanese Coral Bark Maple branches coated in the ice—on such a lovely day as today. But I want to have one last (I hope!) look at real winter before we forge ahead into the burgeoning spring.

You’ll enjoy visiting Ruby Tuesday 2, Scenic Sunday, Thursday Challenge (Red), Outdoor Wednesday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Watery Wednesday, A Piece of Heaven and Skywatch Friday. If there is only one photo here, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the entire blog.  

This is from the ice storm three weeks ago. That was really something. The ice was already beginning to melt when I finally was able to get outside to take some photos. We were lucky and our power never went out, although I heard later that people fairly close did lose power for a couple-three days. I am so very grateful we didn’t. I hope you get some every-day luck like that, too.

Check out Macro Friday, Macro Monday, Scenic Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday and Watery Wednesday to see other photos on a theme. Explore the full blog by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos.

I need to see some flowers blooming, so a trip to the archives from June 2007 is just the thing. Double Delight might be my favorite rose. It’s sturdy, available in nurseries everywhere, and supremely fragrant. Let us gaze on this image of summertime! It will get here, we know. And for you “down under” folks, hope you are enjoying your time in the sun.

Do check out Ruby Tuesday 2, Macro Friday, Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Mellow Yellow Monday, Scenic Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday, Color Carnival and Pink Saturday to see excellent pictures from around the world. Try something new here by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos, if you have a moment.

This cheerful cactus houseplant blooming on my windowsill is very happy, and making me happy in the process. It’s called hatiora (ha-tee-OR-a) or Drunkard’s Dream because the teensy cactus stems sometimes look like bottles. The flowers are only a quarter inch or a centimeter.  I call it a matchstick plant, but that’s incorrect. I actually have several plants, for one reason or another, and this is the only one blooming, and it’s covered in blossoms. I guess in the northern Seattle lattitude, full southern exposure is the way to go.

Why don’t you check out Macro Friday, Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Mellow Yellow Monday and SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) for some great pictures around the world. Find lots more interesting photos here by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos, here or above.

Seattle had a big ice storm, as you may have heard. I really wanted to get outside and take photos yesterday, but the weather was just too bad. Today it all began to melt, but I got out there before it was all gone and captured some great images. This pieris shrub is also called andromeda. I didn’t even realize it had already set buds until I was outside looking closely. It doesn’t seem to be the worse for wear.

Take a look at Macro Friday, Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Watery Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, and Ruby Tuesday 2, for more fascinating photos. Do browse around here first by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos.