Today's Blooms

Good morning everyone. We had a nice rain last night with a passing thunder storm. More is expected today, and maybe tomorrow too. We've needed it, so I'm not complaining. I went out with camera in hand and here are the pictures that were worthy of posting.

Click on pictures for a larger view.

This first one is Don Juan. The scent is truly the old rose scent. Just wonderful.

Here we have Chrysler Imperial, another truly rose scent.




A bouquet with the two roses, and one of Duchesse de Brabant.




Caladium


Love these colors, and how the whites look like splashes of color from an artists' brush.


This is Duchesse de Brabant with the tiny leaves of the Palo Verde tree in front.


A side view.


A newly opened bud of Duchesse.


And a full blown blossom.


This is a hibiscus bloom about to unfurl.

Spicy Jatropha




The next three pictures are of the crepe that is growing by my shed. This is the best it has ever looked. I love it. Have 5-6 of these around the property.








Have a wonderful, happy, safe and thankful 4th of July.

Our freedoms are priceless.

Zone 10 ~ s.e. FL

Hot and Humid

Here it is nearing the end of July already. It is hot and humid here. The humidity drains us of energy. I was out for awhile this morning trimming, weeding and had to quit because it is just too awful outside. It is clouding up and looks like we will get some more rain. We've had a lot, so much so that it's hard to keep up with everything. It is becoming more and more of a jungle as some things take over. We sure look forward to cooler weather. I just checked the weather site and it is 85, but with the humidity feels like it's 105.

Below are some pictures, click on them for a larger view.

This first one is of Pink Pet, or Caldwell's Pink.

This is of our driveway.

This is crepe myrtle.

Mexican petunia

Rain lily.

This is Tork, our helper and mostly overseer for projects.

Hope you all are enjoying your summer,

keep cool,

don't work too hard,

drink plenty of water to keep re-hydrated,

take breaks,

and have fun.

Musings from FL zone 10

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes
on the grass under the trees on a summer's day,
listening to the murmur of the water,
or watching the clouds float across the sky,
is by no means a waste of time."
Sir J. Lubbock

Pictures from today

Today it is very warm and humid out, with hardly a breeze stirring, overcast skies, not so nice to be outside working. I decided to take some pictures instead. Hope you enjoy them. My gardens are delighting me more and more. Gardens are an ongoing, daily growing process. Just as our lives are. May we, and our gardens grow more lovely and peaceful with each new day.

Below is one of my favorite prayers of David, taken from Psalms 143:8, the King James Version of the Bible.

Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning;
for in thee do I trust:
cause me to know the way wherein I should walk;
for I lift up my soul unto thee.

******

Remember to click on pictures for a larger view.

This is of the main garden. The flowering tree on the right is Spicy Jatropha.

On the left and at back you see light pink flowers, those are from Crepe Myrtles.

The darker pink on the left is Plumeria, which leis are made from.

Hibiscus flowers are in the lower right.

This is the hibiscus in lower right of above picture.

These are ground orchids. I got them last year.

This is a look past the ground orchids to the new seating area we just worked on.

The Victorian wire bench was already back against the fence.

I got the idea to have a lattice roof and started gathering 'curb-side shopped' pieces to do this with that we have been saving for whatever projects might come to mind.

I put the idea to DH and he suggested using the metal studs for the rooflet. I was using the lattice elsewhere. We had the wrought iron screen stashed, and the old clothesline pole in cement was stashed too. We had old painted fence boards that we used for the fascia on the front and south side.

I have a Phyllis Bide rose bush growing up over the north end. St. Vincent Lilac Vine will be growing up over the south end, I hope. I want to paint the wire bench a purple, I think. Maybe the studs also and maybe even the wrought iron screen. :-)

This is a ginger, light purple flowers if I remember right.

This is looking from the north side. The back supporting beam goes from our fencing between us and our neighbors, and the fencing at the back of the main garden.

This is up front again, looking toward the front gate. The 4 lane highway is about 10' from the gate. The rose in the foreground is Chrysler Imperial, with Vanda orchids behind. There are Louis Phillipe roses growing by the front gate arbor.

Vanda orchids next two pictures.

This is Duchesse de Brabant with spotted croton leaves. We have two or three different kinds of crotons.

This is my shed's garden on the east side of our cottage. I wanted to show the crepe myrtle blooms. Louis Phillipe and bougainvillea are usually pictured, they are more or less resting now.

The next two pictures are of a sweet little unknown orchid. The tag for it blew away in one of the hurricanes.

This is a cast piece of aluminum with shells. I headed out to take a picture with the cast piece horizontally as it should be, but my batteries needed recharging. :-(

And as Bugs Bunny used to say,

'The bea, the bea, the bea, that's all folks',

from

Musings from FL zone 10