{Centipede Grass Sods}

In October when husband Pieter did remove the HUGE Indian Hawthorn and also got rid of all the rattlesnake weeds, he did sow a mix of grass.

From Home Depot, Pieter did haul back home several sods, on a piece of ply wood on the bike rack behind our Toyota RAV4...

Supervisor Spooky boy is watching that it is getting laid straight!

This photo is from October 31, 2015 where some of the grass seed did actually come up but it died already in the spring.

The Centipede that was supposed to be mixed in, did never come up.

This was the reason that we had to dig up all our Azaleas since it got infested by this pesky Rattlesnakeweed or Hieracium venosum L. 

Several loads and often they did run out of sods at Home Depot...

Keeping the ones that already got laid alive was also a struggle in mid June.

Sods that have been on pallets for days, seem to turn yellowish...

Light and water helps to change that quickly.

Row by row...

While we were in Florida, our cat sitter did turn on the sprinklers a lot so it is growing now and it has been mowed already.

Hoping to get this added section of lawn in good shape over time.

In the shade of our huge Magnolia tree, grass will not likely grow, so that has been left bare but grass will spread out.

Centipede is a grass variety that stands the heat and in winter it turns completely brown. That's a time that I hate.. looking so dreary!

Thanks for your visit!

google.com/+MarietteVandenMunckhofVedder

{Retaining Wall got CURVE}

As promised, here the finished look!

The official inauguration of the added CURVE to our Retaining Wall!
Spicy (a.k.a. Speckie) walking to the CURVE and Tiggy-Tiger already sitting on it.
Our cat-girls LOVE the new addition, which Pieter built down in steps.

Can you see the markings where the huge Indian Hawthorn and the 25 year old Rosemary have been growing? They covered quite a section of our driveway!
Now it's free again and we both love the new look.

At the end, Pieter placed four solar powered LED lights.
We had some rainy days in-between and the wall might need another coating of Benjamin Moore Golden Mist but for the time being we're fine with it!

Tiggy Tiger showing you the entire wall, while Spicy, just disappears over the wall...
We love the huge Magnolia Grandiflora 'Namnetensis Flore Pleno' being solitair now.

Tiggy-Tiger and her brother Spooky...
Do you like this new addition, done by a lay-person who is not a mason?

Related links:
{Extending Retainer Wall & Lawn} | previous post by me
{Digging up Huge Indian Hawthorn and More...} | previous post by me

google.com/+MariettesBacktoBasics

{Extending Retainer Wall & Lawn}

In my previous post I already gave you an indication about the changes that husband Pieter was going to make.
At the end of that post, where Pieter dug up the Huge Indian Hawthorn and More, I promised to show you how it looks now.
First of all, here you see a clear view of the Magnolia Grandiflora 'Namnetensis Flore Pleno' being freed up!

On October 7, at 7:00 AM a truck delivered the concrete blocks that Pieter would need for extending the retainer wall.
Here you see very clearly the dirty part on the driveway, to the right of husband Pieter, where the Indian Hawthorn and the old Rosemary had been.
We regained quite a bit from our driveway; about one meter or over one yard!

Pieter also had dug up all the rattlesnake weeds and planned on extending the lawn.
So a big truck did deliver 2 mᵌ of topsoil on October 16.

That huge truck had problems backing up on the driveway but never mind, Pieter managed to scoop up all the topsoil.

This is where it got filled in... Behind the retainer wall, for extending the lawn.

Almost done and next grass seed was sown.

October 31, already grass has grown here! Some bare spots where we removed the big Black Gum tree on November 5, 2014.
It takes years for patching up such spots but with patience that will happen!
Do you like this extension of our lawn?
Next I will show you the finished retainer wall extension.

Related link:
{Digging up Huge Indian Hawthorn and More...} | previous post by me
{Black Gum Nyssa Sylvatica Cut Down} | previous post by me

google.com/+MariettesBacktoBasics

{Lush Green Garden}

So far this summer we have had lots of late afternoon rain with often thunder. Needless to say that we do have quite a LUSH, GREEN GARDEN...

It looks almost tropical and the weeds are of course growing fast too...

The gazebo is being dwarfed by such huge trees!

