Can someone identify this flower? [Yes! I do believe that Jane nailed it: Torenia fournieri AKA wishbone flower. It looks so much like johnny-jump-up but there are subtle differences.]

I think it's a pretty common annual but I can't remember what it's called.

Anyone know what kind of flower this is? It's growing in the park next door. [Nancy from WY ID'ed it as Gaillardia, or Firewheel (Gaillardia pulchella).]

Isn't it a great color? Speaking of color, Tanya from Suburban Jubilee, in Tasmania, posted this wonderful hue test, a very quick and fun way to see how well you can see differences in colors.  Go here to take the test. I won't brag just yet about how well I scored but I suspect I'll have to let it out eventually. For someone with old bad eyes I was pleased.

An ikebana workshop and a meet-up with a friend.

On Sunday I met my blogging buddy Anne at the Smithsonian's Sackler Gallery on the Mall for a workshop on ikebana, Japanese flower arranging. We also had a short tour of some Japanese screens and pottery, which was very interesting. Anne did a great job of summing up our very fun day so go there for more details.

I learned something interesting about Anne just at the very end of the workshop. We were each given a handy little box to carry home our two floral arrangements. Anne decided that lugging the box to her car and driving home with it wasn't for her. Too much hassle. She didn't need the recycled wine bottle that held one arrangement nor did she need the little glass bowl holding the second arrangement. Me? Even though I was going home on the Metro and had to change subway lines at the extremely busy Metro Center (DC is still in high tourist season AND the very popular Folklife Festival was being held on the Mall), I was determined to bring home my "loot" -- aforementioned recycled wine bottle and cheap glass bowl. Don't ever believe her if she says she hoards things. A true hoarder would have done what I did.

Isn't Anne adorable? Soon there will be another Anne-Pam adventure to report on! To be continued...

I was ho-hum about orchids until I read this book. Now I'm all atwitter about them. (Nice to see the word "twitter" without the word "Weiner," right?)

The book is about a lot more than orchids: the history of the Seminole Indians, wildlife in Florida in general, the western-most section of the Everglades called the Fakahatchee Strand State Preserve, and rich people and their hobbies. Oh and passion. That was what the author was really exploring: why some people are so bizarrely passionate about these flowers and what that passion will make them do.

I didn't need this book to remind me that Florida is a state I don't think I'll visit again. Way too hot and way too full of gators.

And the movie "Adaptation," which is kinda, sorta based on the book: saw it twice; remembered virtually nothing about it. That's what you get for watching movies at home on an old-fashioned TV screen (while quilting).

Lilacs and My Lovely Little Sister.

Kathy came to visit briefly on Saturday; she had to be in town for business. She brought me these gorgeous lilacs from her house Way Up in The Hills, the same house our maternal grandparents lived in. The lilacs are from shrubs that my grandmother grew. Maybe they even go back before my grandmother?? If they were planted when the house was built they might be from the 1930s. The little picture of Kathy is one that hangs around my sewing and knitting boxes, which explains the condition (I really should put it someplace safe.) She's in her Brownie uniform and is probably in the second grade in this picture. Isn't she cute? The house has smelled heavenly since Saturday.

My mother's petunias were still blooming as of 2 days ago. They've withered a bit since then but are still hanging on.

What's this purple-lavender flower popping out from among the 4-O'clocks??

And most important, do deer like it?

Yesterday, before the snows came, I found this lone snowdrop. In my mind, spring has begun.

Day 4 and Day 1 sprouts, rhododrendron, and allium.

Daffodils.