This cherry tree near Seattle’s soon-to-be-demolished Viaduct, not too far from Pike Place Market, always blooms the earliest of any that I see. Its urban setting might be a bit dark and certainly noisy, but the somewhat protected space encourages such a cheerful early display. We love it. It will be interesting to see how it fares in the coming years.

I am on a trip to New York and am posting by preschedule. Please follow this blog on the new widget to the right if you enjoy the photos. Thanks for visiting!

Visit Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday and Pink Saturday. Also check out Scenic Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday and SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera).

I know there’s no point in mentioning fragrance in a photo, but how can you show a gardenia flower without doing that? They were my mother’s favorite flower, and I love how simple and unassuming they are, but so powerful in their effect. Sort of like her. In any case, I wish you a happy St. Patrick’s Day and hope you have fragrance in your life today.

I took this at Swanson’s Nursery which is now carrying my Flowers book in their Urban Living gift shop. One of my favorite nurseries in the Seattle area.

Lots of lovely photos in these sites: Today’s Flowers, Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday and Mellow Yellow Monday. Don’t forget to follow this blog with the new widget at right, now that they’ve discontinued Google Friend Connect for non-Blogger sites like this one. Much appreciated!

A couple of weeks ago at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show I really enjoyed the bouquets and arrangements in the lobby area, especially since the windows and daylight was so much better for photographs than the main garden displays inside. I don’t know why the tradition at this show is to have the display garden lighting so low that all the gardens look like it is nighttime. Perhaps it keeps the flowers from going past peak bloom too quickly, or saves electricity, or some other practical reason, but my desire for beautiful photographs without a tripod makes that so challenging. So here is a quirky and lovely bouquet in a branch in the lobby, just because.

You might want to check out Mellow Yellow Monday, Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Color Carnival and Ruby Tuesday 2 for more floral fun, but always know that the search function here in the upper right corner holds lots of treasures.

Yesterday I was lucky enough to spend a bit of time out near a big expanse of water, in Silverdale, WA. Doesn’t being by the water both energize and soothe you? A very powerful and wonderful feeling. I’ve read that a huge portion of the world’s population lives within 50 miles of an ocean coast. I can understand that.

I particularly like this photo because it appears to be black and white (monochrome) but has no adjustment from RGB, is just straight from the camera on a gray late winter’s day. I’m calling it my my Best Post of the Week.

You might check out Outdoor Wednesday, Watery Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, A Piece of Heaven, Weekend Reflections,  Shadow Shot Sunday 2, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) and Skywatch Friday. Lots of photo talent out there! But do browse around here first, perhaps clicking on a new tag or category, or trying a search. Cloudscape, perhaps?

The overlook in Normandy Park, Washington is just a neighborhood road at which you can gaze out at Puget Sound and see the sky. Sometimes the light shines on the water so beautifully. This is what it looked like the other day.

Visit Outdoor Wednesday, Watery Wednesday, Scenic Sunday, A Piece of Heaven, Weekend Reflections, and Skywatch Friday. You’ll be glad you did. And do browse here first if you have a few minutes.

Last week at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show I was lucky enough to see and photograph the exquisite bouquets in the daylit lobby area. I think that this year they were exceptionally beautiful. When you have such a stunning subject, it’s not too hard to make a really good photo (if I do say so myself!). As I always say, it’s not the camera. For some common-sense tips on how to take better photos that are not dependant on a fancy, expensive camera or complicated settings, you are welcome to download my “7 Secrets to Better Flower Photos” on the right.

Happy Valentine’s Day to you! This floral image expresses love and perfection to me. I hope you enjoy it. And even though not many people have commented yet on it, I love this image and I am calling it my Best Post of the Week.

Visit Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Color Carnival, Mellow Yellow Monday, Thursday Challenge (Love), Ruby Tuesday 2, Macro Friday and Pink Saturday for other interesting and beautiful photos. Have fun! If you’ve arrived via a link and there is only the one bouquet photo below, click on the Sara’s Fave Photos banner to see the entire blog. Thanks for visiting!

Yesterday I was at the Northwest Flower & Garden Show, which is open through Sunday, volunteering at the booth for the Volunteer Park Conservatory. It was great to see such an outpouring of concern and support for Seattle’s threatened icon. Before my shift, of course I wandered around taking photos. The Orchid Society’s display with the big wooden structure evoking the facade of our beloved Conservatory and helping to celebrate its Centennial was the greatest. Here is one of their perfect orchid specimens.

Please visit Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Macro Friday, Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Color Carnival, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera) and Pink Saturday for lots of lovely pictures from around the planet. As always, a reminder to click on Sara’s Fave Photos above if you’ve arrived via a link and see only the one post below.

Just two short weeks ago we had an incredible ice storm, and today it was sunny and over 60 degrees out! I am just being perverse in showing this photo of the Japanese Coral Bark Maple branches coated in the ice—on such a lovely day as today. But I want to have one last (I hope!) look at real winter before we forge ahead into the burgeoning spring.

You’ll enjoy visiting Ruby Tuesday 2, Scenic Sunday, Thursday Challenge (Red), Outdoor Wednesday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Watery Wednesday, A Piece of Heaven and Skywatch Friday. If there is only one photo here, click on Sara’s Fave Photos for the entire blog.  

This is from the ice storm three weeks ago. That was really something. The ice was already beginning to melt when I finally was able to get outside to take some photos. We were lucky and our power never went out, although I heard later that people fairly close did lose power for a couple-three days. I am so very grateful we didn’t. I hope you get some every-day luck like that, too.

Check out Macro Friday, Macro Monday, Scenic Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday and Watery Wednesday to see other photos on a theme. Explore the full blog by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos.

It may be a long haul until actual spring that has flowers and warm weather, but I am all psyched when I see these little shoots of daffodils emerging in winter’s melting snow. So brave and yet so tender looking! This inspires me, so I am calling it my Best Post of the Week.

Have a look at Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Macro Friday, Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Scenic Sunday, Outdoor Wednesday and Watery Wednesday for more neat photos. Perhaps do a search here for snow, or winter, first? Always return to the full blog by clicking on Sara’s Fave Photos.