My friend with the pretty hostas can do flowers so well. Here’s a sunshiny shot of the flowers on her shaded deck. Yes, there were cookies and iced tea, too!

Interesting sites for you: Scenic Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday, Pink Saturday, Mellow Yellow Monday, Color Carnival and SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera).

There were some really beautiful moments last week on the Fourth with the clear skies we had. Here’s a peek at how lovely the fireworks looked on a sky not fully dark. All around little Lake Burien (near Seattle) people lit red lights on the shore, and the one near us gave this tree an eerie light.

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This rose, which I believe is called Simplicity, is growing in a neighbor’s yard. It’s very healthy and seems to get no care at all. I’d like to have a rose garden with only tough, healthy roses like this, but how can you really tell in the nursery? Does “disease resistant” really mean anything? And don’t mention Knockout roses, because they still don’t have fragrance. Why bother with roses without fragrance?

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Isn’t this an exquisite planting? Those new, dark petunias, some kind of yellow striped grass, a dark heuchera (pronounced HOOK-er-a) and the sedum with pink edges look so great together. It’s in front of the door at Seattle’s Volunteer Park Conservatory. Go see it.

Visit Scenic Sunday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Outdoor Wednesday, Pink Saturday, and Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) for more neat photos. Also, the dappled sunlight and subtle colors make me happy, so I’m calling it my Best Post of the Week.

The gods smiled upon us and the Fourth was sunny. Usually in Seattle we figure summer starts July 5th and ends before Labor Day, but this year life was good. Our friends with a home on little Lake Burien had their yearly fireworks party, and of course I needed to take photos, but not bother with anything like a tripod or special “scene” settings. Thinking first does help, as does bracing my arm on a chair back if possible, but besides that, I am happy just to aim at the loveliness and capture a bit of it with what I have with me.

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That Trader Joe’s parking lot in Burien WA has been the scene of some good sunsets. A big open expanse looking west is sometimes very hard to find. Yay, parking lots! And yay, Trader Joe, too! I love that place.

This sky is kind of pink, kind of yellow, and just peachy to me. Hope you agree.

Check out Scenic Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday, Pink Saturday,  Skywatch Friday, A Piece of Heaven, Mellow Yellow Monday and SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), why don’t you?

I just love that late-afternoon light. After MUCH rain and clouds, the sun peeked out the other evening and of course I was out there with my camera. These are mostly ‘Double Delight’ roses, my long-time favorite rose. Very available in nurseries, fabulous fragrance, strong grower. And this image is purely SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera).

This year I am attempting to grow roses without the usual systemic plant food laced with pesticides, hoping that this year I won’t feel the guilt of watching a robin poking for bugs in the soil and hoping the robin is OK. I am using alfalfa meal as a fertilizer this year and so far am very happy with the results.

Other interesting photo sites: Scenic Sunday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Outdoor Wednesday, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Color Carnival, Ruby Tuesday 2, Pink Saturday,  Skywatch Friday, A Piece of Heaven, Mellow Yellow Monday and Macro Monday. And do browse around here first. Maybe click a category on the right like “My Garden”? Thanks for visiting!

Finally, a scenic post! Even I get tired of flower photos sometimes. But not for long, as you will see. This sunset overlooking Puget Sound was taken at a different spot than my usual overlook which sadly doesn’t get a good view west. This is from a beach in Three Tree Point, WA, quite close to my home. You can bet I’ll be back.

If you have a minute or two, visit Scenic Sunday, Pink Saturday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Skywatch Friday, Outdoor Wednesday, A Piece of Heaven, and Weekend Reflections, why don’t you? Thanks for visiting here, always.

OK, enough with the peonies, for a little while at least. Feast your eyes on these fuchsias. What an explosion of form and color. I took these at the VPC not too long ago, and if you have a chance, you should definitely check out their displays. So many kinds, and all so graceful. Little ballerinas, perhaps?

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It’s kind of peony week here. I’ve loved peonies for so many years, and this is the first year they’ve really been truly magnificent in my garden. I’ve been sprinkling dolomitic lime around them, spring and fall, for the past 2-3 years, and with our acidic soil in the Pacific Northwest that has made a huge difference, but they need a certain level of maturity to really take off. Finally! Now I want to have those dark red ones, and the dark, dark wine red ones, too. Maybe a visit to the nursery is in order. I have peony fever.

Visit Scenic Sunday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Pink Saturday, Floral Friday, Outdoor Wednesday, Color Carnival, and Mellow Yellow Monday. Glad you could visit here today.