peonies

The blooming season for tree peonies is past; now regular peonies decorate the garden.

bearded iris

Yesterday I visited flowers in between late afternoon and evening rainstorms. I headed to the Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens to see if bearded iris was in bloom.

I've always been fascinated by these intricate flowers.

instruction

In case you're not sure how to open this door, the sign clearly says to push.

almost a painting

A yellow iris stands in a field of green.

It's a photograph that I can also imagine as a painting.

seed pods

Tree peonies move from pristine flower to seed pod pretty quickly. I visited Long Hill Sunday afternoon to see the flowers and returned today to see them in the next stage of life.

photos! 3 gardens

Last week was rainy in southeastern Pennsylvania. Somehow visits to three beautiful gardens fit in between the raindrops. The gardens? Jenkins Arboretum in Devon, Chanticleer Garden in Wayne, and Scott Arboretum on the grounds of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore.

Photos can be seen in the gallery 3 gardens :: 2025.

tree peonies

I headed to Long Hill early this afternoon to see if the tree peonies are in bloom. They are!

Each individual flower doesn't last very long so I'm always happy to catch them in peak bloom. Since I also find the flowers interesting after they have faded I plan to visit again later in the week.

before the rain

Sometimes it makes sense to pay attention to the weather forecast. With a prediction for thunderstorms starting at 11 AM we headed to Valley Forge National Historical Park to walk early enough to almost avoid the rain.

Pre-storm clouds created an interesting sky.

2 days, 2 gardens

We walked in between raindrops, wandered in two gardens. Yesterday we visited Chanticleer Gardens and today was a first visit to the Scott Arboretum at Swarthmore College.

Both gardens were delightful, providing homes for early spring flowers.

flamingo

I'm always attracted to birds wearing bright feathers.

This flamingo posed for me at the Philadelphia Zoo this morning.

azalea

Azaleas are starting to decorate the landscape with color.

I love the shades of pink in the transition of this bush from bud to flower.

dropped petals

Magnolia trees in the area are in a state of transition. Some full flowers remain while others have dropped most of their petals.

The tree continues to hold on to beauty.

tulip transition

I visited the garden of the Stevens-Coolidge House & Gardens yesterday evening as light rain fell.

I saw tulips in a state of transition. Some are still in full flower, others are fading.

wet

I headed to Maudslay State Park this afternoon hoping to walk before it rained. When I arrived I heard the rumble of thunder; I saw a jagged lightening bolt in the distance. I chose to walk, attempting to ignore the incoming rain. And yes, I did get quite wet!

It was early for azalea. I saw two bushes wearing buds and a single bush in bloom. Maybe next week...

Dogwood and other flowering trees were blooming and there were several varieties of daffodils still in prime condition.

spring green

Small leaves are emerging on broadleafed trees, showing a light green color.

standing tall

A tulip wearing shades of orange stands tall in early evening light.

nodding

The stems of tulips wearing bright colors sway in the wind.

early tulip

Tulips are starting to bloom here in northeastern Massachusetts.

This beauty posed for me this evening.

north on Plum Island

I felt the need to walk by the ocean today.

Since my favorite beach (at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge) is closed for the piping plover nesting season I headed to the north end of Plum Island, the same island where Parker River lives. While some sections of the beach and dunes are roped off for the birds, there was space for 2-legged creatures to walk there too.

reaching

I'd like to imagine that this daffodil is reaching for the sun.

to Odiorne Point

I needed a change of pace today so I headed to the New Hampshire Coast to walk along the coast in Odiorne Point State Park.

It was a warm and windy walk, with vegetation along the coast still showing autumn colors.

tiny

Grape hyacinths grace the garden with their tiny blooms.

last crocus

While the hill of flowers in Maudslay State Park now shows mainly daffodils in the grass, a few crocus still remain.

daffodils

As spring continues, daffodils are starting to emerge.

bright

As I walked in the woods this afternoon I found a few bright and tiny wildflowers.

to Maudslay

There is a small hill in Maudslay State Park that serves as the home for small early spring flowers. As I approached the hill today it appeared as though it only contained grass; I needed to take steps onto the grass to see the flowers scattered about. Today I saw crocus, snowdrops, and miniature daffodils.

Here's a crocus that agreed to pose for me.

dwarf iris

A small but perfect (dwarf) iris stands in the garden.

pink

A hellebore in the garden at Long Hill is wearing spring colors.

posed

A robin agreed to pose for me this afternoon.

While some robins stay here during the cold months, some migrate south. Seeing robins hopping about makes it feel like spring.

wicked windy

It was chilly today, and wicked windy. Once the rain moved out I decided to head to the coast, ignoring the windy chill and listening to the call of the beach at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. The beach closes on April 1st for the piping plover nesting season; I knew I needed at least one more walk there before the closure.

