Thursday’s Challenge is “ROMANTIC” (Flowers, Chocolates, Hearts, Lace, Red, Pink, Sunset, Holding Hands,…) and so of course I have to post flowers. This bouquet also photographed at the NW Flower & Garden show in Seattle last week. It says Be Mine to me!

This also works for Color Carnival (the local gray skies make me crave color!) and is a straight-out-of-the-camera shot, or SOOC.

My daughter brought some Meyer lemons from her friend’s lemon tree in California. We gave lots away and still had plenty. They taste stronger and sweeter than regular lemons. And so beautiful, as well. For more interesting shadows from all points of view, click HERE.

I just heard that the Shadow Shot site’s muse, Tracy AKA Harriet, is having computer trouble. Oh no! Hope it’s solved soon.

Spring is so wonderful. Here’s a perfect red camellia for Ruby Tuesday, from the huge old shrub in my backyard. No fragrance, but their almost mandala-like circle of petals is hypnotic to me. And they bloom early!

For more rubiness around the world, click HERE.

Here’s a shot of late July glads from my last garden in the Des Moines WA house. They are so easy to grow and increase by themselves. And do you see the red cherry in the background? I did bring some corms to the new place, but it will take a bit before they reach this density.

For more photos of ruby delight, click HERE.

This is the spirit of June, as far as I am concerned. I was blessed that day with being able to see, smell and photograph what seemed like a million roses at the Woodland Park Rose Garden in Seattle, right next to the zoo. I prefer roses to animals, myself.

Every now and then, I feel like posting a photo from that glorious day. Wish we could smell it, too.

For more flowers around the world, click HERE. Why not post one of your own and join in?

I have a dilemma. I just cannot choose among the photos I took of the beautiful flowers dear hubby brought me on Saturday. Please help. Which is the one photo which best expresses the fabulous RED ROSE BOUQUET quality they are bursting with?

For more red creatively seen, click HERE.

Or this one . . .

Or this one?

Yes, they are from the store but they are real and they are bloominn right now! They smell wonderful; it’s springtime heaven. For more flowers everywhere, click HERE.

This is a Double Delight rose from a couple of Junes ago. It is my favorite rose to grow. Not only is the bush tall and healthy with dark green foliage, the flowers AND the fragrance are just heaven. Sweet and spicy, just unforgettable. Ah, summer.

For more things ruby, click HERE.

I’ve learned that fuchsias (the late, long-time San Francisco columnist Herb Caen called them the world’s most carefully spelled flower!) require a steady diet of fertilizer to bloom well. So I finally was generous with the plant food, and look what happened! For more beautiful flowers from around the world, click HERE.

This rose is called Double Delight. The more sun it gets, the darker the red edges. I read that the unusual coloration was first seen as a flaw by the breeder. Not only is the bush healthy and vigorous, its scent is sweet, spicy, strong, and completely magnificent. This was taken in the rose garden in our other house, last June. I will just have to plant more roses.

For more flowers around the world, click HERE.

There are still some flowers blooming, and this one shows our Seattle specialty, rain. It doesn’t rain all that much, but it can get a bit gray. Flowers like this cheer me up, though. Click HERE for more ideas about the color red.

It seems I jumped the gun posting my flower yesterday, so nothing for it but to make another post. These dahlias won’t quit, not quite yet. This one is over 6 inches across. The late afternoon light was just right for the tender petals to glow, I think. Click HERE for more beautiful flowers around the planet.