Brugmansia, or Angels Trumpet, is such a magnificent flower. Taken at a recent Volunteer Park Conservatory event, you can tell this flower, about the size of my hand, is one of my top faves because I used its pink cousins on the cover of my book. They’re quite challenging to photograph, at least if you want them to look as graceful and elegant in your photo as they do when you’re looking at them. How a flower like this can look awkward I do not know, but it happens.

Mellow Yellow Monday, Today’s Flowers, Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday and Macro Friday are neat places to visit. Try Color Carnival, too. Remember, if there is only one photo below, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the others. Thank you for visiting!

On the way back from our camping trip last week as we crossed the Puyallup River, our local volcano, AKA “the mountain,” was out and glorious. Taking lots of photos from the car window sometimes lucks out. This one is SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), not even cropped. Not bad!

Visit Skywatch Friday, Watery Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, Shadow Shot Sunday, Weekend Reflections, Blue Monday, and Thursday Challenge (theme is Blue). Do see what else is fun around here first! Click on the tag of “scenic” perhaps?

Highline Botanical Garden does water features so very well. Wouldn’t you just love this one in your backyard?

Visit Watery Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) Scenic Sunday, Shadow Shot Sunday, Wordless Wednesday and Weekend Reflections. I love photo memes, as you can tell. And you can always see the complete and up-to-date blog by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos, here or on the curly lettering on the banner above.

Highline Botanical Garden is so worth a visit. Just north of SeaTac Airport, south of Seattle, this small but lovely garden only becomes more beautiful with time. Those gardeners and volunteers must work very hard!

Visit Skywatch Friday, Shadow Shot Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday, Ruby Tuesday, Scenic Sunday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), and Today’s Flowers. Returning to the latest post (if you’ve arrived from a link) is easy: just click on Sara’s Fave Photos above or here.

Dusty is one of those kitties who loves everyone. Doesn’t matter if you love cats or not, smell of dogs or not, feed her or not, she is your friend. “Pet me!” she says. In our last house we had a deck with weathered wood, and I swear sometimes it was hard to see her when she lounged on it. She’s still a bit camouflaged here on our patio but makes herself known quite well.

Shadow Shot Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) and Camera Critters this week have other interesting insights. Take a look! But do browse around here first. Click on Sara’s Fave Photos here if there is only one photo below. Thanks for visiting!

From a couple of weeks ago, some flowers in my garden. The orange and yellow ones are alstroemeria, the purple on the left is linaria (VERY easy to grow and reseeds vigorously) and the blue and pink in the middle are bachelor buttons, also reseed well. I love gardening for moments like this one.

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My book launch party is on for Thursday, August 4, 6-8pm at the Conservatory, where else? I am so excited! I hope that everyone in the Seattle area will be able to attend this free event. The Conservatory, one of the last remaining Victorian glass houses in the USA, is having a special evening-hours Open House with tours, explaining the current push to finish the restoration begun a long time ago, and they have invited me to be there and sign copies of my new book, “Flowers of Volunteer Park Conservatory: Blooming Month By Month.” Faithful readers of this blog will know that I’ve been visiting the Conservatory regularly and sharing photos from their fabulous showplace for tropical and rare plants. They are always so very perfect that it is a photographer’s dream.

Soon you will be able to order copies on the home page here, but not quite yet. I hope that you can come to the party, though!

Visit Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, Skywatch Friday, Blue Monday, and SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera). And you can always see the complete and up-to-date blog by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos, here or the banner above.

I am told that the coral poppy I showed a couple of posts below is an icelandic poppy. These are quite tall, and I didn’t know that icelandic poppies got so big, but I’m no poppy expert. Here’s another look, for your pleasure. This photo keeps fascinating me, so I’m calling it my Best Post of the Week. Hope you agree.

Visit Mellow Yellow Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Macro Monday, Macro Friday, Color Carnival, Shadow Shot Sunday, Pink Saturday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Ruby Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday and Today’s Flowers. Please do click on the banner above, Sara’s Fave Photos, to see the latest photos here. And thanks for visiting!

This poppy is from some seedlings my friend gave me last year. I was surprised to see this kind of poppy. Are they Iceland poppies? There are some exquisite red ones as well as this amazing coral pink color. They are quite tall, about 3 feet or a meter. Anyone know what kind they are?

Visit Macro Flowers Saturday, Macro Monday, Macro Friday, Color Carnival, Pink Saturday, Shadow Shot Sunday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) and Today’s Flowers. While you’re here, do click around here and there to see what you might find. I promise many pretty pictures for you!

Visiting my friend and web developer Marsha Perry of Perry Internet Consulting (hi Marsha!) in Silverdale recently, we strolled along the water at a cute little waterside park. Sunshine, barbeques, kids, the works. I didn’t know what water it was and had to look at a map to learn that we were viewing Dyes Inlet, part of Puget Sound. You can actually see the tiny tip of Mt. Rainier right behind that boat, if you squint.

Visit Wordless Wednesday, Watery Wednesday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, Shadow Shot Sunday, Skywatch Friday, Blue Monday and Weekend Reflections. If there is only one photo below, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the others. Thank you for visiting!