{The Year 2016 Is Ending...The Resilientista Planner}

It is a sunny day today but rather cool.

My final days for 2016 are not as planned, fighting a bronchitis.

But still, it is a time for reflecting 

Great ingredients for happy days...

Sunshine

Fountain pen

The Resilientista Planner by friend Celia, just click the link!

Tiny Baccarat vase with fragrant Cashmere Bouquet (Clerodendrum philippinum) from Logee's Greenhouses. 

And COFFEE...

Well, I certainly had all the right ingredients and almost forgot to make this photo... having my coffee almost finished!

Never mind; not everything can be perfect all the time...

Wishing you a happy ending of 2016 and a very Happy New Year 2017!

Thanks for your visit.

google.com/+MarietteVandenMunckhofVedder

{Dahlia with Hibiscus and Clerodendrum Ugandese}

We all LOVE to have some fresh cut flowers from our own garden...

Even if it means only a few of them!

On our kitchen table... on June 12.

To the left you see a beautiful Dahlia, to the right a Hibiscus syriacus 'Blushing Bride' that came straight from Our Life in Italy!
In the center, top and bottom is our special Clerodendrum Ugandese or Blue Butterfly Bush.

Husband Pieter also captured them with his camera...
Yes, that Hibiscus syriacus 'Blushing Bride' has a very special story which you can read from link below blog, about our life in Italy.
We are thrilled that we still have it after all those years!

And again and you can see the sunshine that twinkles in the tiny vase.
The Clerodendrum Ugandese came from +Logee's Greenhouses in Connecticut

The Clerodendrum Ugandese or Blue Butterfly Bush flower a bit more in detail...

Together they just made a beautiful and very sweet vase!

Do you love to bring in some home grown flowers?

Our climate is very harsh so we never yield a lot...

Thanks for your visit!

Related links:

{Clerodendrum Ugandense - Blue Butterfly Bush} | previous post by me
{Clerodendrum Ugandense - Blue Butterfly Bush, Blue Glorybower} | previous post by me
{Our Hibiscus syriacus 'Blushing Bride' from Quero, Belluno in Italy} | previous post by me

google.com/+MarietteVandenMunckhofVedder

{Clerodendrum Ugandense - Blue Butterfly Bush}

On November 11, I could make this photo from our Clerodendrum Ugandese - Blue Butterfly Bush and also called Blue Glorybower. A gem from +Logee's Greenhouses that we do treasure.

While making this photo, I got bitten by a legion of fire ants... 

But still I was pleased with this photo.

In-between the rain we had, some beauty!

Happy weekend!

Related link:
{Clerodendrum Ugandense - Blue Butterfly Bush, Blue Glorybower} | previous post by me

google.com/+MariettesBacktoBasics

{Jasminum Sambac - Jasmine Grand Duke of Tuscany}

Last year we bought a new Jasminum Sambac - Jasmine Grand Duke of Tuscany from +Logee's Greenhouses and this year it did yield its first fragrant blossoms.

August 9, this beauty opened with yet another bud underneath.

Look what heavy rain did in just one day... 

Waiting 3 more days did yield another double blooming, highly fragrant beauty.

They are so lovely!

Jasmine 'Grand Duke of Tuscany' - Jasminum Sambac ← click it

We hope it will look bigger next year!

Related links:

{Our Jasminum Sambac 'Maid of Orleans' - "Arabian Tea Jasmine"} | previous post by me

Mariette on Google+

{Our Fragrant Hoya Carnosa - Wax Plant}

A treat for the hummingbirds is our fragrant, honey dripping Hoya Carnosa or Wax Plant. Husband Pieter did capture them on camera for you to enjoy. Does any of you also keep this lovely plant?

You can find a variety of Hoya carnosa plants at Logee's Greenhouses by just typing in this name into the search box.

My husband Pieter captured this photo on June 17. Our Hoya Carnosa is outdoors so the hummingbirds can freely feast on their sticky honeydew.

