From last year at this time, some begonias in front of my house:

Rieger begonia flower basket on a foggy August Seattle day

Visit Ruby Tuesday 2, Pink Saturday, Monday Mellow Yellows, Macro Monday, I Heart Macro Saturday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Thursday Floral Love, My Romantic Home, Garden Tuesday, Fishtail Cottage Thursday and Outdoor Wednesday. Let’s try a new one, Saturday Show Off. Don’t forget that you can download free tips for taking better photos without fancy equipment or confusing settings, in the sidebar at right.

This unusual, frilly double hollyhock can be seen at Seattle’s Volunteer Park Conservatory right now. The flower is maybe 10 cm or 2-3 inches across. The tiny purple buds are throatwort.

Deep magenta hollyhock with ruffled, very double petals

Enjoy the photos at Macro Monday, I Heart Macro Saturday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday,  Thursday Floral Love, Ruby Tuesday 2, Pink Saturday and Straight out of the Camera Sunday. Have a great day and thanks so much for stopping by.

At that artwalk event the other day in downtown Burien (sometimes called B-tpwn), Washington, we were pleased to meet the grafitti artist “Sneke” who posed in front of the mural he helped create. So cool! Please scroll down a few posts if you’d like to see the eyelashes on the VW headlamps we saw that evening.

The artist “Sneke” front of the figure he created, in Burien, WA

You might pay a visit to Outdoor Wednesday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Pink Saturday, Monday Mellow Yellows, Scenic Weekends and Straight out of the Camera Sunday. And here’s a new one: Mural Monday, out of Oakland, CA. I thank you for being here and hope you enjoyed yourself.

Drove to a local spot for some scenic wonderfulness at sunset, and we were surprised to find more than a dozen fisherpeople at the water’s edge. See the pink salmon on the right that the fellow just caught? I understand the fish are close to shore because they are looking for their spawning creek to swim up into. Love the Pacific Northwest.

Fishing for salmon at sunset at the edge of Puget Sound in Washington

More interesting photos at Skywatch Friday, A Piece of Heaven, Water World Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Weekend Reflections, Pink Saturday, and Scenic Weekends. Thank you so much for stopping by here, and be sure to browse around if you have a minute or two.

I’m on a lily kick. These are in a close neighbor’s garden. I heard that all lilies used to point down and be droopy, so when a grower managed to get it facing up, he or she called it Stargazer. Great name.

Stargazer lily in dappled sunlight against a wooden fence

Check out Monday Mellow Yellows, Ruby Tuesday 2, Macro Monday, I Heart Macro Saturday, Pink Saturday, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, Weekend Challenge (Pink), NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Garden Tuesday, Thursday Floral Love and Fishtail Cottage Thursday. If only one photo appears here, click on Sara’s Fave Photos above for the latest photoblog posts. Scenic and flower photos are almost guaranteed.

These lilies aren’t the first to bloom, but they are worth waiting for. Oriental lilies bloom the latest in the season, but their intense fragrance (one blossom is fine for a big room or more, in my opinion) is so much more thrilling than the no-fragrance Asiatic types. Be careful about brushing close to them, as their pollen can stain clothing.

Pink Oriental lilies bloom in a Seattle garden

Please visit Ruby Tuesday 2, Skywatch Friday, A Piece of Heaven, Macro Monday, I Heart Macro Saturday, Pink Saturday, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Garden Tuesday, My Romantic Home, and Fishtail Cottage Thursday. Let’s try a new meme, Thursday Floral Love. Thanks for visiting and please come back soon!

After the first flush of bloom in a rose garden, it’s kind of spotty. Some bushes are totally done, or at least resting, and some, like this magnificent Camelot rosebush, are just exploding with blooms. My rose bed gets some late afternoon light, and have you noticed it’s my favorite?

Peachy pink blossoms adorn a Camelot rose bush in late afternoon light

Linking to Pink Saturday, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Garden Tuesday, My Romantic Home, and Fishtail Cottage Thursday. Check out a new tag or category here in the sidebar to the right. Rose, perhaps? Come visit again soon.

Our friends with the gorgeous deck (see post just below) got married on Sunday, and I got to make some bouquets for their backyard ceremony. They have lovely flowers there but it would have been a shame to pick them, and I have so many. Our friends are also neighbors so they strolled over and chose what they wanted, brought the “vases,” and I had fun creating six matching bouquets in a rainbow of bright colors.

Garden flowers getting ready for wedding centerpieces using blue mason jars

See Pink Saturday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Monday Mellow Yellows, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, My Romantic Home, Fishtail Cottage Wednesday, Thursday Challenge (Abundance), Water World Wednesday, and Garden Tuesday. Thanks for your visit here!

These darling sweetpeas are on my patio table. Take a nice, deep breath, now!

Sweetpea bouquet graces an outdoor table

This week I’m linking into Pink Saturday, Monday Mellow Yellows, Outdoor Wednesday, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, My Romantic Home, Fishtail Cottage Wednesday, Macro Monday, Hope in Every Season Wednesday (homemaking) and Garden Tuesday. Thanks for your visit here, and come back soon.

Here’s the rose garden out front. That late afternoon light is so beautiful, and I don’t mind a little lens flare, do you?

Rose garden with curly willow and dark red smoke tree in the background

Participating in Pink Saturday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Scenic Weekends, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, My Romantic Home, Fishtail Cottage Wednesday and Garden Tuesday. Click around here to see what you can find that’s fun. How about the tag My Garden?