{Our 2016 Double Orange Daylily or Hemerocallis}

In 2013 I already did post about our Double Orange Daylily or Hemerocallis that suddenly appeared in our garden. 

A gift from a bird...?

Perfect for my Dutch Heritage, as a salute to The Kingdom of the House of Orange...

It is a stunner and beautifully double with ruffled edges.

Placed it in a round Baccarat crystal vase...

Love those stamens and the pollen already fell off...

Hope you enjoyed this happy color Daylily and thanks for your visit!

Related link:

{Our Double Orange Daylily or Hemerocallis} | my previous 2013 post showing it in the garden... very lush!

{Daylily Hemerocallis WHITE TUXEDO + SAD Feline & CanineLove Story} | previous post by me

{Our 2016 Rio Negro Lily}

On July 10, we again had a perfect Rio Negro Lily.

Full of Perfume...

Such an intense color too!

Love its stamens...

Yes, it sits next to my cup of green tea...

One of Summer's Joys!

Thank you for your visit.

Related link:

{Rio Negro Lily} | previous post by me

{Our Fragrant Magnolia Grandiflora 'Namnetensis Flore Pleno' Flowers}

As promised in my previous post, here are the flowers of our very special Magnolia Grandiflora 'Namnetensis Flore Pleno', that are also Fragrant!

Flowers are HUGE!

Here is a Bud developing...

You can see our home in the back, through the branches.

They still are blooming right now!

I literally did walk all around our huge tree as flowers are everywhere.

Not always at a level where you can easily reach them with your camera...

Below this post I added the link: {Our Bee Happy Magnolia Restaurant} - that still proves valid.

Snacking on the pollen!

Hope you enjoyed these photos and thank you for your visit.

Related links:
{Our Happy Magnolia Namnetensis and Update} | previous post by me
{Our Fragrant Magnolia Grandiflora 'Namnetensis Flore Pleno'} | previous post by me
{Retaining Wall got CURVE} | previous post by me
{Our Bee Happy Magnolia Restaurant} | previous post by me

{My BLISS = Tea, Chocolate & Flowers}

For taking time to sip tea together with preferably chocolate and some fresh flowers really is My BLISS!

Don't you agree?

These fragrant Narcissus Obdam we had on March 5th...

A time to slow down and savor the goodness of chocolate with tea.

Having a nice conversation and feeling blissful!

Wishing you all a lovely week ahead and thanks for stopping by.

Related links:

{Fragrant Narcissus Obdam} | previous post by me
{Lady Alexander Rose by Queen Anne & Obdam Narcissus} | previous post by me
{Fragrant Double Narcissus Obdam} | previous post by me

{Our Gardenias are Blooming}

On Sunday we had again a full bowl of fresh gardenias from our garden.

Even though they do show some bruise marks from the extremely heavy rain we had for a couple of days.

This Wedgwood Cream Color on Cream Color Centerpiece is perfect for displaying them...

Here you can see the Wedgwood Centerpiece with its foot.

Are you also enjoying any Gardenias from your garden?

Thanks for stopping by!

{Our Fragrant White Paeonia 'Ann Cousins' is Blooming}

Don't we all LOVE Peonies? We have tried over the years so many different varieties, mainly white ones but with the heat we have down south, it proves really hard. Last year no blooms at all...

But this year we got rewarded with a huge white and fragrant flower on our Paeonia 'Ann Cousins'

So I love to share it with you here!

Love this gem! 

Photo is made next morning as it was rather dark in the late afternoon for making any photos.

It is all white, no red specks or whatsoever.

White Flower Farms used to sell these but not any more.

The only place I found this 'Ann Cousins' is at Peony Paradise  ←just click the link.

Too bad Adelman Peony Gardens are located in Salem, OR... Would love to visit them!

Do you grow some peonies as well?

Related posts with peonies:

{6 Gorgeous 'Ann Cousins' Peonies in Baccarat Harcourt Pitcher}

{PEONIES: BRIDAL GOWN & LA TENDRESSE}

{WHY are our spring bulbs NOT blooming?}

Happy to be feeling a LOT better and after one week I had a complete night sleep without excruciating upper/mid back pain. What a relief!

While walking yesterday around our property we were discussing WHY in the world we don't see flowers on our Snow Drops; Crocus and Daffodils?!

Pieter thinks it is because of some interaction between the roots of trees...

Makes one sad as we had hundreds of bulbs that performed so well the first couple of years.

We miss seeing our vases filled up with fragrant daffodils.

Even though we do have the chocolate letters with our cup of chocolate...

Does any of you have this problem of only having daffodil foliage but NO blooms?

And NO, we have NEVER EVER cut the foliage off!

Happy February!

Hate to say that my back pain is back again after just one day of relief...

Planting & Care | Bulbs need phosphorous being mixed into the soil below where the bulbs will be located! Bonemeal or superphosphate...

{Highly Fragrant 1939 Sweetness Daffodils}

Due to my severe back pain, I just recycle this 2012 post of January 28...

