By the pond

And, yes, the green background is a pond
(the one in the Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden
at the Brooklyn Botanic) and, yes,
it really is that color.

[To see more flowers from around the world,
visit Today's Flowers at An English Girl Rambles.]

a pretty pink peony . . .

for all the moms and grandmas.
Enjoy your special day!

[To see more flowers from around the world,
visit Today's Flowers at An English Girl Rambles.]

Happy May Day

In France on the 1st of May, people offer
each other un brin de muguet, a sprig of my favorite
flower, lily of the valley.  This is the last
bouquet of these sweet little blooms
that I picked from my mother's garden before
it was destroyed four years ago by
Hurricane Sandy.  (I kept this bouquet; it hardly
looks like this now, but I still can't
bring myself to part with it.)

[Linking back to Today's Flowers at
An English Girl Rambles.]

Today's Flowers

There are dozens of different tulip
cultivars blooming right now in
the botanic garden.  I think my faves are
these ruffly, romantic parrot tulips.
Stunning!

[To see more flowers from around the
world, visit An English Girl Rambles.]

pansies for sale

I don't have any outdoor space for planting,
but I once bought a flat of pansies like
these for a little windowsill garden.  Didn't
quite work out though—it turned out
my cat Buddy liked the pansies
even more than I did.

[Linking back to Today's Flowers at
An English Girl Rambles.]

lady slipper

This orchid traps insects in its pouch,
but not for food.  The escape route takes
the prisoner past the staminode,
where it deposits pollen.  A bit convoluted, but
Mother Nature knows best, I guess.

[Linking back to Today's Flowers
at An English Girl Rambles
and to Macro Monday.]

Today's Flowers?

My new work space is right next to the 
food editors at another magazine, Family Circle. 
This showed up last week, so I went over to
admire the pretty orchid—and then . . .

someone cut into it!

[To see more (real) flowers from
around the world, go here
and click on the link.]

fall colors?

Actually, yes—I found these pale pink beauties  
blooming in the garden about a week ago, so . . .

[Linking back to Pink Saturday and Today's Flowers.]

Jardin du Luxembourg

The Luxembourg Palace (now the headquarters 
of the French senate) was built between 
1615 and 1645 for Marie de Medici, widow of Henri IV.
It was passed down through various members 
of her family, was at one time the home of the scandalous 
Duchess du Berry, and was taken over by 
Hermann Göring during the German occupation.  

[Linking back to Today's Flowers
and to Monday Mellow Yellows.]

up close and personal

I've been playing around a bit lately with
the macro lens for my phone.
This flower actually measures about an
inch and a half across.

[Linking back to Monday Mellow Yellows,
Macro Monday, and Today's Flowers.]

Today's Flowers

Yes, it is getting to be that time of year again.
Still, I just re-upped my membership
at the botanic garden in my neighborhood,
because I think there's something beautiful to 
be found there in every season.

[To see more flowers from around the world, go here.]

Chez Monet

"I am following nature without being able
to grasp her. . . . I perhaps owe
having become a painter to flowers."
—Claude Monet

[To see more flowers from around the world, go here.]

The Medici Fountain

The fountain was built for Maria de Medici in
the 1600s (despite the fact that at that
time they had to haul water all the way from the Seine
to fill it) in what's now the Jardin du Luxembourg.
 (Polyphemus Surprising Acis and Galatea 
was a 19th-century addition.)

[Linking back to Pink Saturday and Today's Flowers.] 

water lily

"Like a flower she grows toward the 
light, without thinking or examining the
process that moves her to do so.
I wish I could do the same."
—Joanne Harris, Chocolat

 [Linking back to Today's Flowers
and to Shadow Shot Sunday.]

Today's Flowers

This is one (and surely not the last) of the
many, many pictures I took in Monsieur Monet's
gorgeous gardens in Giverny.  They're a riot of color,
form, and fragrance—the place to go for the
best kind of sensory overload ever!

[To see more flowers from around the world, go here.]

Back in NY

I love what they've done with these
planters near my office—and they make sure 
the flowers don't wilt in the NYC heat.
Just hope no one actually wants to
sit on those benches.

[Linking back to Today's Flowers.]

Today's Flowers

It's not my absolute favorite flower
(that would be lily of the valley),
but I can't think of too many things that
are prettier than a pink peony.
What's your fave?

[To see more flowers from around the world, go here.]

Don't fence me in

These pretty pink clematis are meant
to be living in the rose garden,
but apparently they have other ideas.

[To see more of Today's Flowers, go here.]

I'm celebrating

Here's a great big bouquet to mark the

7th (!) anniversary of this little blog—which
is still fun for me (and I hope for you)
and still a conduit to the best people.  I'm grateful
for all of you and thank you for your 
friendly presence on my blog and in my life.

[Linking back to Today's Flowers. To see more, go here.]

Today's Flowers

There are more than 6,000 tulips in bloom 
in the loooong annual border at 
the Brooklyn Botanic Garden right now. 
With mostly yellow and orange and white cultivars
this year, these (called 'Pittsburgh') stood out.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mamas out there!
[To see more flowers from around the world, go here.]