Fuzzy flowers popping open on dark red leaves. Not quite sure what these little cuties are?… but I’m totally diggin’ their candy-striped showiness before they pop open to a fuzzy flower sphere!

Colorful coleus on my back porch at home… plenty of textures & ruffled edges to celebrate Mother Nature’s TEXTURE TUESDAY. Loving the color contrasts of reds, rusts & chartreuse yellows!

One of the coolest Spring flowers ever…
these fun purple “spheres” of allium stand on tall stems.
Gently swaying in the breeze!

With the cooler weather lately, the lilac blossoms seem to be hanging around a lot longer this year… which I’m totally good with. But quite honestly, I’m ready for the warm weather to come back. I want Summer!!!

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.