Isn’t this an exquisite planting? Those new, dark petunias, some kind of yellow striped grass, a dark heuchera (pronounced HOOK-er-a) and the sedum with pink edges look so great together. It’s in front of the door at Seattle’s Volunteer Park Conservatory. Go see it.

Visit Scenic Sunday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Outdoor Wednesday, Pink Saturday, and Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) for more neat photos. Also, the dappled sunlight and subtle colors make me happy, so I’m calling it my Best Post of the Week.

I just love that late-afternoon light. After MUCH rain and clouds, the sun peeked out the other evening and of course I was out there with my camera. These are mostly ‘Double Delight’ roses, my long-time favorite rose. Very available in nurseries, fabulous fragrance, strong grower. And this image is purely SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera).

This year I am attempting to grow roses without the usual systemic plant food laced with pesticides, hoping that this year I won’t feel the guilt of watching a robin poking for bugs in the soil and hoping the robin is OK. I am using alfalfa meal as a fertilizer this year and so far am very happy with the results.

Other interesting photo sites: Scenic Sunday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Outdoor Wednesday, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Color Carnival, Ruby Tuesday 2, Pink Saturday,  Skywatch Friday, A Piece of Heaven, Mellow Yellow Monday and Macro Monday. And do browse around here first. Maybe click a category on the right like “My Garden”? Thanks for visiting!

This may be my new favorite rosebush in the garden. Growing roses in the Pacific Northwest is tough with our damp climate. I have 18 different rosebushes in front of my house and after three years, ‘Proud Land’ seems to be the star. It’s huge, disease resistant, and just covered with dark red, fragrant flowers. Very satisfying. I’m calling this my Best Post of the Week.

For more cool photos, you might pay a visit to Scenic Sunday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Outdoor Wednesday, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Color Carnival, and Ruby Tuesday 2. If you’ve arrived via a link and there is only one photo  below, click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above to see the complete collection here. Thank you so much for stopping by!

OK, enough with the peonies, for a little while at least. Feast your eyes on these fuchsias. What an explosion of form and color. I took these at the VPC not too long ago, and if you have a chance, you should definitely check out their displays. So many kinds, and all so graceful. Little ballerinas, perhaps?

Check out Macro Monday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Pink Saturday, Floral Friday, Color Carnival, and Ruby Tuesday 2. If you like these photos, sign up for email notifications (Subscribe) at the upper right so you won’t miss a post. Thanks!

It’s kind of peony week here. I’ve loved peonies for so many years, and this is the first year they’ve really been truly magnificent in my garden. I’ve been sprinkling dolomitic lime around them, spring and fall, for the past 2-3 years, and with our acidic soil in the Pacific Northwest that has made a huge difference, but they need a certain level of maturity to really take off. Finally! Now I want to have those dark red ones, and the dark, dark wine red ones, too. Maybe a visit to the nursery is in order. I have peony fever.

Visit Scenic Sunday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Pink Saturday, Floral Friday, Outdoor Wednesday, Color Carnival, and Mellow Yellow Monday. Glad you could visit here today.

Sometimes I like the bud stage almost more than the fully blooming stage. All the possibilities! Like the peony buds in the post below, this scene in my front yard feels so full of life to me. Behind the dianthus budding up a storm in front, there is pink sea thrift and white alyssum blooming in back. The shadows on the rocks make me happy, too, especially in this typically gray Seattle weather.

For more interesting photos, visit SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Scenic Sunday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Pink Saturday, Floral Friday, Outdoor Wednesday, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2. And thanks for stopping by!

Such great, round, pregnant shapes. It’s marvellous to think that these tight little spheres expand to the big, fluffy blooms like the one in the post below. By the way, I measured that one and it’s a full 7 inches across, and still going strong days later. I love peonies.

Visit Macro Monday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Pink Saturday, Floral Friday, Outdoor Wednesday, Skywatch Friday, A Piece of Heaven, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2.  Do browse here first, OK? And thanks so much for visiting!

This peachy pink tropical rhododendron was at Seattle’s Volunteer Park Conservatory a few weeks ago. What I love about these flowers is that unlike regular rhodies, they are fragrant, as well as beautiful. Such a sweet, charming aroma, wafting through the air. Hope you get to see and smell one in person some day.

This post is or will be linked to Macro Monday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Color Carnival, Shadow Shot Sunday 2 and naturally, Pink Saturday. Also, the glowing center really makes me happy, so I’m calling it my Best Post of the Week.

Don’t forget that you can download a free copy of my “Seven Secrets to Better Flower (or any!) Photos” on the sidebar at right. No fancy equipment needed to take scrumptious photos. It’s not the camera, it’s you!

A happy garden perennial that blooms so brightly, geum (GEE-um) is a nice tall flower (2-3 feet, or a meter) with sprays of brilliant red that dance above a rosette of very toothed leaves. No fragrance, but very long blooming, especially when deadheaded. Hope you have this crowd-pleaser in your garden. An easy one to grow!

Check out Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Macro Monday, and Color Carnival and don’t forget to click on the Sara’s Fave Photos Blog banner above to see the whole blog here.

The rhododendrons are really gorgeous this year. The winter has been pretty mild, with plenty of water, and with the brutally cold winter the previous year, I guess the plants are breathing a sigh of relief and blooming their hearts out in gratitude. This scene in Seattle’s Volunteer Park is just one tiny slice of the magnificent display that rhodies put on for us in the Pacific Northwest.

Visit Scenic Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) and Pink Saturday to see lots of great photos from around the planet. And if you’ve arrived via a link, be sure to click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above to see the complete blog here. Have fun!