Our Windmill and Canary Island palms look happy too...
The Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold (r) is now less golden as in the spring.

Related links where this stunning Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold, can be seen:
Wow...I think this deserves a thread! Golden live oak! | GardenWeb discussion...
{# 1111 - Our Golden Live Oak 'Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold' changing color} | previous post by me
{Golden Live Oak 'Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold' in Sunshine at its BEST} | previous post by me
{Our Golden Live Oak 'Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold' with Catkins} | Previous post by me
{Our Mrs. G. G. GERBING Azaleas} | previous post by me
{Our Patio Tiles in the Front} | previous post by me
{RARE Icicles in Our Garden} | previous post by me
{Energy Efficient GREEN Roofing Arrived} | previous post by me
{My Powder Blue Escada Jeans Suit} | previous post by me showing me in front of Grand View Gold
{Our Lovely Lilac Clematis 'Silver Moon'} | previous post by me showing young Grand View Gold

{Cloudy Day versus Sunny Day}| Previous post by me
{Blooms on our Windmill Palm - Trachycarpus fortunei} | previoius post by me 

{Our Golden Live Oak has LOTS of Acorns!} | previous post by me

{Our Different Oaks} | previous post by me

{My Silk Quilted Vest Creation and YOUR Opinion Requested...} | previous post by me showing golden oak

{Our Live Oak got a Haircut}| previous post by me

Mariette on Google+

{Dad Told us Stories About Bunnies on Bikes & Mopeds}

As little children we loved to listen to Dad's stories, during lunch time (our hot meal of the day) after coming home from school. Dad had worked on the field and he always fashioned exciting stories about bunnies on bikes and mopeds as they tore through the corn- and pole beans... Dad told these stories with such a vigor that we really BELIEVED him! Too bad, we all had to walk back to school as Dad again could encounter his furry friends once he returned to the fields. These stories are forever in my memory and low and behold, this year's Easter Catalog from +Gump's, did show Mr. & Mrs Bunny on their Penny Farthings or High Wheeler. I just could not resist ordering them...

Here they are, cycling in our garden amongst the mosses and the white violets...

Are those not lovely?!

Now on top of our picnic table with bench near the pond with the Japanese Somei Yoshino cherry as backdrop.

Don't worry, they will not drive into each other's wheels. Mrs. Bunny just tries to avoid some bird poop on the table...

This couple of fun bunnies did bring back to life those exciting stories told by Dad!

Even though we in our garden have no rows of corn, nor pole beans...

This is cute enough for reliving my childhood imagination! 

Mrs Bunny already did get her bike straight so she will not clash with Mr. Bunny.

+Gump's San Francisco offered them.

Easter 2014 will get celebrated different with those fond childhood memories!

Hope you enjoy a lovely Easter Season.

Time is moving so fast...

Related links:

{Daffodils Bunnies & Hearts} | previous post by me

{Happy Second Easter Day} | previous post by me showing my handmade Easter Egg Ribbons

{HAPPY EASTER to all my readers in 190 countries!} | previous post by me with our Pelargonium
{Easter Table Setting} | previous post by me with another cute Bunny with Baby-Bunny
{CIRCLE Vase with Candles for Easter} | previous post by me
{Hand Made Easter Egg Gift by Friend Ellie} | previous post by me
{Daffodils in CIRCLE Vase & Leonardo Figurine Bunny SPEEDY} | previous post by me
{Challenge Accepted + Easter Photos} | previous post by me
{HAPPY EASTER to all my readers in 163 countries!} | previous post by me with more info about the Chateauhotels/Kruisherenhotel
{Our Organdy Beribboned, Porcelain and Brass Easter Eggs} | previous post by me showing the hand made ribbons by me
{Happy Easter with Our Pelargonium 'Rosebud'} | previous post by me with more Pelargonium info
{Who can locate these EASTER EGGS for me?} | previous post by me
{¡HAPPY EASTER WEEKEND!} | previous post by me
{Easter Season} | previous post by me showing the brass window decorations with link

