Thursday, September 17, 2015

Rain, rain & more rain

 

Hello Folks ~ Rain is camping out over Florida, it’s been a wet week and more expected through Sunday. There was a little window of sunshine earlier today. I’m sure glad I got out and mowed on Monday. I would say our drought conditions are over.

Plum Cottage is sitting in a jungle more so than usual.

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Below are different greenery growing on trees.

The first two photos are on the palm tree.  Isn’t it neat? The different colors of green and different textures.

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Resurrection ferns that only look like this after it rains, otherwise it looks brown, dried up and dead most of the time. Notice the house paint colors on the wall. I was looking at this wall today and there is a lot of flaking paint. Sheesh!  I’ve got my work cut out for me this fall/winter/spring, as I want to get the cottage painted.  I do finally have a color I’m happy with, now I just need to go buy 5 gallons of it, pressure clean the walls, scrape paint, caulk, then paint. Smile

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This is a sweet flowering tree, Bahinia, white orchid tree, with a delicate scent.

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Dang!  I missed seeing this until it had already opened and closed. This is on the front gate and I haven’t been checking this cereus cactus to see if it even had any buds on it. They sneak up on you, and if I’m not looking up, I miss them. This is the second bloom on this cactus.  The first bloom was the one DH and I photographed three years ago.

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Salvia coccina ~ Looking at this photo makes me itch to paint the cottage.  Maybe I’ll start with this wall.

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This little orchid is sweet, don’t know the name of it. Tomorrow it will be full open.  These two photos were maybe a few hours apart.

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Picnic

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Crepuscule

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An unknown.

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Oatmeal bread. Hmmm, hmmmm.

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Hamelia paten flowers with our state butterfly,

the Zebra Longwing.

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My little house mate, Miss Tork. This is where she sleeps most of the time, it’s her chair.

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Well, it’s lightly raining again, my stomach is rumbling and that’s the news from Plum Cottage.

Have a wonderful weekend ~ FlowerLady

***

"How beautiful is the rain!
After the dust and the heat,
In the broad and fiery street,
In the narrow lane,
How beautiful is the rain!"

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Rain in Summer

30 comments:

organicgardendreams said...

Dear Lorraine, I enjoyed seeing photos from your garden! Everything is soooo... wonderfully lush and green in comparison to San Diego, it is such a treat for the eyes. The cactus flower is quite something! I also liked Salvia coccina, a variety that I haven't heard of so far, very much.
You are really inspiring me to try to bake my own bread. I am on a gluten-free diet right now and most of the bread that you can buy are way to sweet for my taste, so it would be really nice to be able to bake my own.
Warm regards,
Christina

Ruth Hiebert said...

Beautiful pictures.I love all the vibrant growth and the beautiful flowers. We are actually getting some rain today. Praise the Lord.

Leslie Kimel said...

Wow, all these great pictures in one post! My favorite is the view of the cottage through the salvia. All your plants look so healthy and happy. So glad you got rain!

Janice said...


Everything looks beautiful in your gardens, but The Bahinia bloom is especially lovely. It just looks like it would have a light, delicate fragrance.
We had a high chance of rain today, but came up dry. Rain is forecast for the rest of the week, so hopefully it'll hit us one of those days. Enjoy your rain!

Joy Junktion said...

Well, Miss Tork looks very comfortable in her chair, Rainey! I love your trees with all the green growth on them, so pretty and an interesting array of colors and textures! Enjoy the weekend ahead and all the beauty of your Plum Cottage Gardens! Blessings, Cindy

Debbie said...

Beautiful pictures. The detail on what grows on the trees is amazing. Trees are one of my favorite living things <3

Nancy J said...

Lovely lush greens, vibrant flowers, and then the shadowy blooms, Miss Tork, and your words today finish the whole story perfectly. Hugs from down here.

Seawashed said...

Please send some of your rain our way...west...to Northern California. We are in a drought and oh how we need rain.

Anonymous said...

Seeing all your beautiful blooms makes me itch to stay home and garden instead of heading to the office.

We had just a sprinkling of rain yesterday, which is OK as we have been over our normal averages for three months running (I love it!). Philip tells me we are supposed to have a wet winter too.

I'm looking forward to watching your progress painting Plum Cottage. :-)

Have a great weekend, Rainey.

eli

Jane said...

You have such exotic flowers Rainey. It's a totally different world than mine. That Bahina (sp.) looks like a white poinsettia. We've had a lot of rain and unusually warm weather here too. The ground has become so saturated that we had to prop up some of the fruit trees that had shallow roots. Don't like this unseasonably warm weather, it's interfering with my Autumn. I want to wear sweaters and tights! Guess you can't always get what you want. I guess I'll just have to be grateful that we won't have to turn on the heat. Have a perfect weekend!

Hugs
Jane

Sallysmom said...

I wish you could send that rain to me. We are 10" below where we should be. Beautiful pics as always.

RockWhisperer said...

Wow, what interesting things growing on your trees!

