Basye’s Purple rose first bloom and other flowers

Good afternoon Folks ~ I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. We have had rain and more rain. Everything is growing like weeds here.

I have been waiting for over a year to see this particular rose in bloom, today the first bud opened.  The rose is Basye’s Purple. First photo was taken yesterday, the others were taken this morning. When I saw it was open I could hardly get my camera fast enough. When I got over to the bloom and smelled it I wanted to cry. I thanked God for such a beautiful creation and wonderful scent. I bought this rose as a baby from Rose Petals Nursery.

Butterflies have been having a feast on my Byron Beauty passion flower vine. Below is a flower that has been pelted with some heavy rains and I see that the curly bits of the flower have straightened out.

Below are caterpillars enjoying themselves.

Here are two chrysallis.  I saw one of these as a caterpillar yesterday hanging upside down and then came out to it being in hibernation on it’s way to becoming a butterfly.

Well watered blooms.

Golden dew drop (purple blooms), red pentas, and hamelia patens.

I don’t know what the name of this hibiscus is. I got it as a cutting many, many years ago from my Mom.

This is sandpaper vine with it’s sandpaper feeling leaves and wonderful purple star flowers. I grew this from a cutting. These are the first blooms that it has had. Also called Queen’s Wreath. It is growing up over an arbor and I can hardly wait until the arbor is covered. There is also a blue pea vine and a garlic vine growing on this harbor so it will be quite the combination when all in bloom.

This is a wonderful alamanda, don’t know the name of it. Grew it from a cutting also.

Spicy Jatropha ~ this I grew from a cutting from my dear husband’s family home. I believe his younger sister had given a plant to their parents one year. I love this plant, and so do the butterflies.

This is Tahitian Gardenia. What a scent!!! Huge blooms.

This is my ‘secret garden jungle’ as seen through the window of my scullery, where I wash dishes. The scraggly tall limbs in the foreground are of a avacado tree container grown. I should prune it.

Well, that’s it from my well watered gardens here at Plum Cottage.

Remember to stop and really see all of the beauty that surrounds you and know that you are even more wonderful and beautiful and loved by Jesus who is God the Great Creator. We have so much to be thankful for.

Happy Summer ~ FlowerLady

Rain, rain, rain

Hi Folks ~ My goodness, we were in drought conditions but not so after the last 4 days of rain here in s.e. FL. Today, so far, is the first day in a week that we’ve not had rain, the past four days bringing us the most. Thankfully for me, I did not have to deal with much thunder and lightening, just lots of rain. My gardens are happy with all of the liquid sunshine they have received. More thunderstorms are expected through Sunday. I mowed one day last week before all of this rain and it’s a good thing. Things are growing like crazy and once the weather clears, I need to get out with hedge clippers, the weed wacker and the lawn mower again, not all in one day though.

Here are some of my latest blooms.

The first are passion vine flowers, first two are ‘Bryon Beauty’ and the last three are of ‘Incense’.

Next, from top to bottom: frangipani, giant milkweed, shrimp plant, sweet almond and Tahitian gardenia.

Next: Queen Crepe

Vanda orchid ‘Miss Joachim’ grows wild and like crazy all around my property.

Roses: Drift rose, Granada, Mozart, and an unknown.

My dear husband’s 2 sisters, one on left from northern FL, sister next from TN, brother-in-laws wife and brother-in-law and myself, live about 30 minutes from each other, (via the expressways, or an hour going the slower route, which is my way.) We had gone out to eat with 6 of the younger set, haven’t asked for permission to post that photo yet, so I won’t.

While editing photos, I thought of taking the last photo that I took of my dear husband while working up on the neighbor’s roof, taken 06-06-12, and a cropped pic of BIL Todd, which was taken 06-04-17, putting them side by side. Handsome brothers. (I sure miss my sweet man. It’s hard to believe it’s 4 1/2 years since he left.)

That’s it for now. I’m going to make a spagetti sauce with Italian sausage, which I will serve over Chickpea Rotini with Lentils noodles. Ought to be interesting. So, I need to get up and start the sauce.

Hope you all have a great weeked.

******

Be thankful each day for all that you are blessed with.

Learn from mistakes.

Be forgiving and ask for forgiveness.

Give love & encouragement.

Be well.

FlowerLady