Mariette on Google+

{Beaver Location}

• Just feel like showing you where we found this beaver. 
• NOT on our property and as Fabby's Living wrote: 'I just love how the beaver just posed for your camera...so adorable!!' Sorry Fabby, but that beaver did no longer pose, it was dead. 
• Guess that TexWisGirl and The Smart Cat were right about this beaver having been a flood casualty. 
• It sure was not killed by car as Madelief suggested. As I already stated right at the top; it was dead but no wounds, nothing. 
• Johanna from +Silber-und-Rosen-Shop did mention that I'd never mentioned this beaver in our wood garden. At least we have NEVER EVER seen any beaver damage but it lived just around the corner from our street, near the big pond. Our creek runs through that pond, underneath the road. 
• There is another creek a bit further and at its banks more or less we found this beaver on the side of the road. Probably got washed out of his house! We did have some 18" or 45.7 cm of rain in a couple of days!!!
• So please look at this Aerial photo that I took from my Bing Business Portal Mariette's Back to Basics - Spectrenoir on line.

Bing Mariette's Back to Basics - Spectrenoir

• The blue dot is wrongly placed by Bing and by Google. 
• But in red, at the top of this aerial view, I have marked and pointed at our home.
• Below the red words 'Our Home>', you find the BIG pond and a bit further where another creek runs, through a wooded area with a lot of trees, that's where we found this beaver! Where the arrow (chevron) points. 

Hope this does clarify that it was NOT on our property. Thanks for your time and yes, nature is amazing, especially for both of us coming from such a densily populated country like The Kingdom of The Netherlands! We treasure this property and hope we can manage to stay here for a long time to come.

Mariette on Google+

{1818 Jeanne d'Arc Rose bloomed in JANUARY}

Usually our 1818 Jeanne d'Arc Rose blooms in April... BUT in January, on the 24th, I took the following pictures. Unreal for the time of the year... It must be because on January 11 and 12, we had such high temperatures of 26°C or 78.8°F.  Below you find a link from my previous post: {Dutch Summer Temperatures in Georgia for January} - Have a look at our 1818 Jeanne d'Arc Rose!

You can see the road behind, in the center... This huge climbing rose is on the fence of our wood garden.

It must be a really strong variety, from 1818 that is close to two centuries.

One rose fully open, a bud about to open and several more budding...

They are not fragrant.

There is barely foliage on the shrub yet!

It is a very vigorous grower, one can tell!

Of course these January roses are not nearly as pretty as those that bloom usually in April. See for its full glory the post below...

Does anyone else have also roses that bloom in January?

Sorry, not for the southern hemisphere as you are in Summer time!

Related link:
{1818 Jeanne d'Arc Rose in Our Garden} previous post by me
{Dutch Summer Temperatures in Georgia for January} previous post by me
Pickering Nurseries | Ontaria Canada, where we  found this antique rose

Mariette on Google+

{Cotoneaster Lacteus | Colorful Berries for the Birds in Winter}

• Wintertime is the hardest period for birds to find food enough to feed on. 
• We have lots of provisions for the many bird varieties that live on our property. 
• After all, it is not for nothing that in August of 1997, we did receive Our Backyard Wildlife HABITAT Certificate; see link of post below. 
• That's why we also planted a huge shrub of Cotoneaster Lacteus or Pyracantha.

• Colorful Berries for the Birds

• Plenty of Cotoneaster Lacteus Berries to feast on for the birds... Shrub is also called 'Fire Thorn'...
• By the way, these berries are poisonous for humans!

• This is still only part of the entire shrub; it is huge. 
• Pine needles are hanging everywhere as there is a tall pine tree nearby.

• As printed in Southern Living magazine, listing several birds that feast on the Cotoneaster or Pyracantha. Here it are mainly the robins and the cedar waxwings that strip them in almost a day. See more links below with further info. 

• Do you have special berry producing shrubs for your birds in winter?

Related links:

{Birdie Berries in our Wood Garden} previous post by me
{Our Backyard Wildlife HABITAT Certificate from August 1997} previous post by me
Winter Ruby Red Berries from Southern Living Magazine with the above section: Do it for the Birds...
What a Bee Wants – Cotoneaster showing how early in the year the blossoms benefit the Bees.
Robins eating Cotoneaster berries in a day Youtube video showing Robins eat Cotoneaster berries in SC
Robins eating berries photo showing the Robins eating Cotoneaster berries
Cedar Waxwings eating berries feasting on the Pyracantha (fire thorn) in Dutch 'vuur doorn'... click previous & next image also for spectacular photos!
Northern Mockingbird pair - sharing Pyracantha berries Youtube video

Mariette on Google+

{Going Green with Pallet Mulch}

Husband Pieter did haul many loads of Pallet Mulch for using in our garden. That is excellent for water holding capacity and it looks neat. It will keep the weeds down somewhat, but not entirely of course. Going green pays off! Are you using some Pallet Mulch too?

