It’s a new year!

Good morning Folks ~ What a cold start to the new year many of us have been having. I went out a few minutes ago and it was pleasant out after a week of cold weather for us down here in sub-tropical south FL. We had rain down here the 2nd and 3rd, which ushered in a ‘cold front’. On the morning of the 4th our low was 38 and the real feel temp was 26. The next morning it was 41 and real feel 33. It has slowly warmed up until this morning with partly cloudy skies and rain in the forecast, it is 67 and real feel 63.

I cannot imagine having to deal with the frigid winter conditions so many of you are having to deal with. I wouldn’t be able to stand it at this age. Have lived down here since 1960 and my older bones just wouldn’t like that kind of weather at all. Getting down into the 30’s is enough for me.

A blessing is that each day it is staying lighter a bit longer and it is one day closer to spring. Although, on that first day of spring I will turn 69 this year. Oh my, where has the time gone.

A word came to mind the other day for my ‘word for this year’, and that is ‘sufficiency’. This year my prayer is that I’ll rest more in the all sufficiency of God my Savior.

In Him I have been made complete. Colossians 2:10a

God has said, “My grace is sufficient for you,

for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 ESV

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 ESV

With that, I am looking for 2018 to see how God works things out in my life.

This past Saturday, the young man from church who came and cut down limbs from a hurricane damaged tree last Sept. came over and together we got some leaning fencing from that storm, standing back up. He dug 4 post holes and I had the 4x4 posts needed in a stack of lumber DH and I had stacked in that area. Johnnie only had to cut down one 4x4 that was way too long. It took us 2 1/2 hours and we talked as we worked. I enjoy working with him. He’s a hard worker and knows how to do a lot of different things. I am so thankful for his help and I know DH is too.

The area over there as well as my whole main garden was overgrown. We trampled down a lot of overgrowth where we worked and I told him this little project has inspired me to get outside to work more. I said I really have been down since losing my husband and haven’t felt like doing much at all. I’ve started coming up instead of going more in a downward spiral and that feels GREAT!. God has been my strength and I am ready to go with this new year.

Below are before and after pictures of the fencing and an arbor fix.

After hurricane Irma. Looking southwest.

Looking from the other direction, north. You can also see the rotted 2x4 that ‘was’ holding up the lattice.

This made me feel so depressed to look at. I asked Johnnie if he would fix this for me too, and he did. This little project made me want to cry, as it was not a necessity. Although, for my broken heart, it was a necessity as this was something my DH would have fixed for me long before it got into this state. This makes me feel so much better to have it repaired. I am excited to start working in my garden spaces again, making them better than ever.

Fencing no longer leaning.

2 x 4 replaced

Hidden space at the back of my main garden, has been neglected for too long.

This coming Sat., God willing, my dear BIL, Todd and I will start work in my living and bedrooms. I am so excited about this project. They gave me two bookcases and a media stand when they moved to new place. I will have a new look, in  a repaired and painted living room. I’ll show before, during and after photos when we’re done. This will take at least a coupe of Saturday’s to accomplish.

Below is a fringe flower bush.  I just love these blooms and the bush has purple and green leaves.

Some garden ornaments. I believe this one is aluminum.

Wrought iron from a chandelier.

Cast antique pot metal piece.

A metal gazing ball that my dear husband bought me years ago for my bday, seen from two different sides.

Now these next phtos are the reason why I love to garden. Not all photos blow me away, but sometimes they do and I gasp in delight and thankfulness. You think while you are taking photos that this is nice, but when you see them out of the camera ready to edit, oh my gosh. At least that’s how I feel when photos are better than expected.

Ok, that’s it for now from Plum Cottage. I may not be back for a couple of weeks as I work on getting ready for living room remodel and then doing some work too.

It is raining here so my tropical cottage garden will grow even more over grown, part of living down here in s.e. FL.

"Winter is the time for comfort,

for good food and warmth,

for the touch of a friendly hand

and for a talk beside the fire: 

it is the time for home."  
 Edith Sitwell 

Happy January

FlowerLady

Flowers & a ‘shark’

Good Thursday early evening. Supper is heating up, I’m sipping on a glass of wine & I am feeling thankful for so much.

I hope you all had nice times with family & friends. From what I’ve seen on blogs, you certainly did.  I had a very nice time with friends, love, laughter & good food. Prime rib, something I’ve never had before. I came home with some and found a couple of recipes for using it and am looking forward to that.

Before I left Plum Cottage Christmas morning, I went out to see what was blooming and below are the photos. Enjoy!

Azaleas

Blue Lips

Bougainvillea

Cape Honeysuckle

Native, coral honeysuckle

Firecracker ~ have this in yellow too.

Dwarf Poinciana ~ I also have this in yellow.

Tropical hydrangea

An unknown

Another unknown that spreads by seeds shooting out from the spent flowers

I think this is wild petunia and it spreads like crazy.

Hibiscus in front of storage building. Looking at the faded paint makes me want to paint at least the front and the side that you can see.

Blue butterfly blooms.

Kathleen roses, one of my very first roses, the other is Louis Philippe. I love Kathleen’s delicate beauty and scent.

I think this is a knock-out rose.

Another knock-out.

I loved the way the sunlight was hitting this dragonfly.

When I went out to get in my van to leave, I saw this in the grass, brought from somewhere either by a cat or a racoon.

This is a present I bought with a $ gift from friends. I had been doing research and finally chose this model. Bought it from Bed Bath & Beyond and had a 20% discount coupon. Yay! This model had GREAT reviews as did the professional model, but there was a $40 difference in price. I looked at the list of differences and there wasn’t much, so I went for the cheaper model. I had to laugh because it is a light purple in color. It even has a little glitter in it. What a hoot. I didn’t choose this model because of the color,  it was the only color it came in.

