Monday’s maple keys… still green on the trees! Looking forward to when they finally dry-out and turn into fun little helicopters!!!

Besides a “ton” of coleus plants with all of their colors & textures… my friends Gerry & Rosene have the most incredible garden with beautiful flowers around every corner! Here’s a little bit of a “visual tour” for those who couldn’t stop by our PLANT & POTTERY SALE this weekend!

On a gray & rainy day like today, it’s great to get a bright splash of color around the corner. Beautiful pink dogwood blossoms on graceful branches.

When they said “April showers bring May flowers”…
I wasn’t looking forward to this!!!

After our bike ride to Fort Sheridan & back… the day was still beautiful and I “needed” to stay outside! So I stopped off at The North Park Village Nature Center on my way home. A little nature sanctuary right in the city. I’ve never stopped here before… a sweet little gem… thanks for the recommendation Lisa!

Apparently, people found two “alleged” explosive devices at Openlands… both of which “allegedly” might be left over from World War II – originally coming from Fort Sheridan which is right there.

The lakeshore preserve is shut down while they investigate… but still a “sight to see” as we pedaled through to catch a beautiful view of the lake a bit further north.

A few more beauties… a couple parting shots before we continued the ride north past the gardens. Beautiful ranunculus flowers in a range of colors!

While at the Chicago Botanic Garden, I was also impressed by the flowering espalier growing on the brick entrance walls. Years of pruning & “training” to make this beauty happen!

Today was picture perfect! Beautiful blue skies & surprisingly warm weather again. We hit the bike trail early this morning and rode up to the Chicago Botanic Garden… where the tulips & lupine were in full bloom!!! A wonderful blaze of color… and I’ve always loved the structural shapes of a good lupine!!!

A beautiful day outside today… sure, you might get blown away with the strong gusty winds, but it sure was fun to spend the afternoon strolling along the lake. Kinda surprised these magnolia blossoms haven’t been blown off the tree today!!!