Today is the first day of Spring in the northern hemisphere. Seattle’s weather still has lots of clouds and wet but my forsythia is in full bloom.

Old fashioned forsythia gives a burst of golden floral sunshine

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Someone sent me the most wonderful flowers as a get-well bouquet. I am beyond thrilled. It will help speed recovery for sure!

Orchids and roses in a charming bouquet, for me!

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We actually ate in a restaurant on our Port Ludlow getaway. What a thrill.

An actual rose on the table at Fireside Restaurant in Port Ludlow

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Hubby is a traditionalist and brings me red roses every year. I love them. And him.

A dozen long-stemmed red roses, yes please.

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From the other side of the year, a very frilly peony flower in my garden.

Pink and white peony blossom in the June garden

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NOTE: Just updated this post, the tag had said it was tillandsia paleacea but an expert said no, it’s a caerulea. I checked on google images and they are correct! I’ve had this air plant for several years on this north window sill in Seattle. Sometimes some other tillandsia plant stems just seem to appear in the bowl, but I never see them attached. I basically ignore it, soak when I can remember. Over two months ago (!!) a long flower stem emerged. This week a tiny, delicate flower finally showed, and it’s very fragrant! Wow and wow.

Fragrant purple flower about half an inch wide of tillandsia paleacea, with one or two more blooms to come

Bowl of tillandsias, one tall spike finally flowering

Pretty gray-green color of tillandsia air plants

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The dark weather in Seattle does kind of get to me at this time of year. But we must keep smiling!

Collection of smiley-themed items at the Puyallup Fair in Washington, several years ago

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An exciting thing happened. Someone sent me a gift of 11 air plants! I’ve kept some air plants alive for a few years so I’m pretty sure I know what to do with them, but I’m hoping these don’t need unusual care. What I know to do is soak them for half an hour once a week (upside down so their little butts are in the air), shake off excess water, and keep on a bright windowsill with lots of air circulation. Makes sense, right? Anyone out there know what kinds these are? I’ve included a picture with numbers to help you tell me what’s what if you know. Thanks in advance!

All probably some kind of tillandsias???

Know any names? Please post in comments. Thanks!

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I used to call this a Christmas cactus but I learned that the leaves with the points are Thanksgiving cactuses (or cacti), and there are also Easter cactuses. But it’s not even Halloween yet!

My Thanksgiving cactus is blooming happily in October

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I thought our grapevine was Interlaken but the tag is gone. The internet seems to think Interlaken grapes are golden, not red. Well, I don’t know. Our vine struggled for years, very low production, but early this spring we finally cut down a couple of very nearby apple trees that were not producing what we liked and were shading the vine. What a difference! This year for the first time we have some grapes to eat. Yummy!

Red table grapes ripening in early October in Seattle zone 8b

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