This exquisite yellow and magenta pink phalaenopsis orchid was blooming in the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle last time I was there. I love the warm colors and the exciting dots in the center. Come here, little pollinating insect!

Yellow and magenta moth orchid at the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle

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I was at the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle not too long ago and saw this rosette of a succulent in the Cactus House. Did you know they are having later hours for the summer? I’m so excited to hear that. Their new space with the tile floor is so beautiful (see below). Don’t you want to just sit there and read a book?

Rosette of hen-and-chicks sedum succulent at the Volunteer Park Conservatory

Seasonal House at the Volunteer Park Conservatory after remodel

Linking up this week at Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Macro Monday, Scenic Weekends, Fishtail Cottage Wednesday and Pink Saturday. Thank you so much for visiting!

I know it’s a bit of late notice, but I’ve just been so busy preparing for my SLIDESHOW of pretty pictures from my book coming right up on Weds., Feb. 6, 2013 in Des Moines, WA at 10:45am. Lunch is included with admission of $9. The Chinook District of the Washington Garden Clubs is having me speak and show images from my book “Flowers of Volunteer Park Conservatory.” The amazing and gifted senior gardener David Helegson will also be there to say what’s going on with the drama at the Conservatory, and answer horticultural questions, too. Here’s the link to the facebook page.

And something new! Besides having the book and some of the sparkly jewelry we make from it there, we’ll also have the brand new 8×10 matted prints of some favorite images from my book! This photo does NOT do them justice.

Matted photo prints from “Flowers of Volunteer Park Conservatory”

The fern, I think, is my own top fave. You?

Linking up to Today’s Flowers, My Romantic Home, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, NF Blo-Ma, Ruby Tuesday 2, Pink Saturday, and Monday Mellow Yellows.

I was at the open house at the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle on Friday and it was so cool. That model train they have this year is the neatest thing. I’ll do a photo of that later on, but now I just wanted to share a shot of the prettiest, glitteriest, most festive tree I’ve seen in a long time. Wish this was my tree at home!

Participating in My Romantic Home, Mellow Yellow Monday, Pink Saturday, Weekend Reflections, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, and Ruby Tuesday 2. To see all the recent images, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above. Thanks for stopping by, and come back soon!

I love this kind of bromeliad flower. My mom used to live in South Florida (today she would have been 96 years old!) and she grew them in her yard. This pretty specimen was grown by the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle, and it was blooming in May. Since this is one of the flowers in my book about the flowers there, I know the name is Silver Vase Bromeliad, Aechmea fasciata.

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I feel like we need to see a burst of color. This rainbow orchid cactus or Epiphyllum was blooming its heart out at the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle last May. In the background on the left is a red anthurium, and see the pretty coleus leaves edged with yellow scallops. What a color blast!

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I don’t know why I haven’t posted much about it, but I’ve been a busy bee with my new business, Love That Image glass tile jewelry. It’s made from the actual pages of my book, Flowers of Volunteer Park Conservatory. How it came about is that last year when I was at a craft fair with my daughter Lila, selling the Flowers book as a holiday gift, she saw all the crowds at neighboring booths selling jewelry and said, “Mom, why don’t we make jewelry from your book? I saw on Pinterest how to do that.” I was amazed at the whole idea and had no clue what she might be talking about.

Next thing I knew, we were in the jewelry business. Pinterest changed my life!

It’s a year later and we’ve learned a lot, experimented, and come up with so many pretty designs that the only problem is choosing. For now, we are selling to stores and in craft fairs only. We just had a spectacular success at the Kent WA Holiday Craft Market and we certainly will do that again next year. Check out the new Jewelry page on the navigation bar above to see other locations where the jewelry is available. Do let us know if there’s a store near you that you think would be a good fit to carry them.

The next time you can see all the pieces in person will be at the Normandy Park, WA Cove Holiday Bazaar on Dec. 1. If you are in the area, we hope you will drop by and say hi. Of course I’ll be signing books there, too!

I’m linking up at My Romantic Home, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Macro Monday, Weekend Flowers, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Thursday Challenge (Orange), Wordless Wednesday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Pink Saturday, and Mellow Yellow Monday. I really like this photo, set up by Lila, and I’m calling it my Best Post of the Week. Thanks for stopping by!

Less than three weeks gone by and it seems like another era. The sun is done and the rains have come. Here’s what Seattle’s iconic Volunteer Park Conservatory looked like in our amazing summer which lasted until the middle of October. I think this image is great photo journalism and I’m calling it my Best Post of the Week.

Linking in at Skywatch Friday,  A Piece of Heaven, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Weekend Flowers, Pink Saturday, Scenic Sunday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2 and Ruby Tuesday 2. If you only see the Conservatory photo below, please click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above to see the rest. Thanks!

Oh, the slinky and glamorous Angels Trumpet (brugmansia) flowers at the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle are so exciting. You must go and see them before they are done. This pink one, viewed from below, was all lit up in the amazing sunshine we have been having here in Seattle. You can see the blue sky through the Conservatory’s glass walls. It’s been about ten weeks of pure, brilliant happiness and while it can’t last much longer, we surely are enjoying the heck out of it. And let’s call this one my Best Post of the Week.

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I went to the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle today. Be sure and see the Angels Trumpets (brugmansia) before they are finished blooming! I like brugmansia so much that I put them on the cover of my book. Look for a post about the ones I saw today soon.

As usual at the VPC, there is much beauty to see. This flame-colored orange hibiscus really caught my eye. It felt like I was in Hawaii!

You might visit Mellow Yellow Monday, Macro Monday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Flower Art Friday, Weekend Flowers, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), and Ruby Tuesday 2 for more interesting photos around the planet. As always, if there is only one single photo below, clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above will reveal the latest images. Try it!