“The heart has reasons that reason does not understand.” ~ Jacques Benigne Bossuel

If you're around me for very long, you will find that gardening is another passion that is a nice companion to my love of photography.  This week I'm taking you on a garden tour. First stop; my rose garden! The more I garden, the more I realize roses are my favorite flowers.

“The heart has reasons that reason does not understand.” ~ Jacques Benigne Bossuel, originally uploaded by Abby Lanes.
Earlier this year, I added new bareroot roses, and this is the first "pink" bloom on the new bushes.

Next stop... the area women's club hosts a yearly garden tour... and this home had a beautiful waterlily coy pond that ran right underneath the driveway.

The tour had five gardens, and the perfect mix of garden styles for the tour.

The cottage garden had this mullein verbascum album. It was quite frankly, the first time I had ever seen this flower. Thank you to my gardening friend Kate for the flower id. If you get a chance, visit her blog, it's packed full of gardening knowledge and beautiful flowers. http://www.katesmudges.com/

Finally, the last stop on our garden tour today, was taken at the flower fields in Carlsbad. There were so many ranunculas there, to focus on one seemed odd, but I thought it was fitting for our tour.

I hope you enjoyed your garden tour.  Have a lovely Memorial Day weekend.

Pink IS Spring's Signature Color

My children and I are visiting family in North Carolina. We've noticed pink nearly everywhere we've gone.

We thought you'd enjoy our tour of the "PINK" Spring we've found in the South. First, there are gorgeous pink Dogwood Tree's in bloom everywhere.

And those lovely dogwood trees frame the houses so beautifully.

Next, pack your bags for a trip to "The Biltmore Estate" in Asheville, North Carolina. It's time for the Spring Flower Festival. We discovered that if you want photos of the gorgeous pink tulips, with no people milling about, arrive at dusk.

As you stroll peacefully through the gardens of the largest private home on the East Coast, and you see all of the beautiful tulips, you'll be tickled pink.

And there is nothing nearly as pretty as the tulips there.

Thank you for stopping by, and we hope you've enjoyed our Spring Break tour.

The Flower Fields ~ Carlsbad, California

The Flower Fields ~ Carlsbad, California, originally uploaded by Abby Lanes (on Spring Break!).

Have you ever stood in a field of flowers? Until yesterday, I could say, no way.

But now that I found my way to the flowerfields in Carlsbad, it's a wonderful feeling and experience. The official "Flower Field" website said the ranunculus are 65% in bloom. Can you imagine 100%???

Here are some pink ranunculas, which is my favorite color.

These flowers came in ever color and variety, but I'm showing you the pink toned images. I thought it would be fun to photograph a few "ant" views, and got so dirty taking some of these.

Enjoy!