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?

This grape-leaf passion flower, or Passiflora vitifolia, is in Seattle’s Volunteer Park Conservatory, seen on a recent visit. It’s also on page 32 of my book, Flowers of Volunteer Park Conservatory, available on this website, at the Conservatory’s Gift Shop, and also on Amazon, by the way. I think this image might even be better than the one in the book! Oh well, that’s the way it goes. Sometimes the flowers pose so prettily for the camera, don’t they?

Interesting photo memes include Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Macro Monday, and SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), and it looks like Color Carnival is happening again, too!

Today my daughter and I were at the Burien (WA) Farmers Market. Wonderful weather, if a bit nippy, and the flowers for sale were spectacular. Here’s one of the bouquets we saw—for $5 each!

You might like Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Ruby Tuesday 2, Mellow Yellow Monday, and Outdoor Wednesday, with lots of great pictures, too. 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 entire blog here. Thank you so much for dropping by.

Sometimes I just have no idea what a flower is, especially trees. Anyone have an idea? But isn’t it pretty, with the light coming through the petals like that?

Various flower memes worth visiting include Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, plus there’s  Pink Saturday, Macro Monday, Skywatch Friday and Outdoor Wednesday, just for fun.

If you’re in Seattle, be sure to hit the Volunteer Park Conservatory plant sale tomorrow, Saturday. It’s the best, and I’ll be there, signing books, too.

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.!

Ah, Seattle’s Pike Place Market in the spring! Aren’t these just the most exciting tulips, even all still in bud? They make me think of a Dutch still life painting.

You might want to wander over to Ruby Tuesday 2, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Macro Monday, Mellow Yellow Monday, and Pink Saturday for many lovely images. And if you see only this one photo here, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above for the complete blog with lots more photos you might like.

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.

I’m very excited that this week Sara’s Fave Photos Blog is the featured blog at Beverly’s delightful party of pink, Pink Saturday. Thank you, Beverly! I thought I’d have some special orchids from my recent visit to the New York Botanical Garden Orchid Show. It was amazing and inspirational. Here are three photos showcasing their remarkable display, in pink, of course.

Also, please visit Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Today’s Flowers, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Shadow Shot Sunday 2, and Mellow Yellow Monday, if you have a moment or two. Great memes!

Stopping by Seattle’s iconic Pike Place Market today I saw a whole cartload of tulips in the rain. Since tomorrow’s my birthday, a special treat for you is TWO tulip photos. Hope you like them. I really do, so I’m calling it my my Best Post of the Week.

You might want to pay a visit to Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Macro Monday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Mellow Yellow Monday, Thursday Challenge (Spring), Scenic Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday, and Pink Saturday for lots of lovely images to delight you. Please remember that if you’ve arrived via a link, clicking on the curly letters above of Sara’s Fave Photos Blog will bring you the complete photoblog experience here. Thanks for visiting and hope to see you again soon.