I learned a new word recently and I’m showing it off. Pomegranate seeds are actually arils. What a great Scrabble word! And I’m getting much better at peeling them. I no longer get everything stained red from the cut seeds. Slice off the skin at the top and the bottom, carefully score the skin along the six ridges (not that easy to see, but they’re there), peel off the skin and the insides separate beautifully. Not only that, but if you do all the separating in a big bowl of water, the white parts all float and are super easy to clean off! A great big pomegranate took only a few minutes to get gobble-ready.

Check out Ruby Tuesday, Macro Friday and Macro Monday, if you have a minute, and browse around here for lots of neat stuff too. If there’s only those red seeds below, do click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the whole enchilada.

An old-fashioned flower, for sure. My mom used to grow this one. It’s very, very tough, can bloom in sun or shade, reseeds very vigorously. Also it’s on the tall side, which I like. But the color of its small flowers (one inch or 3 cm) is extraordinary: an electric magenta that seems to move to red—just the most shimmering, intense color, and combined with its silvery stems and leaves, a real showy plant.

Visit Wordless Wednesday, Watery Wednesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Ruby Tuesday, Color Carnival, Pink Saturday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Today’s Flowers, Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday and Macro Friday. And remember, when there’s just one photo showing here, click on the Sara’s Fave Photos (that curly lettering on top will do fine) and see the rest.

Last week it rained, before the beautiful weekend we enjoyed, so of course I had to head out to the garden when it stopped. I’m enjoying the daylilies this year in their varying shades of orange, burgundy and peach. I think I have a yellow one, but it hasn’t bloomed yet.

Visit Wordless Wednesday, Watery Wednesday, 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 for more fun photos.

Please see my Big Announcement below if you missed it! And thanks for visiting.

Before I began visiting the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle regularly, I had no idea anthuriums existed in so many forms and colors. Here’s sort of a holiday look for you in red and green. And don’t you just love the heart-shaped leaves?

This tropical plant is a great entry for the Hot, Loud and Proud plant and flower meme out of Hawaii. And Color Carnival has more bright colors for you.

If there’s only one photo below, it means there are tons more for you if you click on Sara’s Fave Photos here or above.

Here’s a shot from the archives of pretty pink azaleas, taken at the Volunteer Park Conservatory in January (!) Thought you’d like a cheerful flower photo on this gray day here in Seattle.

I’m trying out something new, for me: Twitter. Hey, better late than never. You can follow me @SaraLChapman, and I’ll be letting the world and my followers know about new posts as they arise from my magic computer.

Visit Macro Monday for more neat close ups, if you have a chance. And if there’s only this one photo here, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the whole blog enchilada.

The rain never ceases to fascinate me in the garden. I love the almost spherical drops, just poised like that. I once saw a hummingbird take a bath in droplets like this on rose leaves, but of course had no camera with me. Every time I see perfect droplets like this on rose leaves I do think of that tiny bird, in the world’s smallest bathtub.

Visit Outdoor Wednesday and Watery Wednesday after looking around here. Return to the full blog by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos on top.

I like this post very much and have categorized it as Best Post of the Week.

This yellow King’s Ransom beauty is fragrant, too.  Most of the roses in my new rosebed had to be pruned off due to the rain (they got all brown and ugly) but this one made it to perfection for us. But more are in bud, so if the weather dries out a bit we’ll have some more soon.

Visit Macro Monday and Mellow Yellow Monday after browsing around here. To return to the latest post, click on Sara’s Fave Photos above.

Here’s another perfect rose, bathed in raindrops. This is the Peace rose, always a fave of me and so many others. I love its creamy yellow petals, edged with the palest, sweetest pink, and its healthy, bright green leaves. Like all my roses, it is fragrant. Why else have roses?

Visit Macro Monday and Mellow Yellow Monday for two great memes of close ups and cheerful yellow photos, and SOOC for more straight-out-of-the-camera shots.

You can search this blog for “rain,” perhaps, and find other roses with water droplets on them if you like. Or how about a tag like “reflections”? Click on Sara’s Fave Photos above to return to the full blog.

The rain has been wreaking havoc on the rose bushes, but a couple of dry-ish days allowed a few flowers to open to their potential magnificence—just to get rained on yet again. In the brief window of opportunity that a break in the wet allowed, I went outside and caught this beautiful apricot Sundowner rose, with such an appropriate name.

Visit Flowers for Today to see more blossoms around the planet, and Color Carnival for more brilliant color. SOOC has more straight-out-of-the-camera shots. But why not type in “rose” in the search field here and see what comes up? You can always return to the full blog by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos above.

My sister and I went on an architectural tour in Seattle on a cloudy day after a rain and all I could photograph was a flower. No, that’s not exactly true, but that’s sure what I am attracted to. Here’s a lovely early rose in some lucky person’s garden.

Visit Macro Monday for more things seen close up, and Color Carnival for more brilliant color. Find the latest post here by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos above.