When the petals of your hydrangea flowers get a little like crepe paper, they dry very well. Put in a vase with a half inch of water. By the time the water evaporates, the flowers will be dried enough to last and last.

Colors of mauve, purple and soft blue appear as the blue flowers mature and get ready to dry.

Also on Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, Little Things Thursday, Skywatch Friday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Garden Affair Saturday, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

Yesterday I picked all the open roses ahead of the big rain expected tonight. When I cut roses I always bring a clean bucket with a couple of inches of water into the rosebed. As soon as I cut a stem I put it in the water so it doesn’t dry and seal up. Then right before arranging I cut the stems again while each stem is in a bowl of water in the sink, at a deep slant. It really helps them last longer in the bouquet. I love my roses.

Full blown garden roses, ready for a bouquet

Connecting with Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, Little Things Thursday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Garden Affair Saturday, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

Rose gardeners PSA: If it’s going to rain big, go out there and cut your opened roses for bouquets. They’ll just get ruined if you leave them out there.

Rain is coming. Might as well cut roses and bring inside.

Linking up at Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, Little Things Thursday, Skywatch Friday, Friday Bliss, Garden Affair Saturday, and Pink Saturday. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

The other evening the sky was spectacular in our Seattle backyard.

Cirrus clouds usually mean rain in a few days, but not this time

Linking with Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, Thankful Thursday, Little Things Thursday, Skywatch Friday, Friday Bliss, and Pink Saturday. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

I did a good job planting my Early Girls (and Sungolds) and they were watered well. So sweet!

Red, ripe, shiny tomatoes and stringbeans harvest

Also at Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Thankful Thursday, Little Things Thursday, Friday Bliss, Weekend Reflections, Pink Saturday, Garden Affair Saturday, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

Pink ladies are a kind of amaryllis (amaryllis Belladona) hardy in my zone 8b. I recently removed a tree that was shading these pink ladies and they finally feel like blooming. They are very fragrant. Their foliage comes up in the winter and dies back, but the flower stalks emerge with no leaves in August, which is why they are sometimes called naked ladies. In parts of Northern California you can see fabulous, huge banks of them naturalized along roadsides.

Pink ladies thrive in full sun with sharp drainage, shown in front of iris foliage

Linking to Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Thankful Thursday, Little Things Thursday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, and Garden Affair Saturday. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

I have a south window and this time of year in Seattle I start to get direct sun. Two small baby cactus plants went and had babies of their own!

Tiny baby sprouts of cactus around mama cactuses. Their little spines!

Also on Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Thankful Thursday, Little Things Thursday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Garden Affair Saturday, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

The days are getting shorter. A view of my backyard in the late afternoon light. Love those leek flower balls!

The golden hour, with leek flowers

Linking to Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Thankful Thursday, Little Things Thursday, Skywatch Friday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Garden Affair Saturday, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

The ‘Julia Child’ rose bush (own root!) is the star of my rose garden. Only a few years old, she is in her second full bloom this season right now. As the petals fade to cream, sometimes edged in pink, they do fall off quite easily, but are so very beautiful that I try to leave them as long as I can so as not to make a mess below.

The butter-yellow flowers fade to cream as the blossoms open fully

Linking with Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Thankful Thursday, Little Things Thursday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Garden Affair Saturday, and Shadow Shot Sunday 2. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

The view from our campsite in Scenic Beach State Park, WA last week.

Many, many tall Douglas fir trees with huckleberry bushes underneath (sadly all done)

Appearing on Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Thankful Thursday, Little Things Thursday, Friday Bliss, and Pink Saturday. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.