{Japanese Styrax Obassia - Fragrant Snowbell}

Around mid April our Styrax Obassia, Fragrant Snowbell, is putting on quite a show. This native from Japan is such a gem and is available at Woodlanders. We feel fortunate to have such a beauty in our wood garden. No flowers last for weeks on end, but it is worth it for the time that they do! Join me for a Garden Tour.

The Styrax Obassia in our wood garden.

Blue sky in April...

Hope you enjoyed our Japanese gem!

This is how they look one month later!

{Our Backyard Wildlife HABITAT Certificate from August 1997}

As you might have read the previous blogs about {Our Home of almost 20 years} and {205 Winfield Road Then and Now}, you have a little bit of an idea how we live. It was in August 1997 that we received our Backyard Wildlife HABITAT Certificate from the National Wildlife Federation. This only after sending in proof that our property provides the four basic elements needed for wildlife to thrive: food, water, cover, and places to raise young. It took lots of writing and numerous photos.

Just walk around the property with me to see those four basic elements...

Evergreen magnolia tree for sheltering birds from rain and predators.

Streaming water because a creek runs through our property.

Under the Orontium Aquaticum fish can hide and find shelter.

Let's cross one of our three bridges to have a view from our wood garden.

Trees are quite tall but they create a perfect habitat for numerous birds and other animals.

We've seen raccoons and even a red fox drinking from our pond. Squirrels and chipmunks are very well represented too.

Birdhouses, bird feeders and hummingbird feeders are everywhere.

We enjoy an almost daily concert of birds and can watch them from our bay window and of course from our gazebo.

Our dogwood tree blooming

A hummingbird feeder.

There is pollen for the bees and bumblebees... pink dogwood.

 We also planted special shrubs to attract butterflies.

Ducks come to our pond each year for breeding.

Mallard ducks with reflection of the gazebo in the pond.

Our bench/table next to the pond.

Back can be tilted to convert to table.

Across the creek we keep branches and clippings from tree pruning, for a shelter where birds and chipmunks can live.

Hard work does pay off!

{Our Robinia pseudoacacia - Black Locust}

Years ago we had a golden Robinia pseudoacacia 'Frisia' and it was a steal! Unfortunately it died but we do have saplings from it, however they were none as golden as the original. But their blossoms are so pretty. Husband Pieter took a few photos on April 5th and I add some that I took last year for a complete picture. So please tour once more through our pretty spring garden with Book an Event together with us.

These blossoms are in the woodgarden, more protected from wind.

The next photos are from the Robinia pseudoacacia - Black Locust that is on the lawn in the open.

Okay, tea-time again! Hope you enjoyed it.

{Pink Cascade Weeping Peach in Our Garden}

Quite a head turning tree in our garden is this Pink Cascade Weeping Peach from Stark Bro's so I'm eager to show you this fountain of hot pink blossoms. A feast for the bees and bumblebees as well. Join me into the garden on a tour from Book an Event with us. We will show you also our gazebo where we'll have the coffee/tea with cake towards the end... ENJOY!

Bees and Bumble Bees LOVE it!

Bumble bee feasting on the pollen...

This photo is taken from across the creek. In front is our pile of branches that provides a shelter for birds and little mammals such as chipmunks.

{Our Cornus Kousa (Japanese Dogwoods) & Spiraea Cantoniensis (dbl Bridal Wreath Spirea)}

• March is yielding so many blossoms in our garden that it is hard to keep up with photos and postings. This week, since Saturday, it is rather wet and a lot colder too! But I got some shots from a week ago and some from Sunday. 
• Just between heavy showers, with wet blossoms and also some rain damage to our Cornus Kousa Flowering Dogwood and Cornus Florida.

• This photo is taken a week ago in the late afternoon with the sunlight just right. Huge blossoms as we selected varieties with pure white and large blossoms. This is a Cornus Florida Cloud 9.

• This is the tree, in our wood-garden. The beech tree in the back still wears its winter coat with the old leaves. They are the very last ones to produce new leaves, together with one late oak variety. 

• What a beautiful branch with flowers on! The sunlight is perfect for shooting such photos. These Cornus kousa trees do produce fruits in winter for squirrels and birds to feast on. You can find those Dogwood trees at Durio Nursery, just scroll down to Cornus kousa. Also at Woodlanders you will find different Cornus kousa varieties as you scroll down.

• Below I will show you an exotic double variety Cornus Florida Plena Alba, that we lost last year; the photo is from spring 2009...

• The creek runs right behind this double blooming dogwood and the azalea shrub behind it. 
• We have three bridges that do connect the garden around the house to our wood garden. We do live in a neighborhood that is called 'Holly Hills' and you can see that our property is on a slope, which makes the landscape more interesting.

• Now we crossed the creek and walked uphill towards our gazebo where we got three dogwoods. Two white varieties and a pink one. Not the pink you see in the center however, that is the {Our Cercis canadensis 'Apalachian Red' & Cercis chinensis 'Avondale'} from my previous blog. So why don't you partake in a Garden Tour from Book an Event with us? Coffee or tea with cake will be served inside the gazebo!
• The tall Cornus Florida is a native one and it came with the property. It is huge!

Lovely in front of our gazebo...

• The above photo I snapped on Sunday after lunch in-between thunderstorms with heavy winds. You can see the flower petals partly on the ground and the rain did also damage the blossoms. No longer pure white...
• Our pond is visible in the back as well. Pieter got so lucky for having mown the lawn on Saturday before the tornado and thunderstorms came. 
• Oh, I did have a  question in my comments about having to 'rake' a lot of leaves. Our John Deer lawn mower has a mulcher so all the organic material from grass and leaves is being recycled. 
• We never have raked up leaves, as those are the best nutrients that mother nature is giving to us. And what do you think who is raking the leaves up in all the natural woods? The deer and the squirrels? 
• Nobody is removing them from nature so why should we. It provides a perfect blanket as well, for all the bulbs and perennials that are dormant throughout winter. Further it keeps the moisture in the soil far better and thus creates a welcome buffer for dry spells. 
• Let's try for Going Green instead of bagging those leaves up and trashing them.

• Now we're inside the gazebo with its gingerbread, looking uphill to the house. The pink you see now, that is the other pink Cornus kousa 'Satomi' (pink Chinese dogwood) and available from the Durio Nursery, from the above link. That is the walkway for bringing the tray down to the gazebo with  breakfast; lunch or your coffee/tea. Sure, we can barbecue there as well and serve you a drink...

• This is the Cornus kousa 'Satomi' (pink Chinese dogwood) and another detail of its blossom.

Now let's have a look at the Spiraea cantoniensis 'Lanceata' or double Bridal Wreath Spirea. That one is available at Durio Nusery, see link above.         

Wet shrub from the rain on Sunday...

• Blossoms are really 'hanging' so heavy from the rain.

• Okay, let's end with some previous photos from last year without rain drops...

They are a perfect double Bridal Wreath Spirea indeed.