~

• Yesterday we had two big nosegays of fragrant 1939 Sweetness Daffodils. One for a dear friend and one for us to fill a white ceramic vase. What a bliss for having those in January. That is extremely early. Do any of you have bulbs blooming right now? 

• 1939 Sweetness Daffodils and china from the Daffodil of Royal Albert Friendship series...
• This china pattern can be found at Replacements Ltd, click the above link.

• Fragrant Sweetness Daffodils; Sunshine and Tea...

• Dark chocolate Pomegranate from Costco.
• Amaretti cookie hearts from Mariette's Back to Basics

• Teapot is a French Pillivuyt

• The ceramic spoon to the right is an American Favorites Porcelain Spoon from Avon. It is the 1988 pattern with Daffodils.

• The sterling bon bon or nut spoon is a H44 H J Howe with daffodils.

• 1988 Avon Daffodils spoon

• Matching cocktail napkin with daffodil embroidery.

Sorry that you cannot smell their fragrance...

Related links:
{DAFFODIL OF ROYAL ALBERT FRIENDSHIP SERIES} | Previous post by me

{Blossoms in December with Sunshine}

So far our December month is bringing us lots of sunshine.

Let me show you some of our December Blossoms...

One of our climbing roses still was yielding us such beauties.

Shown in a French crystal Baccarat perfume bottle.

Of course, our Camellias are also blooming...

Shown inside a Baccarat perfume bottle.

These white Verbena's happily continue blooming alongside the driveway.

From our garden we yielded 7 stems with white Paperwhites, that perfectly filled this tablet with fixed vases (7).

It was a gift that I received for doing a program about Indonesia, for a Women's Study Club here in Dublin, GA.

They presented me with this precious gift box!

Love the snow crystals...

Are you also having high 60s, 70s and low 80s in your area?

We LOVE this type of weather!

That's our weather forecast, up till almost Christmas.

{Fall is the Spring of Winter}

It is a good thing that around us, in nature and often in our own garden, little miracles happen.

That sure does soften the harsh outlook into this world at times of grief for so many...

Fall is the Spring of Winter ~ Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Der Herbst ist der Frühling des Winters (German translation)...
Our Citrus trees blooming on November 11!

Lots of highly fragrant flowers are opening up.
But on Saturday, November 14 we had around 34°F or 1°C and thus, Pieter did bring all our tender tropical pot plants into the greenhouse.

In a previous post I did show you already this Monarch Butterfly...

Such a lovely sight and what a delicious nectar source for the Monarch Butterfly!
I myself also LOVE honey collected from orange blossoms.

Indeed, Fall is the Spring of Winter!

Wishing the Monarch Butterfly good luck when it makes its journey south bound and may the Citrus Trees continue their blooming inside the greenhouse.

Monarch Butterfly on Citrus Flower ←click for my short video

Blessings and Peace!

Related link:
{Monarch Butterfly - Danaus Plexippus} | previous post by me

Trip to Zitácuaro in Michoacán, México for Viewing Monarch Butterflies | post by me about us seeing millions of Monarch Butterflies... 

{Monarch Butterfly - Danaus Plexippus}

On November 12 I was lucky to capture a beautiful Monarch Butterfly Danaus plexippus while it was feasting on a Citrus Flower.

This is a screen shot from the video I made.
There is a spider inside and on the video you see it come outside.

Twice this Monarch butterfly opened its wings for me; very kind!
Do you notice those thorns on the Citrus tree?
They are mean as hell for bringing inside and out of the greenhouse...

Hope you enjoyed this beautiful Monarch butterfly! Related links: {Aptenia Cordifolia or Heartleaf Ice Plant} | previous post by me showing a Cloudless sulphur butterfly {Out of Body Experience} | previous post by me showing a Giant Swallowtail Trip to Zitácuaro in Michoacán, México for Viewing Monarch Butterflies | post by me about us seeing millions of Monarch Butterflies... 

{My French Ormolu Jewelry Box got new Bottom}

For several years I'd been looking for 5mm gold nails with claws, for replacing the bad looking old ones in the worn velvet of my French Ormolu Jewelry Box's Bottom...

So finally I found them in France and Claudia from NuNu's Garn-und Stofflabor did put the new bottom together for me.

You can click the above link for reading her post about this job.

This is my Antique French Ormolu Jewelry Box...
It was again a very sunny day and I loved to fill this tiny white vase with fragrant Ginger Lilies.

It does have a beveled glass top and four side panels.

Here is the new Bottom, made by Claudia...

She did replace this stained and worn velvet bottom...

That fabric could not be salvaged...

So we found the 5mm Gold nails with claws and Claudia used some Suedine, that she uses for her Bear making, creating the foot soles.

This is the end result.

My silver Angels feel very much at home for the time being, as long as they reside at: Mariette's Back to Basics my boutique on line.

Once they all get adopted, I can fill it with my own jewelry.

Photo taken with the lid opened for a better color.

Thank you Claudia!

Related link:
{My French Ormolu Jewelry Box & Silver Angels} | previous post by me
A Little Mercerie | French on line store for all kind of craft items