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
36 comments:
My dear flower lady, wow what a fantastic collection of beautiful flowers you have gotten to add to garden. All very lovely indeed. Have fun getting those fingers dirty. Hugs Judy
Your flowers are beautiful! I imagine it did smell great when you opened the door of your van. Just think how wonderful they are going to smell in your yard. The purple plant that you didn't have a name for is what my mom used to call purple velvet plant. I don't know if that was her name for it or if that is it's true name.
Have fun with your flowers!
Hello - glad that those beautiful, fragrant flowers cheered you. I would love to visit your garden some day!
Sounds so pretty. Unfortunately I can often not smell much of anything. I really miss those floral scents,but a I can still enjoy their beauty.
You had a very productive shopping trip at the nursery. My faves you bought are the gardenias.
Ummmmmm---I can almost SMELL your new plants all of the way up here in TN....
I love the smell of Gardenia.. It's one of my favorite smells.
You look cute in the photo with your cute bonnet and the Easter Bunny.
Great flowers.
Hugs,
Betsy
I love new lants especially the fragrant ones..the purple is very cool and looks fuzzy
You've given me the urge to go to the garden centre.
Love the gardenia.
Briony
x
Your garden centre sounds amazing, Unlike any I've ever visited. You chose some beautiful plants.
Planting seeds always fill me with satisfaction, hope and the promise of good things to come - about time I planted some more!
Almost nothing better than new plants for the garden!!
So beautiful!! Is it o.k.to be envious? lol I think my favorite was the one without a name. If I lived close, I'd love one of the plants you start from some of these.
Oh my goodness - I'm just itching to go plant shopping after seeing all your beautiful choices. I definitely have night blooming jasmine on my list and just recently added a gardenia to my garden. I had a sweet almond bush, but killed it (will have to try again). I too love the scents in my garden.
Really cute photos of you, too.
Have a great weekend. I'm off to the "Fancy Flea" tomorrow, which I've been looking forward to all year!
Lorraine,
God is so good to give you a love of His creation......
Gardenias! They smell amazing.....what fun to go out in the evening when the air is filled with scents.
Every time you smell those wonderful flowers know that they are kisses from our Savior:) Sally
The flowers are stunning Lorraine, absolutely beautiful. I wanted to say thank you for keeping me in your prayers. I'm grateful for folks like you. xox
I always love your flowers. I wish I could grow gardenias. I never have had any luck with them. -Carla
Your plants are just beautiful. I like plants also. They make me happy and I know they do you,too. I love your shirt in the photo. It makes me smile.
Dottie
Those are just beautiful and already blooming for you. I'll bet your van smelled wonderful!
Hello Rainey, it has been far too long. I'm on my way to bed tonight, but had to stop by and catch up. I love the pictures of you and your Easter Bunny and finery! You are such a beautiful lady. And the wonderful new plants for your garden, I swear I can smell their sweet fragrance all the way up here.
I've been doing pretty well, but last night found a deer tick embedded in my back. It's too soon to know if I have to worry about Lyme disease or not, but the doctor recommended a large dose of antibiotics as a precaution so tomorrow morning I have to drive into the big city and be checked out and pick up the meds. Going to be an adventure, for sure...I hate driving in heavy traffic. I just wish I'd spotted the pest sooner, but oh well. Wish me luck, dear friend! Hugs, Karen
You did get a great haul from the nursery! It looks wonderful! There's nothing as wonderful as a plant that's not just beautiful but also fragrant.
That's a lot of new plants at once to enjoy. What better way to spend a day.
Cher Sunray Gardens
You are truly the Flower Lady, Lorraine!
I've not seen so many variety of flowers I someone's personal garden.
I'm glad you had a good time at your luncheon.
Blessings-Kimberly
Looks like you had a fun time by the looks of the load in the van. LOL! I love that Salvia Lorraine. I had one of those velvety plants years ago as a house plant but I cannot remember the name at all now so I am no help. I love the picture with you and the rabbit and the hat is so wonderful. Have a Blessed Weekend my friend.
