Went to Arizona and the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix. Sharp stuff!

Sharp spines on this desert plant in Phoenix Botanical Garden

Joining Through My Lens Monday, Macro Monday, Our World Tuesday, Pictorial Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday, Skywatch Friday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, and Sunday Snap. Thanks for visiting here and please come back soon!

I call this the Dr. Seuss plant because it looks so wacky. Checking google images, I see it is sometimes called paintbrush lily. The flower is about 1.5 or 2 inches. It is a bulb related to amaryllis. Notice the tiny leaves in the dirt. Last year it set a few seeds, and I got one to grow!

Adorable houseplant haemanthus-albiflos blooms early in the year

Joining Through My Lens Monday, Macro Monday, Our World Tuesday, Pictorial Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, and Sunday Snap. Thanks for visiting here and please come back soon!

I’ve been thumbing through last year’s photos from Seattle’s big Flower Show, always early February. Soon! #NWFGS

Orchids, protea blossoms and graceful greenery in a tall glass vase with hanging globes

Visit Through My Lens Monday, Macro Monday, Good Random Fun Monday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Our World Tuesday, Pictorial Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, My Sunday Photo, All Seasons Sunday (0ne), and Sunday Snap. Thanks for visiting here and please come back soon!

I have posted about this Memory Jar before, but here it is again. A wonderful idea for your 2019 New Year!

Starting January 1, write good things that happen to you on little pieces of paper.

• Surprise gifts
• Accomplished goals
• The beauty of nature
• “LOL” moments
• Memories worth saving
• Daily blessings

Then on Dec. 31, open the jar and read all the amazing things that happened to you this year.

Create a memory jar for the year. So fun to read at the end of the year!

Visit Through My Lens Monday, Macro Monday, Good Random Fun Monday, Our World Tuesday, Pictorial Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday, Friday Bliss, Weekend Reflections, Pink Saturday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, My Sunday Photo, All Seasons Sunday, and Sunday Snap. Thanks for visiting here and please come back soon!

Happy New Year to all, a holiday shared round the world. Wishing you health, inner growth and contentment in 2019.

Buds are the optimism of the plant world. Paperwhites bloom on New Year’s Day, 2019

Joining Through My Lens Monday, Macro Monday, Good Random Fun Monday, Our World Tuesday, Pictorial Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, My Sunday Photo, and Sunday Snap. Thanks for visiting here and please come back soon!

Poinsettias aren’t the only kind of Christmas flower. Behold the red hibiscus, as big as your hand.

Orange-red hibiscus blossom with swirly ruffled petals, in Seattle’s Volunteer Park Conservatory

Connecting up with Through My Lens Monday, Macro Monday, Good Random Fun Monday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Our World Tuesday, Pictorial Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, Wednesday Around the World (WATW), Orange You Glad It’s Friday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, My Sunday Photo, and Sunday Snap. Thanks for visiting here first.

From the other side of the year, some peonies on a black glass table, from my garden.

Pink and white peonies and a round bud in a bouquet.

Connecting up with Through My Lens Monday, Macro Monday, Good Random Fun Monday, Our World Tuesday, Pictorial Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, Wednesday Around the World (WATW), Orange You Glad It’s Friday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, My Sunday Photo, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, and Sunday Snap. Thanks for visiting here first.

I have a standard bougainvillea plant (a little tree) that lives on my patio in the summer and indoors with the houseplants when it gets cold. It loves the warm indoors temps, the big sunny south-facing window, and the extra plant food. Flowers!

Magenta bougainvillea flowers blooming indoors

Connecting up with Through My Lens Monday, Macro Monday, Good Random Fun Monday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Our World Tuesday, Pictorial Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, Wednesday Around the World (WATW), Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, My Sunday Photo, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, and Sunday Snap. Thanks for visiting here first.

I know I’ve been using such technical plant names, but I can never remember the real names. Anyway, this stalk that looks like fountain grass is really little bitty orchids! So saith the Volunteer Park Conservatory, and they should know.

Very tiny orchids, in front of frilly white cymbidium orchids, commonly used for corsages

Connecting with Through My Lens Monday, Macro Monday, Our World Tuesday, Pictorial Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday’s Theme of the Week, Wordless Wednesday, Wednesday Around the World (WATW), Friday Bliss, Floral Friday, Pink Saturday, My Sunday Photo, and Sunday Snap. Have a wonderful day and hope to see you around here soon.

“Fancy” is not a very technical description, but I’ve never seen chrysanthemum leaves with a white border like this. Pretty showy!

Colorful mums with some fancy foliage, at the Volunteer Park Conservatory in Seattle

Connecting with Through My Lens Monday, Macro Monday, Our World Tuesday, Pictorial Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday’s Theme of the Week, Wordless Wednesday, Wednesday Around the World (WATW), Friday Bliss, Floral Friday, Orange You Glad It’s Friday, Pink Saturday, My Sunday Photo, and Sunday Snap. Have a wonderful day and hope to see you around here soon.

I’ve never seen one like this! Just in time to pique interest for the fabulous Mum Show coming up at the Conservatory in Volunteer Park, Seattle.

Huge and beautifully formed chrysanthemums in the foyer of the Volunteer Park Conservatory

Connecting with Through My Lens Monday, Macro Monday, Our World Tuesday, Pictorial Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, Wednesday Around the World (WATW), Friday Bliss, Floral Friday, Pink Saturday, My Sunday Photo, and Sunday Snap. Have a wonderful day and hope to see you around here soon.

Our backyard grape vine is doing pretty well this year. We might get ten bunches! The raccoons decimated the plums but haven’t taken all of these (yet). So sweet and delicious. If you can, plant a grapevine.

Backyard interlaken seedless, red, table grape vine, ripening well in Seattle’s short summer.

Also linking with Through My Lens Monday, Macro Monday, Ruby Tuesday 2, Our World Tuesday, Pictorial Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Wordless Wednesday, Wednesday Around the World (WATW), Friday Bliss, Skywatch Friday, Orange You Glad It’s Friday, Pink Saturday, My Sunday Photo, Shadow Shot Sunday 2, and Sunday Snap. Have a wonderful day and hope to see you around here again soon.