Here are those apple shells recently found by DH. He hung this shelf unit for me today, we found it a month or so ago, curbside shopping. This is outside our backdoor, in our soon to be screened room. Our plum colored cottage is fading to a gray.
Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL
Good evening Friends,
What a lovely day today was! Birds were chirping early this morning, it was warmer than it has been, and reached mid 70's. I got a load of laundry washed and hung out to dry, then brought it in and folded and put everything away. (Instead of leaving it all in the basket or in a pile.)
I took some cuttings of brugmansia, scented geranium, tarragon, rosemary and begonias, hoping they will all root for me. You can see everything but the brugs, in the window below.
I was washing dishes earlier this evening and this scene caught my eye, so I grabbed the camera and snapped a picture. During the day, all the cobalt glass shows up with the outside scenery as well. Click on picture for a larger view.
Roses were also fed some rose food, then watered in, and I also hand watered other things.
I did a little bead/embroidery work too. Haven't done much of that this week with all the outdoor projects we've been working on. Besides, I was intimidated about thread color for the next bit of work, but picked out a color this afternoon and I'm happy with it.
Hope you all have a great week, and that your lives are filled with peace, health and love.
Now we know what is happening with Blotanical and we are all looking forward to it's return. Bless Stuart's heart for taking care of the new improvements for Blotanical so that we all can visit and enjoy the community even more. It's a big undertaking, what Stuart is doing, and I know we all hope everything goes smoothly for him.
Until then we are all visiting around and enjoying seeing what's happening in blogland. There are lots of wonderful gardens and gardeners out there. There are lots of wonderful people out there who don't garden but cook, bake, craft, raise families, work, read, listen to music, etc. We all are sharing bits and pieces of our lives.
We, DH and I, are busy here working on projects, like fence repair, screened room, I tore down a falling down arched arbor, a new one is in the thought process, tree stumps dug up, all sorts of stuff that wears us out, but gives us joy at the same time.
Below are some pictures of bloomers in our cottage gardens. It's going to be a gorgeous day and I'm going to be at work, of course. The past few days have been cold here, cold to us anyway. Today it's supposed to be up in the mid 70's.
Have a great weekend.
Remember to click on pictures for larger view.
Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL
I've tried several times to get into Blotanical, does any one know what is going on?
Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL
DH picked these up for me yesterday when he walked up to the corner grocery store, then on over to walk a canal bank for a little way. They are wonderful works of art. What wonderful colors too. I thought you all might enjoy seeing these as much as I did. I don't know what kind of snail they are, and I sure wouldn't want them in my garden. :-)
Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL
Hope you all are having a great week so far. We are having more cold weather for us, in the mid 40's and feels like it's in the mid 30's. It is really windy out so that makes it worse. The sun is shining though and it may get as high as 64, we'll see.
DH is out working in the back north west corner, replacing a rotted fence post. Yesterday he dug out a Sea Hibiscus (Talipariti tiliaceum) stump from the same area. He's working on getting his 'junkyard' materials organized and stored behind outbuildings, so that we have a cleaned courtyard area from back of house and workshop to the outbuildings. He's trying to get this project done before the heat and humidity get here, because once it's here, we feel like hibernating in the air-conditioning.
I dismantled a falling down arched arbor, and DH is going to make another one to replace it that will last longer. The one that was there was covered in morning glories and Spanish moss. The new one will be too.
We also moved one of the shell planters back to it's original spot. Tree trimmers had moved it when they trimmed trees, but didn't bother to move it back. That was a job. Now comes the hard part for me, which is what to plant in these. I'm trying to work with what I've got so am looking around with my thinking cap on.
Below are two pictures taken this morning of Vincent Godsiff. A sweet little China rose found in Bermuda.
Here is the main garden with Old Blush and La Marne showing, also an orange orchid showing in front of the blue bottle bouquet.
Here is the back shed, with some things that will be stored elsewhere, marble and those weird drainage blocks, that I'm thinking of making some sort of raised bed with those as the border. I'll show more pictures as we get things straightened up.
The next two pictures are of cheese stuffed shells that I made up yesterday morning before leaving for work. When I got home I just had to heat the oven, sprinkle on some Parmesan cheese and bake. Yummy. I put home made sauce with Italian sausage and mushrooms under the shells and on top as well.
These were the eggs I made us for Valentine's day breakfast. Served with bacon, grits and toast. For dinner that night I fixed a NY strip steak which we shared, garlic mashed potatoes and sliced tomatoes. We had a margarita before dinner and wine with.
So, that's what's been happening around here. I haven't done any beading/embroidery in a few days. I'm watching potted seeds for any sprouts, so far red amaranthus and purple flowering hyacinth bean are up. I also have a cutting of Blue Sky Vine - Thunbergia grandiflora that is doing well. I need to take cuttings of other things to root, but for me it's too cold to work outside, I have to wait till it warms up a tad. :-)
Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL
Hi everyone. Just got another pkg of sweet beads in today's mail from another dear friend, in CO. Some of these I'll be able to use with wire crochet work. I'm excited. Most of these beads are glass, and there are some square shell beads too. And those glass one with flowers and swirls are really pretty. Ideas are starting to swirl around in my head. I just love those little blue hearts too.
Today it was gray, chilly and very windy. We are supposed to get some thunderstorms but so far nothing. It was warmer this morning and the sun was shining a bit so I mowed and weedwacked. Tomorrow I work at my job again.
Have a nice evening whatever you are doing.
Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL
Good morning everyone. It is a chilly 41 and with the wind chill feels like it's 35. That would seem warm to a lot of you, to us it's cold. I hope you are all staying comfy and warm.
This mornings post is about a wonderfully blue flowered shrub, called Blue Sage. I got this many, many years ago at our local flea market. It is one of my very favorite shrubs in our gardens.
I have a great book from 1969 that we bought at this same flea market in 1991. It is Florida Landscape Plants ~ Native and Exotic by John V. Watkins and Thomas J. Sheehan. It is a University of Florida book.
The following info is from this book.
******
Eranthemum (er-ANN-the-mum): Greek for lovely flower
Family: Acanthaceae.
Relatives: Bears-breech and shrimp plant.
Habit of Growth: Strongly upright, open, and scraggly.
Flowers: Celestial blue, 3/4" across, in axillary and terminal spikes, above prominently nerved bracts.
Partial shade is recommended and sandy soil of moderate fertility, that drains readily, is usually satisfactory.
******
We definitely have sandy soil here, and this plant survives around the property with little care. I love it and look forward to those wonderful blue flowers every winter. The plant can be rather scraggly, but you can prune it if you wish. Mine are usually scraggly.
For more information visit Top Tropicals. I see at this website that they have a purple flowering one, oh my. I've never even seen the purple around here at all.
Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL
Good morning friends. No commentary this morning as I've got to get ready to head off to work. Hope your day is a good one whatever you are doing. It is chilly here today and is supposed to get down to 38 tonight. Brrr. Guess I better bring the few orchids I have back inside.
Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL
