We got maybe a tenth of an inch of rain, more than the entire summer here in Seattle! But a big rain is coming in a couple of days, thank goodness, maybe two inches over a few days. The garden is so thirsty. If you grow roses, pick them and enjoy a bouquet if a big rain is coming. No sense in letting them get ruined and go to waste.

Water droplets on the petals of a half-open Peace rose in my garden

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Rose gardeners PSA: If it’s going to rain big, go out there and cut your opened roses for bouquets. They’ll just get ruined if you leave them out there.

Rain is coming. Might as well cut roses and bring inside.

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The first berries!

Sweet little strawberries, with their adorable little green caps

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The Peace rose is among the first to bloom in my rose garden. So pretty after a bit of rain.

The Peace rose is a yellow rose with deep pink edges, and a very vigorous rose bush

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We were so lucky to be able to stay at a cabin in Freeland, WA on Whidbey Island with an incredible view. The weather has been unbeatable, so warm and clear.

Sunset with a crescent moon, with Marrowstone Island in the distance

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We’ve had three days of really nice weather—dry and not too cold. Time to start peas outside! I like to soak them for a few hours before they go in the ground. So exciting to be planting something for spring.

Three kinds of peas soak for a few hours before going in the ground

Connecting up with Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Thankful Thursday, Timeless Thursday, Little Things Thursday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Garden Affair Saturday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2 and All Seasons Sunday1. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

The recent snow was beautiful in the garden.

Fresh snow on the branches of the dogwood tree with hydrangea plants underneath

Connecting to Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Thankful Thursday, Timeless Thursday, Little Things Thursday, Floral Friday, Friday Bliss, Pink Saturday, Garden Affair Saturday, and All Seasons Sunday1. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

Even on a gray and rainy day, there is beauty in the world.

Little angel sculpture waits patiently for spring

Joining up at Through My Lens Monday, Our World Tuesday, Tuesday’s Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday Treasures, Wordless Wednesday, My Corner of the World Wednesday 1, Thankful Thursday, Timeless Thursday, Little Things Thursday, Floral Friday, Friday Bliss, Weekend Reflections, Pink Saturday, Garden Affair Saturday, Shadow Shot Sunday 2 and All Seasons Sunday1. Thanks so much for visiting here and hope to see you again soon. Please sign up at upper right for notifications of new posts.

I adore my little carnivorous plant, a Cape sundew. It eats fruit flies and soil gnats! A few short months ago I transplanted the three little plants that were in a 2″ pot into a 4″ pot, filled with sphagnum moss. They are so happy—I need a bigger pot already! One just bloomed and now the second one is getting a flower.

Care tips: 1) Must sit in an outer pot kept filled with water about halfway up. 2) NEVER give it fertilizer. The bugs feed it. Learned this the hard way.

Tiny droplets attract fruit flies and soil gnats on the Drosera capensis, commonly known as the Cape sundew

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This is the perfect time to see if any of your hydrangeas are ripe for drying. The petals need to be crepe-y,  sort of wrinkled, but still have good color. I put them in an inch of water, at the most. When the water evaporates in a few days, the flowers should still look wonderful. Voila!

Blue hydrangea flowers in a glass vase

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Another rose photo of the flowers I had to pick before the big rains here in Seattle. A lot of rain ruins roses.

Garden roses in a bowl and a vase, on my kitchen table

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Trying to get my garden well watered ahead of a big heat wave coming up. These small flowered hardy fuchsias bloom so well in the late summer garden.

Hardy fuchsias actually like quite a bit of sun, unlike the other, tender kinds

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