Side by side with our Orchid Cactus on their pedestal...

Indoor plants are nice but being able to have them outdoors is even better!

Here they are on July 20, in our gazebo on the railing where they can trail freely as well.

This is hummingbird domain...

Enough sticky honeydew drippings for their daily meal...

Have you ever caught on of these sweet honeydew drippings with your finger to taste?

It sure tastes sweet!

Mariette on Google+

{Clerodendrum Philippinun - Cashmere Bouquet}

One more exotic and highly fragrant beauty I would like to introduce to you. Clerodendrum Philippinum or Cashmere Bouquet. They look like tiny rosebuds and are white with a pinkish blush. +Logee's Greenhouses in Connecticut does sell  this variety, see link below post.

Complete with ant, as they sure love the sweet fragrance too!

Even its leaves are beautiful...

Perfect for a small vase; this is ONE stem...

Don't you love this Cashmere Bouquet as they are called?

By the way, yesterday I did forget to add the most beautiful photo we had from our Blue Butterfly Bush. You can view it here: 2004 photo from our exotic Clerondendrum Ugandense - Blue Butterfly Bush

Related link:

Cashmere Bouquet | Logee's Greenhouses link for buying this 

Mariette on Google+

{Clerodendrum Ugandense - Blue Butterfly Bush, Blue Glorybower}

Last year our young Clerodendrum Ugandense or Blue Butterfly Bush, Blue Glorybower, almost succumbed to the summer heat. Great was our joy when on May 28, husband Pieter could make two photos from its first blooms. Up till than we kept it inside the greenhouse for protecting its still frail growth. Let me show you first a closeup of this exotic, from an earlier shrub we had in 2004.

Clerodendrum Ugandese or Blue Butterfly Bush and also called Blue Glorybower.

You certainly understand that we wanted to replace this beauty!

This photo shows its beautiful first flowers when the pot got just taken out of the greenhouse.

It is an East African evergreen shrub from Kenya and Uganda, you can find more info below this post.

We found ours in the spring of last year, at +Logee's Greenhouses.

Here it is still inside the greenhouse... 

Do you see the almost dead stems to the left and center, from which these new green leaves did branch out? 

Looks like quite a miracle!

It also shows that we should not throw out any plant too soon.

They might come back to life in a surprising way.

Due to the heavy rain and rather dark weather, no more flowers have formed outside but instead it has huge foliage. Looking strong and happy.

Did you know this shrub? 

Related link:
Clerodendrum ugandense | For more info
Logee's Greenhouses | Where we obtained ours

Mariette on Google+

{More of Our Citrus}

Just like to show you more of our citrus, these photos are from June 6 and the last one is from August 12 of 2010 so you can see the end result of all those blossoms. Heavenly fragrance... such a joy to have those! Have a look at those up close pictures of the sweet blossoms and their lush buds. My husband Pieter took those for you to enjoy. Next time you eat an orange, you will know how they developed...

A spider build her web-nest in-between those buds... Smart!

All our citrus trees are in huge planters and are on the brick patio in front of the green house.

I believe this is the Citrus Limon Ponderosa from +Logee's Greenhouses 

Mariette on Google+

{Our Jasminum Nitidum 'Royal Jasmine'}

Our Jasminum Nitidum 'Royal Jasmine' which we got from +Logee's Greenhouses (link you find below post) is another exotic and highly fragrant flower. We keep it in a large planter in the greenhouse during winter. But come spring and summer, it is outside and shows off its perfect blossoms. Have a look at this beauty!

Related link:

Logee's Greenhouses | link to fragrant flowers with several jasmine varieties being listed

Mariette on Google+

{Murraya Paniculata 'Orange Jasmine'}

• Today I want to introduce our 'Orange Jasmine' Murraya paniculata.
• Again, a plant with highly fragrant blossoms. We have them in planters, outside during the three seasons and inside during winter.
• This tropical plant is available from +Logee's Greenhouses  Orange Jasmine Murraya Paniculata in  Connecticut and that's where ours came from. They do have all kind of exotic plants and lots of citrus plants too. Look for some photos at the very end of this blog, our citrus trees in a pot do even bear fruits!

