Tonight I was at the Volunteer Park Conservatory, attending its annual Friends of the Conservatory meeting. The first part was in the Conservatory itself, with perfect late afternoon light showing off many of the exquisite floral displays to perfection. Here is an orange hibiscus flower, all glowing in the light.

Please explore Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Mellow Yellow Monday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Macro Monday, and Macro Flowers Saturday, if you have a minute or two. If you’ve arrived via a link, clicking on the curly letters of Sara’s Fave Photos Blog above will get you the complete photo collection here.

This spring scene of a tree near a pond was taken on my recent trip to Connecticut. Don’t you just love the pattern of shadows? The reflection of the spring flowers on the water surface isn’t too shabby, either. What a lovely day that was. I am so glad I always have my camera with me! Speaking of which, don’t forget to download the “7 Secrets to Better Flower Photos” at the right. You don’t need more than a pocket camera to take really nice pictures, is how I feel about it.

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If you’ve visited Seattle, you’ve probably visited Pike Place Market, home of the original Starbucks and flying fish vendors and all that. But you might not know that the north section with the fresh flower vendors is filled only with flower vendors who grow all their own flowers. Nothing is shipped in from Chile, just all local blooms from the Seattle area fields and farms. You’ll see flower combos like you have never seen anywhere else, and the masses of tulips on display right now are just something else. I love tulip season!

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Visiting the New York area last week, I got to travel a bit around the Greenwich, CT area. With a spring landscape that can’t be beat, bursting into bloom from the warm weather they’d been having, I was in photo heaven when I saw this forsythia hedge just exploding in front of me. The sun peeked out and snap! I got it. Lucky me!

Check out more nifty photos at Mellow Yellow Monday,  Shadow Shot Sunday 2, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Outdoor Wednesday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), A Piece of Heaven, Skywatch Friday and Scenic Sunday. If you’ve arrived via a link, click on Sara’s Fave Photo Blog above for the complete selection here. Please follow this blog on the new widget to the right if you enjoy the photos. Thanks for visiting!

I was lucky enough to go the New York Botanical Garden‘s Orchid Show which continues until April 22. If you get a chance, you must go. Ravishing, wonderful, gorgeous! Not just a bunch of flowers, but so exquisitely displayed. And New York City has been having an amazing springtime, so my favorite pink trees in full bloom graced the grounds around the Enid Haupt Conservatory that houses the orchid show.

Here is one lovely orchid for your viewing pleasure. Visit Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Mellow Yellow Monday, Ruby Tuesday 2 and Pink Saturday for more fun photos with a theme. If you’ve arrived via a link, clicking on the curly letters of Sara’s Fave Photos above will get you the complete blog here.

I do like watching what the pros plant. This flowerbed of spring bulbs and pansies is such a vibrant color combination. I usually think of spring as pinks and pales, but this makes me rethink that. What do you plant for spring in your own garden? Deep colors, or Easter-y ones?

Why not pay a visit to Scenic Sunday, SOOC Sunday (straight out of the camera), Outdoor Wednesday, Today’s Flowers, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Mellow Yellow Monday or Ruby Tuesday 2? You can click on the Sara’s Fave Photos banner above to see all the photos here. And since Google Friend Connect is ended for non-Blogger sites, I invite you to follow this blog with the widget at the right. Thanks!

Those displays of nursery starts really excite me. Naturally I’d like a garden like this, with hundreds of healthy plants (at eye level!) massed together and all color coordinated, but I am not such a disciplined gardener, and anyway, who has the ready, cultivated beds waiting for such a big infusion? But in buying only plants I love, and fitting the new ones into the existing scheme of things, I do get such a sense of satisfaction. When it works out well, of course.

This frilly purple pansy is just so cute in macro, to me. Too cold and wet for me to go into the garden yet in Seattle, this image will just have to do.

Be sure to visit Outdoor Wednesday, Today’s Flowers, Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday and Mellow Yellow Monday. If you have arrived via a link, click on the Sara’s Fave Photos banner above for the rest if the photos here. You can also click on a tag or category, or use search, for some new images.

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!

Some plants are just photogenic, and primroses are a prime example. Maybe it’s the shiny leaves, maybe it’s the simplicity of the petal forms, but if the light is good and the flowers are pretty, you are going to get a good photo of these cuties. I just want to take home the entire nursery-full.

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Be sure to visit Today’s Flowers, where I have the honor of being Guest Host on Sunday. Other lovely places around blogland are Mellow Yellow Monday, Macro Monday, Macro Flowers Saturday, Weekend Flowers, Floral Friday, Outdoor Wednesday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2 and Ruby Tuesday 2. Thank you for visiting!

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.