Flowers: Clematis centers

A few clematis centers, at the nurseries, not my yard...yet. A couple of weeks before mine bloom. The centers always remind me of sea anemones, especially when they are open.

The gaps between the petals on this one ALMOST made a star. I was really tempted to try to move the petal in the lower left, but didn't, since my philosophy is "shoot it like you see it". No staging.

Flowers: Columbine (and a visitor)

My columbine is blooming. I don't have many of the traditional long-spurred variety, but have several of these smaller, layered types.
I love the way all the layers of petals are perfectly aligned here.

And---an early visitor! I didn't think it was warm enough for the dragonflies to be out. The design on this one's body looks like mosaic work. He really seemed to like the solid burgundy columbine.

Flowers: Botanic Garden assortment

Just a few from the Botanic Garden...it's a little lower in elevation than where I live, so things are actually blooming there.

This is perennial bachelor button. It can be really weedy and invasive, but it is such a striking blossom, and I love the color

Isn't this the most luscious color of Oriental poppy? I love this deep raspberry so much more than the usual shock orange.Ok, so tall flowers (like this delphinium) and macro + winds aren't a good combination, but I couldn't resist the visitor on this flower.

Flowers: Siberian Iris

I love iris--German iris, Dutch iris, Japanese iris--they are all favorites. Maybe it's the fact that they are such bold beacons of color after long dreary winters, or the way the petals stand and fall. I love the big German iris with their fuzzy beards--they are the grand dames of the iris world, wearing full baroque ballgowns.
Ah, but Siberian iris--they are the debutantes. They arrive before the German bearded iris, and are slender and delicate--ingenues, so to speak. They wear simple spare dresses, and are beautiful in their simplicity. They can't upstage the bearded iris, yet their very simplicity catches the eye in a way that doesn't happen with the bearded iris. Those take your breath away in their extravagence; these sneak in and make you look twice to see such clean lines and beauty.

No beards, just lovely patterns that are part of the petals.

Flowers: Calla Lilies

I love calla lilies--they are so spare and architectural and graceful, with their swooping sensuous curves and delicate tips, and the hidden centers. You can get abstractions without hardly trying. I've come across some in colors other than white, and they are still as fascinating.

Flowers: Gerbera Daisies

Through the drops

Sometimes it's about what's behind the drop, like this fern, or the azaela bud...

sometimes it's just about the way the water beads into perfect spheres and clings to the surface of the leaves.

Nature's Confetti

Fallen ornamental plum blossoms on the surface of a pond...

This and that...

It's not raining today, but it is cool and so cloudy that I almost need a flash outside. So...
A few left-overs from the excursion up to the Skagit Valley last month to see the tulips. This windmill is in the display garden of one of the bulb companies. I love this old shed, with the moss-encrusted roof. A very typical sight around here...there are companies that specialize in moss removal!!
And--is this not the coolest little place you've ever seen? It's like Dali or Picasso tried their hand at architecture!
R had to use the umbrella the other night while he was grilling dinner, and I got caught up in the abstract raindrops. I took some at a smaller aperture, but didn't like the definition as well; I prefer the wide-open abstraction.
And, this was taken Monday before the rains hit. The wild dogwoods in the woods around my house are blooming. They are really creamy and lovely, and I love the rough knobby bumpy center they have. They are already on their way out; they don't last long.