Today is my dear sister-in-law Shree’s birthday. We were together in the fabulous Steinhardt Garden in Mt. Kiscoe recently, and what a photo op she provided with her slicker and umbrella. A Ruby Tuesday post just for you, and many happy returns!

I belong to a garden club, and my favorite part is that every three months, people get together and bring things they’ve grown that are beautiful. I find them irresistable to photograph. Here’s a sprig of azaleas, oops, now I see they are rhododendrons!, a peachy pink color that I am in love with. And if you’d like more pink, hie on over to Pink Saturday.

This rhodie photo is one of my absolute faves, so I think I’ll include it for Shadow Shot Sunday and Flowers for Today, and what the heck, let’s go for Macro Monday while we’re on a roll. All those meme sites have super participation from talented photographers, so take a look.

In one of the back areas of the incredible and huge Conservatory in the Bronx Botanical Garden in New York City, I found this fountain. The sound of splashing water was wonderful, and the air smelled so good. I like the way the water looks dark and mysterious.

For more photos of water in its many manifestations, visit Watery Wednesday.

Yet another photo from the Bronx Botanical Garden and my recent New York City trip. This was taken in the beginning of May, and the peonies were ALMOST ready to pop. For more ruby redness of all kinds, go to Ruby Tuesday, a fine place in blogland if ever there was one.

I took this photo at the Steidhardt Garden tour in Mt. Kisco, NY on my visit recently. This incredible place is 55 acres of exquisite plants AND animals, open to the public two days a year. It was drizzly, but hailing from Seattle these days, I’m used to it. This low-growing plant is grown for just how pretty it looks in the rain.

For more photos of water in all its many manifestations, click HERE.

I know I should save some faves for when there is nothing blooming, but I can’t resist. The first, top one is rhododendron branches I forced from completely closed buds. I was having a party for my birthday (do not ask how many years; a shocking number) and wanted a big bouquet. They took about a week to get from completely closed to this. I put them in very warm water, almost hot, to begin with and it really gets them going.

Then I had to post this checkered lily, Fritillaria meleagris, that came up in my garden. Awfully cute, don’t you think? But it looks more like a tulip than a lily to me.

And finally, this is from my next door neighbor Ele’s garden. The hostas and I think snowdrops (bluebells?) looked so pretty with the sun lighting them up.

And if you still crave more beautiful flowers around the world, click HERE for the greatest photo meme, Flowers for Today.

Spring is so wonderful. Here’s a perfect red camellia for Ruby Tuesday, from the huge old shrub in my backyard. No fragrance, but their almost mandala-like circle of petals is hypnotic to me. And they bloom early!

For more rubiness around the world, click HERE.

This daffodil created flower lust in me. I don’t know why its frilly pale looks appealed to me so much when I saw them last week. I’ll have to find some like this and find a spot in the yard for them for next year. A gardener always looks ahead hopefully. For more flowers around the world, click HERE.

A sunny day, or a sunny moment, is a wonderful thing, and here in Seattle it’s extra appreciated. Thought you’d like to see the plants on my little greenhouse window in my kitchen, leaving shadows in a rare burst of sunshine. For more shadows artfully photographed, click HERE.

The weather’s been, well, crappy. I really have to do gardening things, so I’ve started a bunch of seeds. I must say it’s a thrill to watch them come up. I’ve learned that old seeds germinate just fine. What I will do with all the plants I have no idea. A plant sale, perhaps? Anyway, aren’t they cute?

In case you are wondering, the top batch is cosmos on the left, bachelor buttons on the right, and below are four o’clocks just pushing up out of the soil.