• This is such a heavenly scented plant; like the: {White Indian Jasmine the Queen of Flowers} in a previous blog, which I showed on August 17th.

• The planters are on the stone patio, in front of our greenhouse. My Dad helped building it, together with Pieter. That's where all our pots will spend their three months period, till the weather is mild enough to be put outside again. Of course it is always too small... 

• To the left of the greenhouse there are numerous pots that also need to be placed inside the greenhouse... 
• This is the wooden trail that Pieter build, going alongside the gazebo towards the house. 
• Our own private walking trail and there are also trails in the wood garden, when crossing the three bridges over the creek. Lots of work done, one day I will show photos how it looked 20 years ago and what we made out of it. 
• We are the very first people ever living and working on this lot. That's the name for the land where you build your home; used here in the South East of the USA. 
• We are blessed for having such a private paradise all to our own!
• Now as promised our citrus trees; in pots:

• This is a closeup of the pot you see to the right in front of the greenhouse.

• This gives a good idea of its size... a photo from last year. They ripen inside the greenhouse as our season is not long enough.

• Yet another variety, inside the greenhouse during winter.
• One year when Mom & Dad were visiting again in March 1996, from The Netherlands, I left them all on the tree and gave Mom a basket to pick the oranges from the tree behind the gazebo on the patio. That moment from Monday, March 25 of 1996 is being videotaped...
• Mom enjoyed that very much and they were sweet and tasty too in our yogurt with granola for breakfast. 

• The orange blossom is something to enjoy. Often I did use them with jasmines and floating candles for a center piece when friends came to dinner...

Mariette on Google+

{3 Hibiscus Varieties 'KONA' - 'CONFEDERATE ROSE' and a RED variegated}

In-between my silver Giovanni Raspini gifts, I love to show you what's blooming in our garden. 

First let me introduce you to this exotic beauty: Hibiscus 'KONA' which is available from Logee's in Connecticut as Hibiscus 'Kona' (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis hybrid). We have lots of special plants from them, just check them out.

Bring a touch of the tropics into your life with this exotic cultivar from Logee's Greenhouses. Large, rich fully double blossoms, resembling puffy crepe paper, adorn this vigorous grower.

This one shows a visiting insect...

This is where the two planters with the Kona hibiscus are; behind our gazebo on the small stone patio.

To the left of the gazebo, facing the back of our house.

Here is another planter with a variegated leaf Hibiscus in a flamboyant Red.

We did bring a cutting home from the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and voilà:

Pieter's hand for comparison, though it is by far not as large as the Kona variety.

It was on Friday, September 5, of 1997 that we stayed at the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We had checked in early at 2:00 PM and were inside in time for the heavy weather in relation to Hurricane Erica near Puerto Rico. On Saturday morning at 4:00 AM we sat in our beds with the pillows propped up and the special curtains (triple!) closed to keep the noise of the raging winds with heavy rain out of earshot. We watched the funeral of Princess Diana... (she died on August 31). A day we never will forget. Our vacation was not planned at the right moment and being high in the tower with a huge balcony on two sides, did not do us any good!

But their gardens were lush and the hibiscus cutting flourished at our home; that made up for the heavy weather...

In our adjacent wood garden we also have since one decade this Hibiscus mutabilis 'Plena' also called: Confederate Rose. We obtained this from  Woodlanders in South Carolina. Another great nursery that has a huge variety and is in business for a very long period already.

This photo is from October 31, 2000. They are not yet blooming but I wanted to show it today.

Hibiscus mutabilis 'Plena' is a wonderful big mulit-stem deciduous shrub with leaves like a cotton plant and large double peony-like showy flowers in the fall that open white and change to pink as the day goes on. Freezes back in winter but does re-sprout here in the south.

Hibiscus mutabilis 'Plena'