Photo is from June 26, with a happy rose!  It looks very nice with this contrasting color.

Pallet Mulch often is used in hotel gardens or around corporate office buildings.

Here you clearly see the natural soil and the Pallet Mulch with its reddish color.

These are our roses, they look pitiful but it is tough in such a hot climate for growing roses at all.

Probably in the fall they will come back and grow a bit more.

Some Crinum lilies are benefiting from the Pallet Mulch as well.

They seem to be far better heat resistant!

{Blooms on our Windmill Palm - Trachycarpus fortunei}

The Trachycarpus fortunei, or Windmill Palm, is one of the most cold hardy of the Palm trees. It also looks striking when it blooms. So those pictures I want to share with you here. This is actually a Chinese fan palm ←click it.

First picture is taken on March 24 against the back drop of our Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold or Golden Live Oak. 

On March 13, this is how it started with the blooms still inside a big bud.

March 24, with again in the back drop, to the left, our Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold or Golden Live Oak. Sacha-girl, our cat is on the driveway.

Amazing what all comes out of such a closed bud!

Resembles sorghum here...

Very exotic!

March 28 now, more and more palm blooms.

Mother nature works wonders...

March 31...

A day with over cast on March 31, but what a colors. Below are some other links where you can see this beautiful palm, even in wintertime, during the ice storm.

Hope you enjoyed looking at one of our exotic looking evergreen trees.

Do you have palm trees? 

Related links:

{Our Garden White & Icy Today as Snowstorm Slams South} | previous post by me

{Our Different Oaks} | previous post by me

{Summer Fade-Out & Fall Fade-In + Update} | previous post by me

{Your Silver Belt Loop Jewelry} | previous post by me

Related links where this stunning Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold, can be seen:
Wow...I think this deserves a thread! Golden live oak! | GardenWeb discussion...
{Lush Green Garden} |previous post by me
{# 1111 - Our Golden Live Oak 'Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold' changing color} | previous post by me
{Golden Live Oak 'Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold' in Sunshine at its BEST} | previous post by me
{Our Golden Live Oak 'Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold' with Catkins} | Previous post by me
{Our Mrs. G. G. GERBING Azaleas} | previous post by me
{Our Patio Tiles in the Front} | previous post by me
{RARE Icicles in Our Garden} | previous post by me
{Energy Efficient GREEN Roofing Arrived} | previous post by me
{My Powder Blue Escada Jeans Suit} | previous post by me showing me in front of Grand View Gold
{Our Lovely Lilac Clematis 'Silver Moon'} | previous post by me showing young Grand View Gold

{Cloudy Day versus Sunny Day}| Previous post by me
{Our Golden Live Oak has LOTS of Acorns!} | previous post by me

{Our Different Oaks} | previous post by me

{My Silk Quilted Vest Creation and YOUR Opinion Requested...} | previous post by me showing golden oak

{Our Live Oak got a Haircut}| previous post by me

Mariette on Google+

{Our 2012 Scilla Campanulata}

After the rough summer of 2011 with extreme heat and drought, the garden is not looking its best this spring. But I would love to show you the masses of our Scilla campanulata, also called Spanish blue bells as they originate from Spain and Portugal. For better images, look at my post from last year, link is below this post. 

Nestled in a bed of fall leaves...

Close to our gazebo and walk way...

This photo is from Saturday, the dogwood blossoms start falling off and the pink dogwood is still holding on to its blossoms, see to the left in photo.

Nice to see new green though! This is the view from the breakfast area from the bay window...

Anyone interested in making our Garden Tour + Tea/Coffee in the gazebo: Book an Event.

Related link:
{Scilla campanulata - Spanish Blue-Bells in our Garden} | previous post by me

Mariette on Google+