Oh, the slinky and glamorous Angels Trumpet (brugmansia) flowers at the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle are so exciting. You must go and see them before they are done. This pink one, viewed from below, was all lit up in the amazing sunshine we have been having here in Seattle. You can see the blue sky through the Conservatory’s glass walls. It’s been about ten weeks of pure, brilliant happiness and while it can’t last much longer, we surely are enjoying the heck out of it. And let’s call this one my Best Post of the Week.

Visit Mellow Yellow Monday, Macro Monday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Flower Art Friday, Weekend Flowers, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Pink Saturday, A Piece of Heaven,  and Skywatch Friday. And a new meme, I Heart Macro. Fascinating photo collections, all of them. Don’t forget that clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above will show you all the most recent posts here. And you might try a search or a tag. How about clicking on Volunteer Park Conservatory in the tag cloud on the lower right?

I went to the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle today. Be sure and see the Angels Trumpets (brugmansia) before they are finished blooming! I like brugmansia so much that I put them on the cover of my book. Look for a post about the ones I saw today soon.

As usual at the VPC, there is much beauty to see. This flame-colored orange hibiscus really caught my eye. It felt like I was in Hawaii!

You might visit Mellow Yellow Monday, Macro Monday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Flower Art Friday, Weekend Flowers, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), and Ruby Tuesday 2 for more interesting photos around the planet. As always, if there is only one single photo below, clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above will reveal the latest images. Try it!

A quick visit to the Visitor Center at the Arboretum in Seattle (they are now carrying my book, Flowers of Volunteer Park Conservatory, and might carry our new glass tile jewelry as well), and of course I need to see what’s pretty to photograph. Here’s one of a group of lovely hanging baskets outside the Visitor Center.

I’m participating at Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Flower Art Friday, Weekend Flowers, Outdoor Wednesday, and Ruby Tuesday 2. Please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog if you see only this one photo below. There are so many others to see here! The photo post directly below is particularly wonderful, if I do say so myself. Thanks for stopping by.

I read that knowing tomatoes are a fruit is intelligent, but knowing not to use them in fruit salad is wise. But when they are growing in your backyard, doesn’t the container of both of them look so pretty? And let me tell you, they BOTH are super sweet!

I’m joining up at My Romantic Home, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Macro Monday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Mellow Yellow Monday and Ruby Tuesday 2. Don’t forget to click on Sara’s Fave Photos above if there is only one photo below. And while you are here, perhaps browse in the My Garden category?

There are so many kinds of sunflowers these days. I kind of like the old fashioned kind that makes seeds in the middle. This one didn’t grow too tall, but it certainly was doing its thing, seed-wise. A few days later, the birds and squirrels had poked out some of its hypnotic perfection, but so it goes.

Participating in My Romantic Home, Flower Art Friday, Flowers on Saturday, Weekend Flowers, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Macro Monday, Outdoor Wednesday, Floral Friday, and Mellow Yellow Monday. If there is only one photo below, please click on the Sara’s Fave Photos Blog letters above. Or maybe do a search for sunflowers in the upper right?

Sunday was Victorian Day, the special 100-year birthday party for one of my top fave places on the planet, the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle. The weather was perfect, and many, many people worked hard to make such a fun and creative event. The period costumes were fabulous! I love the pose of the woman and I’m calling it my Best Post of the Week.

Please check out Pink Saturday, My Romantic Home, Flower Art Friday, Flowers on Saturday, Skywatch Friday, Outdoor Wednesday, Weekend Flowers, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Floral Friday, Scenic Sunday, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Thanks for visiting and browsing around here first.

The pretty teapot two posts below needs some context. The scene and day was so lovely, I thought I’d show you the deck and tables all set out. Let’s have a tea party!

Participating at Pink Saturday, Scenic Sunday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Outdoor Wednesday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), and Ruby Tuesday 2. Thanks for stopping by.

Hydrangeas are some of my top fave flowers. Not only do they bloom in quite deep shade, as well as in the sun in this latitude, but they are super easy to propagate. When cutting back in the spring (they bloom on old wood, so don’t go too far), take some woody stems you’ve pruned and stick them into the ground pretty well, under the mother plant so they get shaded and do not dry out. Keep them watered and maybe in July, check on them and I bet that more than one will be sprouting new leaves, showing you it has rooted. Dig it up, pot it up, and voila, a new hydrangea plant!

One other thing about hydrangeas: as shown by their name, they need water! Do not let them dry out, and wilting is hard on a plant. But at least it will forgive you and recover, if not too very dry.

I am participating in Macro Monday, Outdoor Wednesday, Weekend Flowers, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), and Floral Friday. If you have arrived here via a link and there is only this one photo below, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above to see the complete production.

This is a new flower for me. I was admiring a huge shrub in a beautiful garden in Coupeville, WA, when the owner came out and chatted with us. To me, this lavatera looks like it is related to hollyhock. I wish I had the space to grow this, as it looked about 6 feet (2 meters) tall and wide, and she said it was four years old, and you cut it to the ground each winter. What a stunner!

See more neat photos at Pink Saturday, Macro Monday, Scenic Sunday, Color Carnival, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Outdoor Wednesday, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, and SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera). Thanks so much for visiting here.

Close to the water at Bowman Bay, part of Deception Pass State Park in the Pacific Northwest, were growing these pink flowers, which I’m pretty sure are in the thistle family. They were about waist high. In the background is the pier into the bay, a lovely stroll out towards even more beautiful views.

Visit Scenic Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday, Pink Saturday and Macro Monday for other interesting images. So glad you could drop by here.