WELCOME SPRING

On March 6, we did have our Azaleas near the Gazebo, looking their BEST. But it was a rather dreary day without sunshine... Hard to capture them! I did anyway...

All winter we are looking forward to this and then the moment is  there!

Bees happy humming around...

March 6, husband Pieter started feeding the roses and azaleas...

Spooky boy is almost like a doggy, always nearby and walks back and forth to the greenhouse with Pieter.

Two days later, on March 8, the sun came out so I snapped these photos!

Showing you also the blue sky above our Gazebo...

Closer to the gazebo where pink and white azaleas look their best.

Some yellow Carolina jasmines intertwined with them.

Nature's Poetry!

Imagine, being a bee and visiting all these blossoms...

Also their buds look lovely in a darker shade of pink...

Husband Pieter did bring in these HUGE white Azaleas that grow across the creek near one of our bridges.

Because I was crocheting again to finish my 2nd curtain with Fleur de Lys.

Yes, it is up and hanging since March 16 and I'm very happy!

But last week we suddenly had quite some frost on March 16 as it turned to -3°C (26.6 °F) by 6:36 AM

By 7:41 AM it even dropped to -4°C or  24.8°F...

Needless to say that so many tender blossoms and also young leaves got damaged!
All our Azaleas look brown, the Pomegranate trees are totally browned and so are the leaves from our Japanese Magnolias... A sad sight!

That's life and we have to hope for the best in weeks to come.

Hope you too have had some Spring Awakening in your area, or beginning of the Fall in the Southern Hemisphere.

Thank you for visiting me and I will catch up one of these days; promise!

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{We at least got SOME Magnolia Blossoms}

So pleased with the turnout of SOME Magnolia Blossoms on our Magnolia x soulangeana!

Tuesday, February 23, was such a lovely and even warm day when we got these photos made.

Don't you love to see an almost blue sky and such huge magnolia blossoms?!

The previous days were rather dark, not good for photos.

On Monday, February 22, Pieter took this photo where we still had more blossoms on this tree but no sunshine, just a dreary day...

Luckily, this 2nd Magnolia tree was not blooming yet on December 30, so it had a lot less frost damage later in January.
You can find the links below this post from December 30, and also from spring 2011, when we had PERFECT MAGNOLIA BLOSSOMS!

Love the house when the sun is out; things look so happy even with the dead winter grass.
Yes, Centipede grass dies completely back during winter!
Do you notice that the shadow of our live oak tree on the wall looks like another tree?

Sadly our Italian cypress trees are brown...
Not looking too happy and we lost already one of the total three.
Again, looking like two live oak trees with the strong shadow on the wall!
Also in the photo below, that shadow remains.

Husband Pieter took those last three photos.
Taken from behind the pond with the gazebo visible too.
One of our kitties is walking past the wall.
The sunshine makes that wall look almost white; which is not the case as you see in the above photo.
Love the reflection in the water.
Spring is in the air and I'm happy because of it!

Related links:

{Magnolia Blossoms on December 30} | previous post by me

{SPRING 2011 IS GRADUATING!} | previous post by me showing PERFECT MAGNOLIA BLOSSOMS

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{Hydrangeas & Mother-in-law's Tablecloth}

On May 29, we happened to have some gorgeous blue hydrangeas from our garden. So I did team them up with the hand embroidered blue tablecloth from my late Mother-in-law.

Don't you just love such blue color?

This draw work embroidery tablecloth I've had now for over three decades and it still looks like new.

A wider view into our garden...

Photo is taken from the patio in front of our Rose Suite.

This is the view from the patio, towards our gazebo and the newly placed rose arbor.

Guests do have their own private entrance here...

There are rose stepping stones towards the path to the gazebo.

Guests also can enjoy the perfume of the gardenias that bloom right outside of the entrance door.

These are the regular sized gardenias, not the large ones that I showed a couple of days ago.

May/June sure is a happy time of the year with so many flowers to enjoy!

Do you have hydrangeas as well?

Related link:

{Our Hydrangea Trio and Tea in 1930s Blue Transfer Ware} | Previous post by me

google.com/+MariettesBacktoBasics

{Batik Gift from Foster Daughter Anita}

It is very special if a parcel from Indonesia arrives in the mail... from our sweet daughter Anita!
She wanted to surprise her Papa & Mama with some unique Indonesian Batik outfits...

