Hooray for Spring!

After a long, cold rainy winter, BAM! - two weeks ago everything started blooming at once.  Daffodils opened their yellow faces and all the trees in Portland suddenly burst into full flower mode.

It was actually sunny this morning, so I took advantage of the good light to capture a few images of the flowers now blooming in my neighborhood.

I know you're probably getting tired of my endless skiing posts, so hopefully these photos are a pleasant alternative.

What's Blooming Now

Okay, I'll give everyone a break from the snowy skiing posts and show you what spring is currently like in my neck of the woods.

My hubby planted several dozen tulips in our front yard.  Sadly, none of them came up.....seems the soil in the flower bed is not good.  It's too full of clay and doesn't drain, so all of the bulbs he planted last fall rotted in place (heavy sigh....)

Luckily, he thought to plant some tulips in the backyard flower bed, and they've been doing quite nicely.  So I have a few tulips to photograph!

While driving home a week ago, I noticed a pink dogwood tree in bloom on a neighboring street.  The setting sun was lighting it up so nicely, I vowed to return and catch it the following evening. 

Not only did a capture those gorgeous pink blossoms, I also found a lovely two-color tulip nicely backlit by the setting sun.

Is there anything prettier than pink dogwood blossoms?  I don't think so.

Around here, spring is one continuous spectacle of color.  First, we had the daffodils, then the tulips and cherry trees, and now it's the dogwood's turn.

Although I'm sad that ski season is nearing the end, I love the longer daylight hours, and enjoy the procession of colorful flowers unfurling throughout the spring months.

Stay tuned - in another couple weeks, I'll update you again on "what's blooming now!"


Sharing with:  Friday Floral Fotos

First Day of Spring

Although the calendar says today's the first day of spring, things have been blooming in my corner of Oregon for a couple of weeks.

Rhodies!

These daffodils in my front yard were the first to show off their bright yellow splendor.

Just last week, the tulips decided to join in the show.

Our pear tree, not wanting to be left out, decided to display it's blossoms too.

A pair of lovely red tulips unfurled their petals just yesterday.

As did some unknown purple flowers in my backyard (anyone know what these are??)

This morning's rainfall left its mark on my tulips, speckling them with droplets.

The one white daffodil in our front yard became very photogenic after the rainstorm.

I love tulips of all colors and am happy we have a yellow one in our garden.

These daffodils seem to be buddies.

Best of all, two days ago, I noticed my rhododendron bush sporting a few flowers.  Just yesterday, it erupted in a pink explosion.

I've been so busy skiing, I almost missed the annual spring flower show.  But today's rain on the mountain meant time at home to catch up on things.  What better way to celebrate the first day of spring?


Sharing with:  Through My Lens and image-in-ing and Life Thru the Lens

Summer Flower Garden

Every spring my hubby plants a backyard flower garden for me to enjoy (and of course photograph!)

This year was no exception.  In early April, he buried several bulbs.  Throughout the spring, I watched green stalks rise from the soil.

Then in late May, flowers began showing their colorful faces.

First were the lilies, in many different shades of pink, orange, and yellow.

Then came the dahlias, with their neat rows of multi-hued petals radiating out from a central core.

The gladiolus opened next, their tiers sporting gorgeous ruffled petals.

Many early mornings found me grabbing my camera to capture perfect light on the flowers.

I filled many a memory card with gorgeous images.

There were other bloomers - deep purple flowers, whose names I didn't know.

We even coaxed a half dozen coneflowers to rise from the dirt.  With their slender pink petals and large fuzzy center, these became my favorites.

Sadly, by late July our flower garden began to dry up, a casualty of this year's unseasonable hot and dry weather.

Now nothing but a patch of brown, dried-up stems, I'm sad every time I look at it.  But I'm very thankful for the hundreds of photos I've taken throughout the summer.  At least I have a photographic record of the lovely garden that was.  Seeing these colorful images always cheers me up.

I've posted some of my favorite flower pics here today hoping they will bring cheer to your lives too!


Sharing with:  Through My Lens and Our World Tuesday.

City of Roses

"For you a rose in Portland grows."

Portland, Oregon is known as the Rose City.  It's cool, wet spring climate is perfect for growing these lovely flowers. 

In late May, colorful rosebuds explode into bloom all over town.

Portland celebrates it's Rose Festival in early June.  Two weeks of events culminate with the Grand Floral Parade.  Similar to the New Year's Tournament of Roses parade, it features floats decorated with thousands of brightly colored roses.

Portland has a huge rose garden located in Washington Park.  It's a designated International Rose Test Garden, one of 24 official testing sites for the All-America Rose Selections (AARS).  This organization is dedicated to the introduction and promotion of exceptional roses.

Early June is the perfect time for a tour of the Washington Park rose garden.  Rows upon rows of brightly-colored, fragrant roses cover the grounds. A great place for a stroll.

Of course, I don't have to travel all the way to Washington Park to get my rose fix.  My hubby maintains his own little rose garden right in our front yard.

He grows several varieties of roses, in many gorgeous colors.

I was home this morning, and noticed the blossoms were covered in droplets from last night's rain.

Fantastic photo ops - right in my own yard!

This pale pink rose was my favorite. 

No - this last photo isn't a rose - it's a dew-spangled tulip from over a month ago.  It was so pretty I just had to include it too.

Have a flower-filled weekend!


Sharing with:  Weekly Top Shot.

April Flowers

I'm sure everyone is getting tired of seeing my endless posts of white (especially those of you in the eastern US and Canada who are still getting snow).  So to brighten your day, here's a glimpse of what's blooming right now in Northwestern Oregon.

First rhodie bloom!

A couple of weeks ago I noticed a bright pink rhododendron flower bursting out of it's bud.  Time to get the camera!

Blossoms from neighbor's tree

One of the trees across the street was abloom in frilly pink blossoms.

More pinkness

Not sure exactly what these are (I told you I'm not a botanist) but I know what I like to photograph.

Our cherry trees are blooming

We have two tiny cherry trees in our backyard that give about a handful of cherries every summer.  But in the spring they sure produce a bumper crop of blossoms.

View over my backyard fence

This is by far my favorite springtime view.  It's over my backyard fence at our neighbor's flowering pink tree (sorry - again I have no clue the species).  The white blossoms are from our Asian pear tree.  The combination of white blossoms and pink flowers is simply gorgeous.  This sight never lasts long enough, so I try to enjoy it while I can.

Asian pear blossoms

And here's some of the white flowers from our Asian pear tree.

Tulip time!

Another great thing about spring is when the tulips bloom.  I love, love, love tulips!  South of Portland there's a huge tulip farm that is very popular to visit this time of year.  But I've been so busy with other outdoor activities I've yet to go.

More tulips

Luckily, we have a few pretty red tulips in our front flower bed that return every year.  So I get my tulip fix satisfied.

My rhodie bush in full bloom

But my most favorite spring flowers by far are the rhododendrons.  They grow in abundance here in the PNW, and by mid-April most of them in town are starting to bloom.

These are my faves

Two weeks after the first photo in this post was taken, our little rhodie bush erupted in lovely pink flowers.  Isn't it gorgeous?

So those of you who are still suffering under winter's icy grip, enjoy some colorful spring scenes on me.  And hang in there - spring is on it's way.  Really! 



Sharing with:  52 Photos Project. and Weekly Top Shot.