Oh my gosh, I am so late in calling by Lorraine! You were in my thoughts over Easter - none of these times are easy. They can get better and eas-ier but still not easy.
I always adore looking at your plants and pics, and good on your for getting into the spirit, love your hat and the pics!
What lovely pretty flowers and what a gorgeous sweet perfume they must have. Enjoy planting them flower lady and then sit back and watch them grow in your wonderful garden.
What a wonderful haul, Lorraine. I love the gardenia and wish I could grow it here in the Northeast. It's too early to start visiting garden centers for me -- soon though -- I can't wait! Happy spring! P. x
Wow ! There is nothing like a van-load of sweet scented blooms to pick up a person's spirits and remind us yet again of God's glorious creation. I bought some simple white alyssum plants and they alone filled my car with such a sweet scent. You really can't bottle the scent of flowers adequately, can you ? you just have to plant them and enjoy them as they truly are.
I am glad you had a good time after all , even missing your husband. Happy spring, happy planting, God is so good to us !
hi. sorry i have been so busy and read your post but never got to comment earlier. i had one of the purple colored plants in your second from the bottom photos, but killed it. i thought it was a low light plant. i think Angel Plants was the nursery who grew them. i went to their website and found them in their PLANT LIBRARY. They are called Purple Passion. Here is the link. http://www.angelplants.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=plants.main&alphaKey=P&whichName=common&showIntro=0&typeID=&alphaChange=1
xoxo-Julie
oh, i just clicked on PLANT INFO under the Purple Passion, and guess what? it likes the more sun the better!!!! No wonder I killed mine!!!!! lol. Looks like yours is in the sun! I will have to try again as this is a gorgeous plant!!!!!
xoxo-Julie
Gardenias are one of my most favorite smells in the world! I bet it smells heavenly at your place and that will surely lift anyone's spirits. You are such a pretty lady you outshine that Easter bunny!
My goodness....we never have sales like yours. I would give my eye teeth for a few of these beautiful blooms. I always look for fragrance...then color.
Glad to hear that your Easter meal was delicious. Don't you love your crockpot?
Have a nice week,
Balisha
sitting in your garden must be a wonderful delight, Rainey. it's beautiful. I understand about your missing Mark; holidays and Sundays are horrid for me. I envy your FNF widow's meeting; nothing like that around here but I'm beavering away trying to move so wouldn't have time for it anyway.
OH, such beautiful flowers! I have enjoyed your lovely photos and learned about some plants that are new to me. Also loved the photos of the baby mockingbird in a previous post. So cute!
You know what I love? I love what moves different people. What you said about the fragrance of those flowers and it almost moving you to tears...it speaks too you. I have come to realize we are all touched so differently...with different things, but it amazes me that people stay soft enough to be touched...to be moved.
By the way...love your pants. So springy!
I can almost SMELL those beauties way up here in Indiana :)
Your Easter meal sounded lovely. I'm glad to hear that you gathered with friends soon after. I'm sure this --and many other holidays--are difficult for many folk. We surely DO need one another.
Alas, our yard and garden work will be kept to a minimum this year. We WILL enjoy sitting in the sunshine. Our niece will be mowing the lawn and a few other basic tasks as they arise....
Oh it will be like heaven in your garden. You have so many different varietes of flowers. I am so limited in what I can grow here in such a short season. May the sweet scents of your flowers float through the air and bring only a wonderful feeling.
What a delight! I know what you mean, describing that garden shop. There are some stores that seem to put much thought into the customer's experience, giving lots of beauty as you enter, and guiding you through the store with new lovely experiences. Music is very important to me, and if a store has beautiful music, I'm won over immediately :)
Your plants are so lucky to have YOUR garden as their new home! They will get all the TLC they need to prosper. I'm particularly fond of all plants with sweet, heady, waxy white blooms -- gardenia, magnolia, jasmine, etc. I just want to bury my face in the blossom and go to sleep :) I know you'll enjoy them all!
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