Spring is here, at last!

Even the bees are excited.

Queen Anne's Lace at Sunrise

It's a hot one out today.

African Daisies, in all the stages of blooming

The first time I've seen a grouping in all the different stages of bloom. The curled-in petals are the last stage, and the wide-open traditional daisies on the bottom are the first.

Echinacea, or purple coneflower

Yesterday's field in wider perspective

I love my city.

Orange and Purple Coneflowers in Field

You won't believe where this was taken. Tune in tomorrow! :)

Old Schoolin' It

Haven't done a flower post in a while, so here are some shots from the Anderson Japanese Garden in Rockford IL.

Irises around the pond



Faces to the sun


A welcoming entrance

Baby Blue Eyes

So delicate and so cheerful!



Just looking the white version, they just looked...white. It wasn't until I aimed the camera very close that I could see the purple speckles on the petals.

Like, wow. Totally.

This aster looks tie-dyed to me, especially when viewed larger.

Short-season beauties

During this time of year, there are many flowers with very short seasons, ones that I will see everywhere at the Botanic Garden one week, but will be gone for the year by the next weekend. Here are a few of my favorites that I spotted last weekend:

Lilies of the Valley.


Bleeding Hearts.


Allium (globe onions). These will be in full bloom by next week.


Colombine. (I always see the signs for this, but never the actual flowers. Caught 'em this year!)

Two for Wednesday

African Daisy


One of the few so far that have fully curled its petals. They should be in full bloom everywhere in a week or two.


Bird Bath


I love the drops of water flinging into the air.

Aster close-up

The spring flowers are giving way to the summer ones at the Botanic Garden. I think I'll be spending more time there this summer than I did last. I've really missed it!

Bleeding Hearts on the vine

I've taken photos of bleeding hearts many, many times, but they've always been close-ups like these. This is what they look like on the vine.





In a week or two, this will all be back to plain green foliage, but right now, it's quite amazing to stumble across patches like these.

Tulips: Gold, Peach and White

Sensory Garden: Color

This is probably the last weekend for tulips at the Chicago Botanic Garden. I'm glad I got there when I could!

Spring Tulips

The Chicago Botanic Garden knows how to do tulips right! I love the variety of colors in this bed.

Spring Tulips

One of the few shots that weren't wildly overexposed during my last trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden. Just when I start to think I'm getting a handle on my photography, I pull a rookie move and don't check my settings or my exposure. Alas!

Garfield Park Conservatory

Note to my dad, the weather junkie: we have at least five inches of snow on the ground, and the storm hasn't completely passed us yet. It's hard to tell how much is out there because the wind has blown it all over. But at least my car will be easier to clean this morning!

To avoid thinking about that, here are some more photos of greenhouses, this time at Garfield Park Conservatory, located in the middle of the west side of Chicago.

The main entrance:



The great hall:



Next week: details, and more flowers!

Oak Park Conservatory

More lushness in the middle of winter. Oak Park was such a sweet little conservatory. So bright and cheery!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful!

The temperature dropped 50 degrees in about 5 hours last night -- down to -1 this morning -- accompanied by bone-chilling winds and snow.

So here, have some hothouse flowers. There's a tiny little conservatory in Oak Park, and it's full of them.