Last year I posted a photo of the leaves of this lovely garden perennial, meadow rue, and here are the flowers. Each little puff is about the width of my finger, and the flowers are on top of a nice, tall plant at my eye level, which I appreciate. Perennials are the stars of the garden, as far as I am concerned. You get them going and they just keep doing their thing, all by themselves. So helpful!

It’s very hard to get the color exactly right. They are really a soft lavender, but this photo looks kind of magenta pink-ish. Sometimes photography seems so simple but is so challenging when you want to get an accurate rendering of color. I do my best, which is all anyone can do.

Interesting blogs around the planet are Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Macro Monday, Pink Saturday, Color Carnival, and Outdoor Wednesday. Don’t forget to follow this blog with the widget on the right if you enjoy the photos here.

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?

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.

Flying to New York City last week I got to see the late rays of the sun from such an unusual angle. I always get a window seat, as you never know what you might see. Flying east meant the light dimmed very quickly, but this view of the deep blue sky and the delicate textures of the top of the clouds really impressed me.

Visit Outdoor Wednesday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), A Piece of Heaven, Skywatch Friday and Scenic Sunday for more fun with photos. If you have arrived via a link, click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above for the complete blog contents. And follow this blog on the new widget to the right if you enjoy the photos here. Thanks for visiting!

Don’t we all love crocuses! But why are they not croci? In any case, these incredibly cheerful small flowers are so very welcome in our gray Seattle weather. And they spread nicely, too. Plant some in your garden this fall and you will be so happy seeing their little sprouts poke out next late winter.

I am on a trip to New York and am posting by preschedule. Please follow this blog on the new widget to the right if you enjoy the photos. Thanks for visiting!

Check out Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Scenic Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday and SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera).

Everybody loves sunsets. It’s just one of those human things, I guess, to love a beautiful thing that lasts but a moment. This sunset with Seattle’s iconic Space Needle in it was a silver lining, you might say, when I was trapped in traffic going down a big hill. I watched as the sky turned from gray clouds to pinkish and then peak at a deep coral with lavender undertones, and was able to stick my camera out of the side window and have at it. Just for Skywatch Friday!

Other fun memes in blogland are in Scenic Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), and Pink Saturday. Definitely worth a visit. Do browse around here first. If you have arrived via a link, click on the Sara’s Fave Photos banner above for the complete blog.

Here’s a scenic photo for you; the view from a coffeeshop deck in Poulsbo, Washington. Ah, the sights of August! Can’t you just smell the fresh air?

You can find lots of neat photos at Outdoor Wednesday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Watery Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, A Piece of Heaven, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, and Skywatch Friday. Thanks for visiting, and be sure to browse around this blog first!

Last week at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show I was lucky enough to see and photograph the exquisite bouquets in the daylit lobby area. I think that this year they were exceptionally beautiful. When you have such a stunning subject, it’s not too hard to make a really good photo (if I do say so myself!). As I always say, it’s not the camera. For some common-sense tips on how to take better photos that are not dependant on a fancy, expensive camera or complicated settings, you are welcome to download my “7 Secrets to Better Flower Photos” on the right.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you! This floral image expresses love and perfection to me. I hope you enjoy it. And even though not many people have commented yet on it, I love this image and I am calling it my Best Post of the Week.

Visit Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Color Carnival, Mellow Yellow Monday, Thursday Challenge (Love), Ruby Tuesday 2, Macro Friday and Pink Saturday for other interesting and beautiful photos. Have fun! If you’ve arrived via a link and there is only the one bouquet photo below, click on the Sara’s Fave Photos banner to see the entire blog. Thanks for visiting!