Putting it together was relatively easy after reading and looking at the instruction a couple of three times.

I could NOT believe how much debris this vac sucked up, it was all hiding. I can hardly wait to get into some serious vacuuming and then keep on top of it all, this was just a test run. Miss Tork sheds her hair and I shed mine, plus there are ‘dust bunnies’ and this takes care of it all. Oh yea, my throw rugs are so much fluffier and colorful after vacuuming.  I really am thrilled with this purchase and thankful to N & J for their $ gift.

I have an old hoover cannister model that I’ve had for years and years. It is not sealed like this one is and stuff was always shooting out and around. One of my friends said it was about time I got into the next century. We both laughed.

Another bonuse about this vacuum is that it is so much quieter than my old hoover. It is also light in weight, and I like that you can lift away the cannister part to carry it and vacuum areas. Cannister is very easy to empty also.

After I unboxed the parts, I saw that the pet power brush was missing. It did say it was supposed to be one of the included tools. I called up Shark and told them, and they are sending me the part and it should be here next week. The young man was very courteous and helpful.

Ok, that’s it from Plum Cottage. We are having a very light rain, it is warm, a.c. is on. I’m starting to feel like getting horizontal to read. I didn’t get to sleep last night until 1, I just couldn’t fall asleep, unusual for me. I was up a little after 6 this morning, & did take a nap but will be ready for sleep soon.

Enjoy these last few days of 2017 and have a wonderful 2018.

Let us all be thankful to God for the blessimgs we received this year, and for lessons learned.

FlowerLady

A Plum Cottage Christmas

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

("Simple Gifts" is a Shaker song written and composed in 1848 by Elder Joseph Brackett.)

This piece came to mind this morning, so I looked it up and here it is.

Good morning Friends ~ I hope you all are enjoying this Christmas holiday time, cooking, baking, different festivities with family and friends.

May we all take a moment or two to ponder what this season is all about.  The greatest gift for all mankind had been the gift that God gave us, when He became flesh to be our Saviour. He was born in a lowly manger, in a stable in Bethlehem.

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”

For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

He came that we might have life more abundantly, here and in eternity.

All we have to do is call on Him. He has promised to never leave or forsake us. We are very dear to Him.

Christmas here at Plum Cottage is simple and quiet. This is my 6th Christmas without my dear husband. I miss him but knowing he is with Jesus our awesome God, I have peace. I will be having Christmas with friends this year and am looking forward to it.

I found purple lights for Plum Cottage and love them.

Here are some photos from inside.

             

May you all have love, peace & joy this Christmas season

and a blessed year in 2018.

Love, hugs & prayers for all of you,

FlowerLady

A gift for the caravan

Good morning Folks ~ It is still a tad chilly down here during the nights and mornings. Today is simply beautiful though. It is ‘why’ the ‘snowbirds’ drive or fly distances to visit our state, to spend time down here during their miserable winter weather up north. We who live here year round wish our weather was like this all of the time.

Last week I recieved an email from Plantscape Inc. I was asked if I’d like to recieve a product of my choosing, to keep and write a review for. I checked out the website, read other reviews and decided, why not?

From their website: Founded in 1974, Plantscape Inc. is a leading national interior landscape firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. We have over 40 years of experience in offering a diverse set of specialty services in landscape planning and design, landscape architecture, trees installation, plant service and maintenance programs and commercial décor. Our team of professionals have decades of experience in designing interior and outdoor landscapes using live plants and trees, especially tropical plants.

We have expanded our interior landscaping design business to include our artificial plant division, with a goal to produce the world's finest, most authentic artificial trees and plants for commercial projects. Our depth of experience, skilled craftsmanship and extensive capabilities in dealing with both, live and artificial plants and trees allow us to undertake a range of projects irrespective of the business and its scale, meet complex requirements and take on the most challenging landscape projects from planning to completion.

Our mission is to create better environments which will enrich the lives of people and help them feel more relaxed, productive and happier. We take pride in building strong partnerships with our clients and we’re proud to say that we still provide weekly plant care to our very first client. Our firm is driven by values and every project member has a passion for the most distinct and perfect landscape. Whether it's the creation of custom plants and trees to make your business a unique space or the creation of the perfect commercial landscape design and planning, our idea is to make your setting a better and brighter space.

Artificial plants and trees are crafted using high quality material, our selection of fade resistant faux plants and trees are designed by highly experienced designers and are botanically correct specimens with extremely realistic foliage. These plants and trees are inherently fade resistant as it is crafted using our innovative PermaLeaf® technology, which combines UV blocking with strong colorfast pigments. This enables you to use them outdoors and no matter how harsh the weather elements are, you can be assured that there won’t be any color loss.

I was asked to choose from their outdoor collection and after perusing the offerings I finally chose  a set of hanging ferns. I knew just the place for them, hanging from these lovely plant hangers from my friends Nanci & John. The hangers were empty on the caravan wall just waiting for something, and these ferns are just right.

FedEx delivered them this morning and I just love where they are hanging and I won’t have to worry about watering them to keep them alive. They really add a nice touch to the front of the caravan and they go so well with my tropical, cottage garden, jungle. I have a big smile on my face as I look at the photo below.

These make me smile and make me want to work in this area again. They have given me a spark of motivation to keep living, joyfully with the gift of each new day.

If you have a business and want to add some good feelings to your workspace, or even to your home, check out their Interior landscaping services, and their products also.

I thank you Plantscape Inc. for these sweet hanging baskets of ferns.

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Have a great day dear Friends. It is hard to believe Christmas is just 9 1/2 days away now. Time is zipping right along.

Happy Christmas holidays ~ FlowerLady