Leaves in spring sunshine can be as dazzling as autumn color. Here are some red Japanese maple leaves like flaming fingers against the sky.

Deep red Japanese maple leaves against a blue springtime sky

Linking up with Blue Monday, Skywatch Friday, Seasonal Sundays, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, NF Catching the Light Monday, Scenic Weekends, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, and Saturday Show Off. If there is only one photo visible, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos above for a few more recent ones.

Many people love pansies, and I am one of them.

Purple pansy with yellow center and dark lines

Other neat photos at Seasonal Sundays, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, I Heart Macro Saturday, Macro Monday, Monday Mellow Yellows, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Blooming Friday, and Saturday Show Off. Thank you very much for your visit here today.

In the break we had from rain a couple of days ago, I went out with my dry paintbrush and pollinated my two little fruit trees. (“Make like a bee!”) I am lucky enough to have a dwarf cherry tree with multiple grafts on it of different varieties. However, even though it is “self-fertile,” all that means is that it doesn’t need another variety to pollinate. It still needs some pollen to move around for the fruit to set. So out I go, on a sunny day, with my soft, dry paintbrush, and gently brush the blossoms. I have found it makes a big difference. Use this technique on tomato plants, too.

Fruiting cherry tree blooms in backyard orchard

Linking to Blue Monday, Skywatch Friday, Seasonal Sundays, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, NF Catching the Light Monday,  Straight out of the Camera Sunday, I Heart Macro Saturday, Macro Monday, Monday Mellow Yellows, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Blooming Friday, My Romantic Home, and Saturday Show Off. If you’re a macro fan, try clicking on the tag “close up” in the tag cloud at right.

Last week it was sunny, briefly (pouring right now), and the tulips in my front yard put on a show.

Macro of red and yellow tulip center lit by sunshine

Joining up with Seasonal Sundays, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, NF Catching the Light Monday, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, I Heart Macro Saturday, Macro Monday, Monday Mellow Yellows, Ruby Tuesday 2, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Blooming Friday, My Romantic Home, and Saturday Show Off. If you’re a macro fan, try clicking on the tag “close up” in the tag cloud at right.

This is a season of floral abundance, that’s for sure. This graceful, deep-pink-and-white Japanese magnolia is blooming in my backyard today. The flowers are about as big as my hand.

Pink and white Japanese magnolia bloom in Seattle in April

Connecting to I Heart Macro Saturday, Macro Monday, Seasonal Sundays, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Pink Saturday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Blooming Friday, Scenic Weekends, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, My Romantic Home, and Saturday Show Off. If only one image is visible here, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog. Hurry back soon.

As a brief break from tulips, I thought I’d show you a new tree (to me), a star magnolia. The pretty white flowers were very fragrant, and 2 or 3 inches wide (5-8 cm). It was growing in a sweet little arboretum in Everett, WA, the Evergreen Arboretum & Gardens.

Fragrant white Star Magnolia blooms in April in Everett, WA

They also had a lovely and fragrant viburnum tree of some kind. Looking on google images for the name of this plant, I find Viburnum carlesii ‘Aurora’, or Korean spice viburnum, which looks very similar, except that the plant I saw seemed to be a tree, or maybe it was just a very mature shrub. But I want one.

Fragrant viburnum blooms in April in Everett, WA

Check out I Heart Macro Saturday, Macro Monday, Monday Mellow Yellows, Blue Monday, Skywatch Friday, Ein Stück Himmel, Seasonal Sundays, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Pink Saturday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Blooming Friday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, NF Catching the Light Monday, Scenic Weekends, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, and Saturday Show Off. If only two images are here, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above to see the rest. Come back soon, you hear?

The late afternoon light made this row of red tulips with white edges especially scenic.

Late afternoon light illuminates a row of red tulips at the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival

Please visit I Heart Macro Saturday, Macro Monday, Seasonal Sundays, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Blooming Friday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, NF Catching the Light Monday, Scenic Weekends, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, and Saturday Show Off. If only one image here, click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above to see a few more.

Another tulip in my front yard.

Simple yellow tulip close up in the garden

Visit I Heart Macro Saturday, Macro Monday, Wordless Wednesday, Seasonal Sundays, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Monday Mellow Yellows, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Blooming Friday, My Romantic Home, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, NF Catching the Light Monday, and Saturday Show Off. Thank you so much for visiting, and please come back soon. Click on Sara’s Fave Photos above if there is only one photo here.

We had one sunny, warm day. One. But it was perfection, and here in Seattle, everyone surely appreciated it. I went outside and my tulips were in full bloom.

Orange tulips bloom against a blue sky

Joining up with I Heart Macro Saturday, Macro Monday, Wordless Wednesday, Seasonal Sundays, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Blue Monday, Orange You Glad It’s Friday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Blooming Friday, My Romantic Home, Skywatch Friday, Ein Stück Himmel, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, NF Catching the Light Monday, and Saturday Show Off. Please click on the curly letters of Sara’s Fave Photos above if there is only one photo here. Thank you so much for visiting, and please come back soon.

Grape hyacinths, or muscari, are stars of the early spring garden, to my mind. I think they spread nicely and their blast of brilliant blue color is so welcome! This fall I really must plant more daffodils so the display next spring will be even more exciting.

Grape hyacinths, or muscari, bloom in the early spring garden

Participating in Seasonal Sundays, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Blue Monday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Blooming Friday, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, My Romantic Home, and Saturday Show Off. If there is only one photo here, please click on the curly letters above for Sara’s Fave Photos Blog to see a few more. Thanks!