In Point Defiance Rose Garden in Tacoma, WA, I was lucky enough to see a beautiful and excited fifteen-year old girl having her Quinceañera photos taken.

A 15-year-old girl poses for pictures in the park for her upcoming Quinceañera

Participating in Pink Saturday, Monday Mellow Yellows, Orange You Glad It’s Friday, Mandarin Orange Monday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Outdoor Wednesday, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Our World Tuesday, Scenic Weekends, and Saturday Show Off. Thanks for visiting here and please come back soon.

It’s been a scenic week. This amazing, huge cloud shaped like an anvil decorated the sky near Mt. Rainier just a few days ago, taken from the overlook right near my house.

Giant cloud near Mt. Rainier in eastern Washington, with airplane

Linking to Skywatch Friday, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Weekends, and Saturday Show Off. Thanks for your visit and please come back soon.

I let some leeks in my garden flower. Why some are white and some are purple, I do not know, as all the leeks seem to be the same earlier, at harvest time. Don’t you love the round balls? Bees sure do.

Leek flowers in the garden, in lavender and white

Linking up to Garden Party Thursday, Outdoor Wednesday, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Scenic Weekends, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Our World Tuesday, NF Catching the Light Monday,  My Romantic Home, and Saturday Show Off. Thanks for your visit here!

Visited my favorite Seattle haunt, the Volunteer Park Conservatory last week. You can see that restoration work is progressing on the Seasonal House on the right. Full project is due to be done in December. Aren’t the outdoor plantings lovely?

Restoration of the Volunteer Park Conservatory is progressing nicely

Joining Skywatch Friday, Our World Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Garden Party Thursday, Orange You Glad It’s Friday, Mandarin Orange Monday, Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Weekends, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, and Saturday Show Off. Thanks for your visit here first.

I love this kind of hydrangea and they sure reward a close look. Those teensy white centers!

Tiny white flowers in the center of the blue hydrangea petals with some purple veining

Participating in NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, I Heart Macro Saturday, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Macro Monday, Garden Party Thursday, Thursday Challenge (Flowers), and Saturday Show Off. Thank you so much for visiting and please come back soon.

Leeks are remarkable plants in the garden. The first photo is the bud enclosed in its casing, with several inches of a green spike on top, looking like an alien hairdo. Below that is the ripe casing falling away, and the buds of the flowers showing themselves. They are at about eye level for me, so a bunch of them make quite an otherworldly show.

Leek flower still in its casing in the garden

Leek flower (about 2″ or 5 cm) with unopened buds, emerging from its papery casing

Joining NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Monday Mellow Yellows, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, I Heart Macro Saturday, Macro Monday, Garden Party Thursday, Thursday Challenge (Flowers), My Romantic Home, and Saturday Show Off. I appreciate your visit here and hope to see you again soon.

The other evening in my back yard, right before the current heat wave in Seattle.

Cirrus clouds or mare’s tails at sunset with the moon almost full

Joining Pink Saturday, Skywatch Friday, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Scenic Weekends, My Romantic Home, and Saturday Show Off. Please try a new tag or category to see something new here. Cloudscape, perhaps?

I love lavender (see photo of it in bloom below). Here is some I harvested that is decorating my carport while it dries. I picked the pink ones just today, the others last week.

Pink and lavender lavender (!!) drying in twine-wrapped bunches

Linking with Pink Saturday, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Garden Party Thursday, My Romantic Home, and Saturday Show Off. If you have a minute, click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above to see more pretty pictures here.

Dill is very happy in my garden and reseeds so well that I see why it is called dill weed. But it is beautiful and fragrant, and I love to cook with it, so at least some stays. Here is a flower about the size of my hand, not quite in bloom. Note: the word umbel comes from the word umbrella!

Dill umbel, still partly closed, against an early summer sky

Linking with Skywatch Friday, Scenic Weekends, Blue Monday, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Our World Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, I Heart Macro Saturday, Straight out of the Camera Sunday, Macro Monday, Garden Party Thursday, My Romantic Home, and Saturday Show Off. Thank you for visiting, and if you have a minute, click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above to see more here.

Went to a neighbor’s party yesterday and she had the most beautiful bouquets of her garden flowers on the tables.

Colorful flowers decorate a backyard picnic table, ready for a party

Linking up to Pink Saturday, Monday Mellow Yellows, I Heart Macro Saturday, Macro Monday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Our World Tuesday, NF Blo-Ma Tuesday, Outdoor Wednesday, Garden Party Thursday, Today’s Flowers, Floral Friday, Orange You Glad It’s Friday, and Saturday Show Off. Be sure to click on Sara’s Fave Photos Blog if only one photo is above. Thank you for your visit and please come back soon.