Another show stopper from the NW Flower & Garden Show in February. Shows like that help those of us hopelessly addicted to flower photography to make it through this endless winter. I’m sorry I’m so bad with specific names of plants; I only recently learned that this type of orchid with the cup is called “lady slipper.” At least it’s something. Any orchid experts out there with the real name?

Visit Macro Monday and Mellow Yellow Monday. Today’s Flowers loves flowers and Shadow Shot Sunday loves cool shadows! If you see only one photo below, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the complete blog. Thanks!

Again a photo from the NW Flower & Garden Show a few weeks ago. Just love the lighting on these palm trees.

Visit Shadow Shot Sunday for more perfect penumbras and SOOC for more straight-out-of-the-camera shots. If you see only the one photo below, do click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the rest of them.

From the memory of a sunny day, here’s a succulent (but not a cactus, I don’t think) basking in some July sunshine. I was looking through my archives, working on my new book of photos (hint: it has something to do with the Volunteer Park Conservatory) and saw this photo in my archive. Perfect for Macro Friday, Shadow Shot Sunday, Cactus Monday and Macro Monday as well!

Be sure to click on Sara’s Fave Photos if you see only one photo below.

At a luncheon a week or so ago, there were daffodils and some forced forsythia branches. How encouraging! Here they are, a breath of spring, just for you.

Visit Mellow Yellow Monday and Macro Monday after browsing around here first. And if there is only one photo below, do click on Sara’s Fave Photos above for the whole show.

Gray and rainy out today (nothing new there) so a dip into the archives yields this pretty blue urn, setting off the hydrangeas so nicely. And of course the shadow is what caught my eye first, being the shadow junkie that I am. Thanks for that, Tracy!

Visit Shadow Shot Sunday for more intriguing shadows, Today’s Flower for flowers around the planet, Scenic Sunday, and Blue Monday for photos with blue in them. And you might try a tag of Blue or Shadows here (lower right) for some fun, first.

The Northwest Flower & Garden Show is coming up and I can’t wait. This year I am volunteering to do a stint at the Volunteer Park Conservatory booth so I get in free. Yay! Checking back over last year’s photos, I found this hellebore you might enjoy. Lighting is very challenging there for photography, especially the hand-held, available light kind that I prefer. This year I think I’ll take my monopod to help. But don’t you love that image stabilization thing all the new cameras have now? It really helps a lot.

Visit Macro Friday, Pink Saturday , Today’s Flowers and Macro Flowers Saturday for more neat images. But be sure to browse around here, first!

When I was a kid I didn’t like radishes—too sharp and spicy for me. But now they seem to taste quite a bit milder than they used to. I think they grow different varieties, or maybe my taste buds changed. In any case, aren’t they beautiful to look at, if not to cut into the salad?

Visit Ruby Tuesday and SOOC (straight out of the camera shots), plus Thursday Challenge (textures) and Color Carnival, for more interesting photos with a theme. And they are certainly wet, so hop on over to Watery Wednesday also. Before you go, be sure to check out a new tag or category here, or Free Photos right next door, for a fun browse. And if only one photo appears below, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the whole enchilada.

There’s nothing like a flower close up, or macro, to focus your attention. Let’s take a dip into the archives for some sun and color! I crave the July sunshine and the shadows it makes—also the subject of this photo. These hybrid zinnias like a rich soil and lots of sun and heat, and maybe need a little staking to stay up well, and don’t even have a fragrance, but they are so exciting in the garden. I’d say this one was about 4 inches across, or maybe 10 cm. Showy!

Visit Mellow Yellow Monday , Today’s Flower and Macro Monday, as well as Color Carnival and Thursday Challenge (textures). And if there is only one photo below, click on Sara’s Fave Photos to see them all.

Last month I went to Northern California Wine Country, and I am still enjoying the photos I took there and hope you are, too. This was taken at the square in little-but-so-artsy Healdsburg, about an hour and a half north of San Francisco. I love the way some branches are bare, some leaves are green, some still seem to be in autumn mode, and the palm trees wave over all. But it’s all about the blue sky, isn’t it?

Visit Skywatch Friday, Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, SOOC (straight out of the camera) and Blue Monday for more photos on a theme. And check out Free Photos next door for more scenic and flower photos to browse, too.

While I was visiting Northern California in January, I had a chance to drop into the Oakville Grocery in Healdsburg, right in the Sonoma County Wine Country. The area is famous for food as much as wine, and deservedly so. Don’t these look yummy? Fresh and perfect.

Visit Ruby Tuesday, SOOC (straight out of the camera), and Color Carnival for lots of great photos on a theme. And perhaps try a search for the word Red or Tomatoes here first?