May is still a pleasant month here in the South; not yet too hot and plants and shrubs thrive.
Our Yucca lily is putting on a show again...
Yucca lily is a happy potplant and rewarding us annually with blooms!
So are our loyal Oxalis!
Snapdragons are quite happy and perform if they get plenty of water...
Happy yellow!
Oakleaf hydrangea or Hydrangea quercifolia.
Oakleaf hydrangea with Rose Arbor and Gazebo...
The bumble bee that flew around did not want to pose for me...
Yes, our kitties live in Paradise.
Lounging here under the Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold, left is Tiggy–Tiger and her brother Spooky to the right of her.
Palm tree is doing well and our fragrant Magnolia Grandiflora 'Namnetensis Flore Pleno' is blooming.
On May 19, Pieter made this photo of a bloom of our fragrant Magnolia Grandiflora 'Namnetensis Flore Pleno' and it measures 26 cm or 10.5 inches in diameter!
And it is double, two layers of petals.
Happy kitties lounging after supper!
Still sunshine around 18:00 o'clock and I love the shadow of the palm tree on the garage door.
The driveway is very warm from the sun and Spunky girl is stretched out, her brother Spooky in the grass...
Gazebo visible in the back and a tiny greenhouse in the distance to the right of it.
This is from the front, as I walked around our property and on the wood trail.
My first exercise on May 17, after my severe mid–back arthritis pain...
When I opened the repurposed mailbox (bird house now!) in the wood garden, the Carolina Wren flew out and I saw that she had now Baby Birds!
Read more in my previous post with photo of nest with eggs→: Husband Pieter Finished Restoration Work on our Bridges on Wood Trail
So glad that Pieter timely did remove the white egg, the brood parasitic bird one, just before they hatched, without disturbing her!
Did not want to leave it opened too long, nor disturb the 3 Baby Birds; two beaks are clearly visible here.
Do you have birds nesting in your garden and/or around the house?
Related links:
Variegated Yucca Lily Blooming | previous post by me
213 Countries Visited - Welcome Sint Maarten and my Pinterest + Yucca Lily | previous post by me
What a beautiful garden you have. A testament of your skills, patience and perseverance.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you both.
Dearest Victor,
DeleteThank you so much and yes, in the end it shows what you have been doing...
Hugs,
Mariette
Bellissimi fiori nel tuo giardino.Buona giornata.
ReplyDeleteCara Olga,
DeleteGrazie e anche voi buona giornata.
Abbracci,
Mariette
That yucca lily is amazing, I've never seen one. You have lovely gardens, a magnificent property, Mariette. It's nice to see the cats out enjoying it safely. :-)
ReplyDeleteDearest Kim,
DeleteWe have come across Yucca lilies in the wild as well, they are stunning and bloom right now.
Our kitties feel so at home and happy in their paradise! Always after breakfast and supper they lounge on the warm driveway. Not right now as it is wet...
Hugs,
Mariette
Todo en la Nturaleza sigue su curso y las flores nacen bastante bellas.
ReplyDeleteBesos
Querida Antónia,
DeleteCon mucha lluvia durante semanas y semanas, las cosas crecen muy rápidamente y florece tristemente marrón.
Abrazos,
Mariette
Lovely cheerful photos of your lovely home and garden dear Mariette - and I love your kitties. Can you take a closeup of them some day so I can see their faces please. I do love l cats and really miss my Maine Coon Ms. Tiny (who was huge!) whom we shared the cottage with for 21 years! She's been gone a long time but we still miss her.
ReplyDeleteThinking of you - Mary
Dearest Mary,
DeleteThank you and yes, this spring things looked really well. Also part of creating more light and room for our shrubs by removing some giant trees. They compete too much with the nutrients in our rather poor soil.
There are 138 posts with the label 'Our Felines' but I will give you here two for introduction; https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2010/09/telling-you-tale-of-our-4-feline-girls.html
https://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2010/09/you-like-to-meet-our-3-feline-boys.html
We lost our Barty Boy in October of 2020...
Also Sacha got killed by a car; no wounds but still dead.
We have one huge kitty, Speckie and she is the baby of our five. Short legs and she's like a vacuum cleaner—after every crumb or edible. She also does the kitty–dishes, cleaning out leftovers from the other four before they are being gathered up on the tray for real cleaning!
All different characters but we love them. You were lucky for having Ms Tiny that long!
Hugs,
Mariette
Lovely garden!!
ReplyDeleteDearest Anne,
DeleteThis time of the year it mostly is.
Hugs,
Mariette
I really liked this post. You have a gorgeous property and home. I'm seeing flowers and plants I have not heard of. Perhaps they don't do well here. You mentioned how snapdragons need water - maybe that is why I can't see to grow them to flower. With years of water cut backs, I can only have drought tolerate plants for the most part.
ReplyDeleteThat magnolia is awesome. Wow so big. I remember years ago, after HS, I moved to Burlingame Ca and lived in this adorable 4 plex. The courtyard had a magnolia tree that smelled wonderful. Other than that one, you don't see them here. I'd love to have one.
Dearest Debby,
DeleteThank you and yes, with lots of rain, as we've had for several weeks now, things look at their best. Not the flowers though as the tend to brown from heavy rain...
You certainly have a different climate and have to adapt the plants accordingly. However, your soil is far better.
Oh these magnolias are a dream but they last only a brief moment and then it's over with. Sometimes they bloom a second time. The flowers are huge indeed but most charming are those unfolding buds.
Hugs,
Mariette
What a beautiful place you have, and someone certainly has a green thumb. Yes, that is one big magnolia blossom. Sorry about your back! Get well soon…
ReplyDeleteDearest Janey,
DeleteThank you and yes, it looks really fresh this spring.
The magnolia is so special.
My back is behaving better today!
Hugs,
Mariette
Your garden is beautiful! Yes, it sure has been busy! We head off tomorrow for Iceland than Germany. Thank you for all the sweet comments. I wish I was better at responding. I have been just so insanely busy as you have seen.
ReplyDeleteDearest Kelleyn,
DeleteThank you and yes, you sure have been very busy.
So we depart around the same time...
Wishing you safe travels with the family and a happy stay in Germany with family.
Hugs,
Mariette
wow! Tolle Fotos! Diese wunderschönen Pflanzen brauchen enormen Platz und den habt Ihr zur Genüge. Ja wir haben einige Nistkästen im Garten, die von Blau/Kohlmeisen und auch Spatzen bewohnt werden. Eine kleine Blaumeise sah ich heute morgen, wie sie ihr kleines Köpfchen aus dem Nistkasteneinflugloch heraus streckte... sooo süß...
ReplyDeleteEuch ein schönes Wochenende, liebe Mariette und Pieter
Drosselgartengrüße von Traudi.♥
Liebe Traudi,
DeleteDanke und ja Platz haben wir! Zuviel zum pflegen aber wir genießen es trotzdem!
Ja, die klein Vögelchen sind wirklich süß.
Liebe Grüße,
Mariette
😘
Delete🤗
DeleteNature is so perfect and you are fortunate to have it all close by. I have trees around me, birds sleep in them but I never saw any nests.
ReplyDeletexoxo
Coisas de Feltro
Dearest Christina,
DeleteGuess several birds sleep in our two Magnolia grandiflora trees as those leaves are thick and leathery and protect them very well.
We sure are fortunate for having this around us.
Hugs,
Mariette