Think Of Spring

More forced blooming. A 

yearly favorite "pink Hyacinth".......

In the depth of winter, even when snow and frost

cover our world, a jewel urges our imaginations

to think of spring.

Have a blessed day....Dee Dee

Sunshine

There is nothing prettier than an afternoon

sun shining on a pot of beautiful white flowers.

Warms the room and the heart at the same time.

Stay warm, sweet family and friends.  Dee Dee

Camellias In The Flower Nurseries

I shopped for Camellias today. The selections

were many and all were beautiful.

  January is the month

for Camellias here in Florida and I look forward

to new varieties in the nurseries. 

I talked to another shopper admiring the blooms

but knew nothing about the Camellia. 

I showed her ones I have in my garden and told her

they were evergreens, need very little attention,

and begin producing buds in November.

 Come January 

they are the most beautiful things in the

garden.  I left her making an almost 

impossible decision of 

which to buy. 

Have a wonderful day, everyone.  Dee Dee

Garden Surprise

Each day I look for new pink Camellias on

a bush I planted last spring.  It has lots of 

buds but no blooms so far.  I planted it close

to the birdbath, anticipating a nice little 

grouping for this area of the garden. There 

will be soon.....pink flowers and beautiful

birds on the birdbath. Zoom lens at ready,

look in the future for photos.

This container held Zinnias that bloomed

all last summer long and into the fall.

Nature has taken over and we are watching

small oak trees grow there.

But that's not all. This morning, I noticed

new life.....a tiny Zinnia bloom.....sigh....

Have a most perfect day!  Dee Dee

January;s Camellias

We've had temps drop into the thirties

this week and some of our blooming plants

were slightly affected.

Our Camellia bush is an evergreen

that produces gorgeous blooms each

January.  A Crape Myrtle tree towers

over it....it's limbs bare and scraggly.

A closer look at our double Camellia....

I think nature's perfection.

I took the photos this morning.  A most

perfectly beautiful day....warm sun shinning,

and cool coastal breezes.

Have a blessed winter day, everyone.  Dee Dee

Winter Colors

Looks like spring, when in actuality

it is winter in Florida.

View from my front door.  

The Crotons are

more beautiful than ever this time of year.

Their leaves become brilliant colors.  The

rye grass seed we put out late autumn, 

has our lawn a beautiful lush green. 

Counting my blessings......Dee Dee

White Hyacinth

A few days ago I placed a Hyacinth bulb

in my kitchen window.  All the elements 

were right and the bulb began the miracle

of blooming.....

I can close my eyes and the fragrance

of the bloom takes me all the way to spring.

We've been forcing bulbs for a number

of years and nothing gives greater pleasure

than spring flowers in winter.

Have a beautiful day, everyone.  Dee Dee

In Memory Of A White Knockout Rose

Shown here, is a Rose bloom of

perfection, that is  

quite amazingly, beautiful.  

A white Knockout Rose

lived in our cottage garden,

here in Florida, for a

number of years.

It grew in a large pot, surrounded

by tiny blooming bedding plants, 

all year long. 

I can't remember a time when it

did not produce large beautiful

White Roses.

One winter, 

it's leaves began turning brown and 

the White Rose blooms

came at random and 

were much smaller.  

The Mister and I, eventually,

 and rather sadly said goodbye 

to this good old friend. 

 It had been part of our lives and

had given us great pleasure.

Have a sweet ole' day.....Dee Dee

Winter White Tulips

The noise of the world is too loud for my ears.....

but I rest in the security of God's promises.

Have a blessed day.....Dee Dee

Tea

I've been thinking of the folks we know

that have been doing a lot of snow shoveling.

I can't think of anything nicer after doing so......

Tea makes a lot of things all better.

Nice warm scone or biscuit along with

that warm tea....just doesn't get much

better on a cold winter day.

 Looking forward to the things that lie

ahead.....Dee Dee

Blooming In The Dead Of Winter

While the north is covered in ice and snow,

here we are in Florida with flowers in full bloom.

Our pink Peace Lily lives on the porch all summer

long, loving the humidity.  As long as I fertilize and

water, it blooms.

I suppose the Lily has no preference for weather

conditions.  The temps plunged into the 40's last

night and today the blooms are no worse for it.

Seems this pretty thing is "root bound"

requiring  transfer to a new and much

larger pot.  I'll put that on my list of to-do

things, come spring.

Stay warm, dear family and friends....Dee Dee