See the winning images of our weekly photo contest

This is a photo of Bleeding Hearts, also called the Valentine Flower, I took at the Morton Arboretum, last week. This is a shade loving flowering plant. I was attracted by the brilliant colors and linear pattern of the bloom, hanging from slender stem that arches due to the weight of the flowers. At close inspection this relatively small flower has beautiful curved lines converging at the lower part of the heart, from which there is a leaf like colorful extension. The plant and the flower are poisonous, to be kept away from children. Pat (Dushyant) Patel of Glen Ellyn

I noticed that just outside my front door was a nest that seemed a little overcrowded. It will be interesting to see how these baby Robins grow. Paul McDonough of Algonquin

Happened upon this frog sunning himself on a lily pad in the Idea Garden pond at Cantigny Park in Wheaton. Bill Burlison of Winfield

Water drops cling to spider webs as crabapple bloom on a foggy day earlier this month at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. Nancy Giardina of Libertyville

A beagle named Molly stares up in an Island Lake home last November. Wendy Castellanos of Island Lake

I took the picture of this sulfur butterfly last summer in my backyard garden. I hope to see many more of these in a few short weeks. Butterflies are summer's stealth visitors. Milton Hoskins of Hampshire

This Robin continued construction of her nest on our neighbors fence. My wife and I were intrigued by the Robins determination, and the awe inspiring look of "nature at work." I snapped the photo when we saw her inspecting her new nest. Then she moved in and settled down. Hopefully "Spring has Sprung." Randy Link of Winfield

This photo was taken at TriCounty State park, Elgin Il. It's a grim reminder that in order for a predator to eat, something else needs to die. All that is left of a prairie crayfish is a single claw. Tri-County of Elgin

An unusual bug crawls on a plant in a greenhouse at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe. It is called a mealybug destroyer and it attacks mealybugs that damage plants. For a small bug it has a big job keeping plants healthy. Deb Marak of Arlington Heights

The Chicago Cub's Addison Russell and Ben Zobrist celebrate a victory over the Washington Nationals on May 7 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. John Wysocki of Mount Prospect

An exhibit of colorful blown glass structures are placed among the cactus at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. Mike Stone of Arlington Heights

The Seattle Space Needle rises up from the ground on a beautiful spring day at the Seattle Memorial Garden on Thursday, May 12th. Diana Friess of Grayslake