And for Mama also a matching purse!
Thank you once again sweet daughter; you made Mama very happy.

It fits nicely with my Escada skirt!
Standing next to our new Rose Arbor with baby climbing roses...

Papa (Daddy) loves his Batik shirt as well!
He wears it here on his black jeans.
Together with the bracelet that he received from daughter Liz, while together on vacation in Curaçao.

Our Spicy-girl always nearby...

Thank you dear daughter! 
We LOVE you very much.

Related link:

{New Rose Arbor on High Heels} | previous post by me

google.com/+MariettesBacktoBasics

{New Rose Arbor on High Heels}

Sure, our entire property is on a slope so there hardly is an even spot. This resulted also in placing our New Rose Arbor on High Heels!

Eden Vienna 7.5-ft. Vinyl Arch Arbor

Quite expensive...

But we found ours for a lot less: Hayneedle Eden Vienna 7.5-ft. Vinyl Arch Arbor and even with free shipping.
Searching on line can often yield surprising bargains!

Our pond has an overflow into the creek and Pieter still had some of those 6" Pvc pipes so his idea was for filling them with concrete and letting the Rose Arbor's feet stand (with of course the vinly 2 x 4s inside the legs) partly in the concrete.

It was still during the very wet season. This was April 13, when I took these photos.

Bird & bat house visible to the left.

This little 4-wheel Utility Cart is handy for towing things around.

On May 19, our two new climbing roses got planted.

I'd seen on María Cecilia's blog post from Casa Dulce Hogar in Chile, her incredible pink Eden Rose: Pierre de Ronsard roses (and clouds) and wanted to know if there also was a white variety.

Yes, I did find them at Roses Unlimited in Laurens, South Carolina, where Pat Henry & Bill Patterson offer a very extensive collection of all sorts of roses.

We also bought other roses from them, Jardins de Bagatelle a very fragrant hybrid tea rose in a cream color.

Excellent plant material and perfectly boxed up with their pots secured in a genial way!

Very healthy roses! Far better than the usual bare root shipment.

Our happy Eden white or Pierre de Ronsard roses!

Now we just have to wait for the first roses to show up and grow along this beautiful Rose Arbor.

Here you also get to see a detail from the redone wood trail which got extended a little for this Arbor.

That's how it looks from the other side...

Again a bird house visible on that holly tree.

Spicy-girl is making sure that the new roses are protected!

Do you have a Rose Arbor?

Related link:

{Cashmere Words of Wisdom & Update} | previous post showing the wood trail being redone.

google.com/+MariettesBacktoBasics 

{Happy with my Escada Stretch Pants}

On Good Friday, April 3, it was already lovely weather and we were out in the garden and our gazebo.

Happy with my Escada Stretch Pants

Never we can walk alone, there is always that cat-magnet and they love to be held and cuddled.

This is Bandido, Spooky's brother and one of the four remaining siblings.

Sure, picking them up, you get covered in pollen as that is everywhere around this time.
Yes, I'm also chained... wearing my 22 kt gold belly chain since the early 90s when we lived and worked in Indonesia.

Also love my suede Cole Haan lace-up boots for walking!

Spicy (a.k.a. Speckie) is on the floor...

These pants do have some velvet strips along the sides in a very dark brown, almost black.

Haha, pollen on the floor, and left is Bandido, center is Speckie and Barty to the right...
That's one of my favorite weekday stretch pants.

google.com/+MariettesBacktoBasics

{Ipomoea Quamoclit or Cypress Vine}

On the wooden rail, along the steps to our gazebo we have a lovely new vine climbing up!

It is the Ipomoea Quamoclit or Cypress Vine.

A very tiny flower but oh so pretty!

Here it climbs up the wooden railing.

The Hoya Carnosa is also on the steps and both are gourmet food for the hummingbirds, that feast on the pollen and nectar.

These tiny flowers are not easy to capture...

Photos are taken on August 26.

Tiny, slender buds open up...

The above photo was on September 10; taken by husband Pieter...

Seeds start forming for next year's showcase of feathery green with tiny red flowers.

Maybe you too do have this tiny vine?

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