I should have walked north first then returned to the south. I didn't; I fought the wind the entire walk back.

purple

This afternoon was my first visit to Long Hill this year, a home of flowers that bloom in the spring. While it is a bit early in the growing season given the time it took the snow cover to disappear, I found tiny flowers scattered across the property.

There were snowdrops, winter aconite, and Crocus Tommasinianus.

photos! spring bulb show

Monday's visit to the 2025 Spring Bulb Show at the Botanic Garden of Smith College allowed me to jump forward to spring to absorb the beauty of flowers. I thoroughly enjoyed being surrounded by the bright colors of tulips and daffodils.

Photos can be seen in the gallery spring flowers at Smith College :: 2025.

Click here to jump to the gallery.

tiny

I headed to Maudslay State Park this afternoon to see if any spring flowers had emerged.

While crocus haven't appeared yet I did find snowflakes, snowdrops, and miniature daffodils.

driving to flowers

The annual spring bulb show at the Botanic Garden of Smith College is the first two weeks of March.

Today was my day to drive west across the state, to visit bright flowers in bloom. I needed the color!

I will post again when the photo gallery is available for viewing.

ice remains

While it's March and the beginning of meterological spring, the landscape hasn't caught up to the season yet.

The ground continues to be covered with a layer of snow, and ponds in the area still wear ice.

clouds, reflections

While it is a dry and sunny day today, low tide is late enough that the coast doesn't tempt me today. It did on Tuesday though; here is a view from the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge at just past low tide of clouds, pools of water, and reflections.

warmth

It was a warm day for February. Snow and ice still covers the inland trails where I like to walk with my camera. It is melting, but slowly.

I headed to the coast, again visiting the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. Isn't it kind of the ocean to clear the beach for walking with the normal tide cycle?

I walked, I listened to the sounds of the ocean, I watched sanderlings skittering, I enjoyed the peace of the refuge.

to the beach

The beach is the right place to walk when trails and sidewalks are coverered in snow and ice. It's good of the ocean to wipe the sand clear for walking.

Today's destination was the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, arriving about an hour before low tide. Perfect!

a porthole in a fence

As I was walking through a nearby neighborhood this morning I noticed a (new) window in a fence.

I often see the dogs that live there jumping to try to see the people walking by their yard. Today I saw a new porthole window low on the fence, a perfect viewing spot for the dogs who live there.

It's a shame there wasn't a dog looking back at me!

a dream

This is a dream...

We had snow and sleet yesterday followed by cold and crazy wind today. It's mid-February so it feels right to be dreaming of flowers.

For now, here are some crocus that jumped into my camera from the gardens of Long Hill on March 13, 2024.

again!

It seems to be turning into a pattern, snow overnight Saturday into Sunday followed by mixed precipitation.

I woke to snow-covered surfaces and sleet and there is rain in the forecast for later today. While I'd like to get out for a walk my outside activity today depends on whether the roads are clear enough to provide safe footing.

between storms

Today I took advantage of the calm between snowstorms to walk on the beach at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. While the temperature was pretty warm for a winter day, the wind was howling so much that I felt the chill.

Snow from yesterday's (small) storm sat on the inland side of the beach while the tide swept the lower side to clear sand.

snow before cold

A bit of snow greeted me this morning, falling overnight and continuing into the daylight.

There was up to 2 inches on the ground, enough to convince me that walking on Merrimack College roads and sidewalks was better than venturing out on town roads. The temperature is in the mid-20s, warm when you compare it to tonight's forecasted low of 4 degrees.

fading

A fading camellia jumped into my camera during last week's visit to the greenhouses of the Lyman Estate in Waltham, MA.

by the sea

The air was chilly, accompanied by a bit of a breeeze. The tide was retreating as I walked on the northern end of Plum Island this afternoon.

It is always good to spend time by the sea.

a greenhouse visit

At the end of January the landscape feels a bit drab.

Today I visited the greenhouses of the Lyman Estate seeking a bit of color. While there were not a lot of flowers in bloom I was still able to get the color fix I needed.

More flowers can be seen in the gallery greenhouse of Lyman Estate :: 2025.

murals in Salem

Knowing there is snow coming tomorrow with cold following soon after I knew I needed to wander someplace different today. I wanted streets to walk rather than woods because there is still a layer of snow on the ground from last weekend's snowfall.

I chose to walk in Salem, hoping to see some new murals. There was a section of new-to-me murals along with many I have enjoyed in the past.

This mural wrapped the walls of adjoining buildings.

Click here to see more photos from today's wander.