I love Miss Tork's white toe sox.

Ugh. I hate painting the house. Hope I never have to do that again.

Hugs and best wishes... xoxoxo

Marti said...

I didn't know you were in a drought. Lovely pictures. You have such an amazing variety of plants; I never think of cactus in FL. What is growing on the tree in your 2nd and 3rd pictures?

Celestina Marie said...

Hi Lorraine, your photos are incredible. So lush and beautiful the shades of green throughout your garden. If only mother nature would place the rain in some areas of our country that are in great need like California. We could sure you some here too. So glad you got good rains to pull you out of your drought too.
Your oatmeal bread looks so good. What a nice treat after a day of gardening.
Your fur baby is too sweet. Have a great weekend.
Hugs, cm

Janneke said...

So many beautiful pictures! The greeneries growing on the trees is amazing and then that wonderful white Bauhinia. And the white Cactus which is growing and flowering outside, it's all so exotic to us. Your really live on a wonderful place where you can grow the most interesting plants. Your own baked bread must be delicious.
Wish you a nice and sunny weekend (we also had lots of rain this week).

Debbie Harris said...

Oooh Lorraine, you're garden is just lovely, so many colors and those blooms ate something. I especially loved the white orchid, WOW!
Your bread looks delicious, warm with a bit of butter and jam, oh yea.
I'd say your cat has the royal spot in the house. :-)

Enjoy your weekend!

gld said...

Glad you are getting the rain; we are dry and hoping for some today.

It's the prep work that I don't like. But it is the secret to a good job of course.

Beautiful flowers as always.

Friko said...

My favourite is the cactus. It looks like a green octopus.

One Woman's Journey - a journal being written from Woodhaven - her cottage in the woods. said...

As Usual
Everything is Beautiful...

BeachGypsy said...

Lorraine, those are some of the prettiest pictures EVER!! love the stuff growing on the trees and all the textures.....and the beautiful blooming flowers as well! Dont work too hard trying to get that painting done.....just take one wall at a time..one section at a time...you will get there! Its going to look SO GOOD!!!

Susan said...

I love all the moss, ferns and lichens that grow on tree trunks. It's beautiful as are all your flowers. It was nice not to have to worry about watering in August. Thankfully some less humid weather is headed our way this week. Have a good weekend.

Karen @ Pieces of Contentment said...

Moss, lichens, cactus, flowers, fresh rain and paint selections - lots of beauty and possibilities at your little Plum Cottage Lorraine!

A Joyful Cottage said...

Your flowers are gorgeous, Lorraine. Oh, don't they bring so much joy? I'm glad you're getting some moisture there. It makes everything pretty. I don't envy you having to do all that work on the cottage. Much easier to paint new siding than to do all that scraping and caulking before you can even paint. Love Longfellow! Hugs, Nancy

Thistle Cove Farm said...

Rainey, you have the most exotic plants I've ever seen...all are beautiful! Yes, it's a boat load of hard work, keeping a place going. Be safe as you go about your chores and enjoy the loveliness.

Mrs. E said...

I love seeing your world--rain, cottage, flowers, and cat! All lovely!

Ivy, Phyllis and Me! said...

Good Morning Lorraine, It is lovely to meet you. My word, you have some beautiful plants in your garden. I live in England... in the north, so orchids can only be grown indoors. I was fascinated to see so many different varieties of orchid growing in your garden.
I adore flowering cacti. We used to live in Cyprus and the climate was perfect for cacti. Nowadays we have to bring our cacti indoors in order for them to flower.
I have really enjoyed my visit so I have become a new follower.
Have a wonderful day today.
Best Wishes
Daphne

Yesteryear Embroideries said...

As lovely and green as every thing is , I was surprised to read that you were in a drought! I have so much work to do on my grounds as well and sometimes I feel so over But with a little bit of work every day, I hope to get it all accomplished. Your photos are so lovely! and your bread looks so yummy!

Julie said...

Love the photo (the first) of the front? of cottage greenery! It is very lovely! Of course, your flowers are too! What color will you paint the cottage? Loved the cactus bloom...even the shot of the spent one is beautiful! Have a lovely rest of the week! It's all hot (but dry again)...but my inclination is to still stay inside! XOXO

KathyB. said...

Your cottage appears to snuggled into a tropical jungle. So many beautiful flowers surround your home. I can imagine the scent of some of your blooms combined with the aroma of freshly baked bread as you open your door. Mmmmmm.

My husband is currently scraping paint, pressure-washing, caulking, and re-painting our home. A lot of work for anyone, but rewarding since re-painting a home is a job you can see when it is finished , every time you come and go. ( But I can tell you're itching to get to work on your cottage )

Jessica Jarrell said...

I love your jungle yard! Much to my husband's dismay, I would probably let our yard take over and become a jungle. I love the wildness of nature. The flowers are just gorgeous!

I'm jealous of your bread maker, that's one thing I don't have yet. I'll be receiving my first pasta maker in the next couple of days, I think a bread maker will have to be next! :)