At an after-hours meeting at Seattle’s Volunteer Park Conservatory about their campaign for needed restoration, of course I couldn’t help taking a few photos. Thank goodness that the last time I was there I snapped a photo of the cheat sheet they had posted, a key to the outdoor plantings, so I know that this amazing geranium is called ‘Mrs. Pollack. Even though it’s just coming into flower, that hardly matters with foliage like this.

Visit Mellow Yellow Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Macro Monday, Macro Friday, Color Carnival, Today’s Flowers, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) and Ruby Tuesday. Clicking on the Sara’s Fave Photos banner above brings you back to the latest post here, always.

And if you are in Seattle on Thursday, August 4 at 6-8pm, please come to the Conservatory’s free Open House and book signing for my new book, Flowers of Volunteer Park Conservatory: Blooming Month By Month. Take a tour and meet the author!

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 was at the Volunteer Park Conservatory this evening at a special meeting on completing the restoration that was begun years ago, and of course I can never go there without taking a photo or two (a wild understatement). This shade planting outdoors is quite brilliant in color, not like the usual soft colors I think of for shade-loving flowers.

Visit Ruby Tuesday, Color Carnival, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Outdoor Wednesday,  Scenic Sunday and Today’s Flowers. Naturally, I’d love it if you browsed around here first. Clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos brings you back to the latest post here always.

You could probably do a book on just the pink flowers at Volunteer Park Conservatory, but I won’t go that far. The new book I’m working on at this very moment will have all colors of flowers in it, not just pink, although the idea is tempting for those of us who adore pink. And all kinds of foliage, too, of course! Until the book is ready, sometime this summer, I strongly suggest that locals and visitors to Seattle explore this magnificent hidden gem.

Pink Saturday is having a special celebration this week, their 3-year blogoversary! Lots of fabulous pinkness there, to be sure. Also check out Macro Friday, Macro Monday, Today’s Flowers and Macro Flowers Saturday. Happy long weekend to all my USA visitors. Note that there are TWO photos below today!

A recent visit to Seattle’s hidden gem, Volunteer Park Conservatory (which by the way is trying to raise serious money to finish a much-needed renovation—learn more at Critical Moment on their site), in pretty afternoon light, showcasing the magnificent outdoor tulips. I love the color combo. Their gardeners are just world class.

Visit Pink Saturday, Scenic Sunday, Today’s Flowers, and Outdoor Wednesday for further photo enjoyment. Try a new tag or category here first, why don’t you? 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 have no idea what kind of flower this is. It was blooming recently in the Volunteer Park Conservatory, and I was taken aback by its perfect beauty. Any of our blog readers from Singapore, the Phillipines or Malaysia, perhaps, know its name? [Thank you, Flitterkit of California, telling us it’s a red passion flower!]

Visit Ruby Tuesday for more photos with some red. Macro Monday, Color Carnival, Macro Friday, Today’s Flowers, SOOC Sunday are all great places in blogland as well. Click on the Sara’s Fave Photos banner above to show the full blog here.

I love the purity and delicacy of white daffodils. I took this at Volunteer Park Conservatory recently. Some day I’m going to have them coming up in my yard. Last year I bought a whole lot of “mixed” daffs but was disappointed to find them all plain yellow when they came up. Not that there’s anything wrong with yellow daffodils, it’s just that I really like the white fancy kinds, too. What kinds do you grow?

Visit Macro Monday, Macro Friday, Mellow Yellow Monday and Flowers on Saturday. I didn’t tweak this one at all, so it’s good for SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), too. It’s neat shadows qualify for Shadow Shot Sunday, as well. Check out Free Photos next door to see what’s new, and do click onthe  Sara’s Fave Photos banner on top if you see only one image below.

In a sunbreak a couple of days ago, I took advantage of the great spring weather to head out to one of my favorite haunts, the Volunteer Park Conservatory, one of Seattle’s true hidden gems. They have redone the entry and it is so fabulous! Now a curved space greets you and you feel surrounded by the tropical foliage and flowers. And the shadows of the Peacock Window are a bonus.

Visit Shadow Shot Sunday for more intriguing shadows seen everywhere and SOOC for more straight-out-of-the-camera shots. If you see only one photo below, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the complete blog. Thanks!

These tiny pink orchids (anyone know the name?) are only an inch or 2.5 cm wide, and you can see they are dwarfed by the phanaenopsis orchids and maidenhair ferns in the background. Aren’t they adorable? I saw them just yesterday in Volunteer Park Conservatory. By the way, I’m getting closer and closer to getting my new book to the printer, and flowers and the Conservatory will definitely be involved! Stay tuned.

Visit Pink Saturday, Macro Friday, Color Carnival, Mellow Yellow Monday Macro Monday, Ruby Tuesday, SOOC Sunday, and Today’s Flowers for more fascinating photos and if you have a minute, do click on Free Photos “next door” for an additional selection of pretty flower and scenic photos. The full blog here may be found at Sara’s Fave Photos.

I hope I got the name right here. Please let me know if this is incorrect.

Anyway, isn’t it pretty? These are air plants, epiphytes, which live attached to bark and things in the tropical wild. I found this one in my archives from May of last year, taken at the Volunteer Park Conservatory.

Visit Macro Friday, Pink Saturday, SOOC Sunday, Today’s Flowers, Macro Flowers Saturday, Color Carnival, Macro Monday, Mellow Yellow Monday and Cactus Monday. Whew! All great sites with super photography entries you will enjoy.

If only one photo is below, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the complete blog. Thanks!