End of April blooms

 

Hi Folks ~ Here we are just about into the month of May.  This year is zipping right along.  It is already starting to feel like summer here and we ‘need’ rain. It’s been predicted for days now and so far zilch.  I hand water mostly and use the sprinkler in the morning a couple of times a week if I remember.

This morning I worked in front of the work shop doing some clean up and pulling weeds and cutting down overgrown vines hanging from the tree. I won’t show pics of that because that whole area is still a work in progress as are some other areas on the property. I selectively take pictures.

So, here are some taken from the last few days.

Moonflower ~ which I didn’t get opening, just the bud and then the opened bloom. The scent is delicate and sweet.

Brunsfelsia at the end of its blooming.  They only really last a day, opening in the evening and that’s when their scent is the strongest.

Unknown orchid

Hugs-n-kisses ~ no two blooms are alike that is for sure. This one has a lot more yellow.

Here we have Dancing Lady orchids, Aloysia, and a rose.

Tahitian Gardenia

Unknown orchids

This is the White Orchid Tree ~ Bauhinia acuminata ~ this also has a delicate sweet scent.

Yesterday morning I was sent to you-tube from an email, to watch a video and after watching it, I don’t even remember now what it was, I saw one that said Gypsy Christian music. I thought why not, we were familiar with gypsies in Spain, in fact my dear husband bought a bedspread for our bed before I joined him, he got there in Dec ‘69 and I got there the end of Jan ‘70, and had it on our bed and I still have the bedspread today.

Anyway, I couldn’t understand a word of the song, but the photos were self-explanatory. As I was watching the video a few grabbed my heart and here they are. They really spoke to me.

My husband was always in blue jeans and a tee shirt.

Here he is leaving planet earth, heading towards his heavenly home.

Isn’t this great?

And the grand finale.

Needless to say, the tears were flowing, but they were tears of joy.

Then last night I came across another you-tube that caught my eye, just meant for me at the end of the day.

It’s ‘Walk by Faith’ by Jeremy Camp

 

Then last night I dreamed of my dear husband again and he came up behind me and gently kissed me on the right side of my neck, and told me ‘it is alright’.  Very comforting.

I believe that these different things I’m lead to read or listen to or view, and dreams too,  are gifts to me from my heavenly Father.

***

  I, even I, am he that comforteth you

Isaiah 51:12

Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

Who comforteth us in all our tribulation,

that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble,

by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

2Co_1:3-4 

Enjoy each day, counting your blessings, learning lessons, and moving forward.

FlowerLady

Some new wonderful (to me) plants

 

Good evening Folks ~ I hope you all had lovely Easter celebrations. My lamb turned out delicious, I just had left-overs tonight, and still tasty.

I was somewhat depressed Easter weekend, missing Mark a lot. I woke up Monday morning feeling much better though and I was thankful for that. Then I had our FNF widow’s meeting/luncheon and was gone from around 8:30 ‘til 1. That was a nice meeting and you can read about it here if you wish. Here I am with the Easter Bunny, and my antique bonnet with roses on it.

The roses have rhinestones (dew drops) on them.

Yesterday morning I worked outside for almost 4 hours.  The weather was on the cool side and I wanted to take advantage of that while we have it. This morning it was the same. I planted some flower seeds, ate breakfast, then decided to visit a garden center I had heard about.  It was fantastic! As soon as you pull into the shaded parking lot, you hear soothing music.  Then you walk inside and you hear water from the many fountains through out the spaces. I started ooohing and aaahing right off. Then you walk out into the next area where they have the bigger shrubs, trees, vines, etc. and there are birds, butterflies and bees and the music.  Just wonderful, just what I needed.  A peaceful, lovely break from routine.

I wanted scented things and scented things I brought home. Oh my gosh, I wish you could smell these three different white flowering plants. This evening I went out into the screened room off the back of the cottage and I wanted to cry for the sheer joy of two of those scents. My heart was lifted and I am so thankful for God’s beautiful creation and that I get to enjoy some it right here in my own humble gardens. I don’t show you all of the weeds, or all of the ‘stuff’, I selectively take photos.

My first gardenia bloom opened this morning, and there are flowers on my Confederate jasmine too.

Click on photos for a larger view.

The dancing ladies orchids are wonderful!  I bought this last spring at a yard sale and these are my first blooms.

Ok, here’s my haul in the back of my van.  When I opened the doors when I got home the scents just rolled out. Aaaahhhh!

Here they are grouped together, 9 plants.

This is Salvia ‘Wendy’s Wish’

Brunsfelsia manaca ~ I wish you could smell this!

They are like long tubes with the flower out on the end.

I picked a plant with lots of blooms on it.

This is Aloysia or Sweet Almond Bush.  I have heard about this for years and now have one.  The scent on this is heavenly too.

This beauty is  Gardenia taitensis or Tahitian Gardenia. The scent is amazing.

Not really a gardenia though. They only had a large size of this and it is very popular and small plants might not be in for a month or more. I had already bought the other things and loaded them into the van, and decided to go back in for this size. (Now I need to put some items I’ve created, for sale in my Etsy shop to pay for these goodies! )

I got two Dragon wing begonias, one red and one pink.

This is in the spiderwort family. This is a ‘purple queen’, that I’ve not seen before.  I have the deep purple one with long leaves, and the wandering Jew, this was new to me.

This was the only plant I didn’t get a name for.  Isn’t it beautiful?  I repotted it and divided it into three plants. Two are now in another pot with a peach colored salvia coccinea.

And last but certainly not least, a new rose.  They called it ‘Picnic’ but I have not been able to find it under that name on Google.  It is sweet with a delicate scent, bright flowers and lots of little prickles.

That’s it! What a lovely experience and a wonderful group of bloomers.  Most, if not of all, of these bought today I can propagate from cuttings and I’m sure going to give it a try. I am so happy with the scents, more than words can express.  If I could put their scents into the post, you would understand.

My Queen Crepe is loaded with buds so I’ll be taking pics when she blooms.

I hope you all are able to get out into your gardens that you’ve waited all winter long to be able to do.

Happy Gardening ~ FlowerLady

Happy Easter

 

May your Easter day be filled with love, peace and joy.

May you feel the Love of our Savior, Jesus as you think on what He did for us on this day.

He rose up from the grave so that we would be free from sin and have life eternal with Him. A life where there will be no more sickness, pain or death, no more evil. A life filled with joy, pure joy, where all will be goodness and light.

Let us all choose life

from the Creator and Giver of Life

Jesus

~

Love ~ FlowerLady

Here is a contemporary song on the reason for our Easter celebration.

‘Once and For All’ by Chris Tomlin

Look at me!

 

Pictures taken this morning of a little cute fledgling Mockingbird

and a worried parent.

Spring is here.

Enjoy ~ FlowerLady