Godetia is a very under-appreciated annual flower in the home garden. It’s super easy to grow, a great cutting flower, and reseeds well but not too well. Its only drawback, for some, is its lack of scent. But we forgive it that minor shortcoming because we love its crinkly petals in shades of lush red and pink and that neat starburst of buds on top.

This bouquet is from the Pike Place Market, the home of the most amazing (only) locally grown flowers. I love the way they mix and match the most unusual combinations. Here we also see sweetpeas on the right, a bit of stripey alstroemeria tucked in the middle, and peppermint for greenery!

Visit Pink Saturday for more pink visions of all kinds, and Color Carnival for more brilliant color. And you might try clicking on a tag like “pink” or “red” to see something new. Easy to return to the main page here; just click on Sara’s Fave Photos above.

The sun is finally here. This cosmos flower is just basking in it! Another perfect day tomorrow is predicted, and then showers again. Actually, it’s amazing how quickly the flower beds dry out. Our water bill will be way higher in July than up til now, that’s for sure.

Visit Thursday Challenge and view the entries for the theme Weather. Mine is sunny!

You might want to check out a tag or category here first, easily returning to the main page here by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos.

I like this photo very much and am putting it in the Best Post of the Week category.

Feverfew is one of those herbs that sometimes appear as a weed, brought by the birds. I am lucky I recognized it and put the small plant where it would thrive. Sometimes volunteer plants are a gift, no? Now it is covered with masses of small white flowers, great in bouquets, that even did fine in our recent heatwave. It’s asking a lot of a garden to go from cool and 60s to a couple of days of sunny and mid 90s. But all is well.

Visit Macro Monday and Mellow Yellow Monday for more of the same. Try browsing here and there first, and you can always get back to the main blog by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos.

Today’s visit to the flower vendors in Seattle’s Pike Place Market was fabulous, as usual. They have lilies (and sweetpeas) in magnificent quanties, combined in surprising and unique bouquet combinations as always. This one with a lily and a happy jumble of other garden flowers beats out any supermarket bunch any day.

Visit Macro Flowers Saturday for more flower close ups, and Color Carnival for more brilliant color. This one is straight out of the camera, or SOOC, too. And try a new tag or category here while you’re here, returning to the full blog at Sara’s Fave Photos as always.

In California, it is illegal to pick the orange poppies growing by the side of the road, as they are the beloved state flower. I heard you can’t even pick them in your garden, but that can’t be true. Here in Seattle, they grow very well also, maybe too well sometimes. They actually are great in bouquets. Clipping the long seedpods will extend the bloom quite a bit and help prevent way too many plants from appearing everywhere.

So, which view do you prefer? Leave a comment and let me know.

Visit Color Carnival for more brilliant color and Shadow Shot Sunday for more intriguing shadows. Both shots were straight out of the camera, or SOOC. And I like this post so much I’ve called it my Best Post of the Week.

The other day there was some rain (what a surprise) and then the sun came out. This was taken at my friend’s garden, with orange alstroemeria in the background. Can you see the tiny flowers upside down in the raindrops?

Visit Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday for more wet and fresh air shots. And Weekend Reflections has really cool reflection photos.

If you like, you can click on a tag or category and see some previous photos. Returning to the latest post is easy: click on Sara’s Fave Photos.

At the Woodlawn Park Rose Garden the other day, some roses were just rioting in bloom. I didn’t get the names of all of those I photographed (bad Sara! I sometimes get too carried away with their gorgeousness) but here is a fine vision of pink floribunda roses for your enjoyment. If only the screen had a scratch ‘n’ sniff button!

Do visit Pink Saturday for more things pink. And you might try the Pink tag or search here, easily returning to the latest posts by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos.

This is also an entry for SOOC, or straight out of the camera, Scenic Sunday and Color Carnival. Have fun in blogland!

This was taken just a few minutes before the shot at the overlook below. You can see the dusky skies in the background. Such sweet pink tips on the blooms, no?

Visit Macro Flowers Saturday if you like flower closeups. There are some great ones there! You are welcome to browse around here first, if you like. Returning to the main blog page is easy; just click on Sara’s Fave Photos.

I snuck out of the office yesterday and wandered a bit around the Woodland Park Rose Garden in Seattle. I could have spent hours there. It’s huge, two and a half acres, 280 kinds of roses, all kinds of goodies like a gazebo for weddings, a reflecting pool with water lilies, the works. It’s so much fun to see big beds of ones I recognize. I’ll be sharing a few nice shots I took there, which is one of the best parts of blogging. On with the roses!

Try searching for “rose” or perhaps “tulip” while you’re here. And returning to the latest post is easy: click on Sara’s Fave Photos above. Visit Scenic Sunday for more interesting and beautiful sights around the world and Color Carnival for more great color.

The rain never ceases to fascinate me in the garden. I love the almost spherical drops, just poised like that. I once saw a hummingbird take a bath in droplets like this on rose leaves, but of course had no camera with me. Every time I see perfect droplets like this on rose leaves I do think of that tiny bird, in the world’s smallest bathtub.

Visit Outdoor Wednesday and Watery Wednesday after looking around here. Return to the full blog by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos on top.

I like this post very much and have categorized it as Best Post of the Week.