Bleeding heart, or dicentra, is one of those great aquaphobic leaves that give lady’s mantle a run for their money when it comes to pretty raindrops. I put one in a newly-cleared shady part of the garden and it seems to be very happy, which makes me happy.

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From my backyard, the other day. I already pulled up the forget-me-nots since then. They fill in so well, looking great when not much else is blooming, but then a certain point is passed, and out they go. No problem with new plants volunteering for next year, of course, perhaps even too vigorously reseeding, but when you have a big place to fill up, these do a fine job. And the dutch irises seem to be quite easy, as well, returning now for the third time and more than I planted. Gardening is so fun when it works out well.

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Sunshine today, sunshine this weekend, yay and yay! Went out and snapped a million (well, a few) photos in the late afternoon light, of course my fave, considering I am not a morning person by any means. The lupines did remarkably well this winter. I think it was so cold this spring that the slugs stayed sleeping and let them get going unmolested. I planted these from seed maybe three years ago and look at them!

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I hope you are not tired of water droplets on leaves. It’s a theme around here. I keep getting excited and get out there right after a rain to get a good photo of those raindrops decorating everything. I’ve gotta have something to keep me going in this weather.

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This leaf star from the yard earlier this week. I will have some flowers to show you soon, but it’s Watery Wednesday so rain jewels are called for.

News flash: My book is getting closer to reality. It’s going to be about the flowers at Volunteer Park Conservatory. Lots of work, believe me, but of course with my very best, most gorgeous photos of their incredible blooms and foliage, followed throughout the year of changing flora. I hope to be able to start taking orders in just a few weeks for August delivery. You can be sure I will keep everyone posted. I’m so excited!

In the meantime, lots of good work all over. Visit Outdoor Wednesday, Thursday Challenge (Wet), Macro Friday, Macro Monday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) and Wordless Wednesday for lots of photo phun. Do try a new tag or category here first as long as you’re here. And if you see only one photo below, click on the Sara’s Fave Photos banner for the whole blog.

Red rhodedendrons are pretty hard to photograph. The sunshine seems to really help me, even though it’s against most photographic advice. I expose for/focus on the bright areas and love how the background falls into shadow. Very mysterious, no?

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There’s a garden meme called Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day, and each month on the fifteenth people post what’s blooming in their garden that day. It’s quite a show. Some posts give me such spring-weather envy I cannot tell you. We are having serious warm-weather delay in Seattle, with the coldest April on record and heading that way for May, too. But occasionally there are dry spells, and if it hits 60 degrees F we are so happy!

This large Blushing Lady tulip didn’t bloom at all last year and I thought she was dead, but she sent up two (out of 6 bulbs) flowers after taking the year off and I do love this tulip. I’ve learned that you mustn’t plant things that need watering over them for the summer, because it causes the bulbs to rot. So much for that garden plan. I’ll have to find a spot that I don’t want to plant in the summer for next year, and plant new tulips there.

Behind the tulip are rust-colored wallflowers and to the left are red rhododendrons.

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This Spring is late, late, late. I checked my garden photo archives and this sweet mini-bouquet was taken last year, two weeks before this date, and we are not up to several of these flowers quite yet. I did see a few lilies of the valley out there, yes on the violets, and the forget-me-nots definitely, but not yet for the blue bachelor buttons or lavender scabiosa. I don’t know what that magenta one is; maybe a kind of geranium. Soon all will bloom. We are waiting!

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Meadow rue is a great perennial plant in the flower garden. I believe that its flowers come in yellow and lavender at least; this one is a lavender. The leaves actually look very much like columbine, but this plant gets much taller, maybe 4 or 5 feet (1.5 meters). It’s getting ready to have puffy, hairy sort of flowers, kind of like ageratum. Doesn’t sound pretty, but it is. I’ll show a photo when it’s blooming, which should be in a week or two. I like tall flowering plants as they just feel so abundant, plus of course the flowers are closer to my eye level.

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Yet another study of rain on leaves. This from a couple of days ago. Tulip leaves bead the water so beautifully. Don’t water tulips where they are planted in the summer, however, or they won’t come back.

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