Wishing you ALL a MEANINGFUL 3rd Advent Week

 As time is passing quite fast—may I wish you worldwide:

 a MEANINGFUL 3rd Advent Week!

This is a time for burning our fire place and for lighting candles—our huge pillar candle from our 25th Wedding anniversary is also visible.

To the left you see a typical Austrian or Italian Tyrol region nosegay made out of spices and tiny cones—called Gewürtzsträusschen.

I tied raffia around my gilded magnolia grandiflora leaves with some Nandina (heavenly bamboo) berries...

A perfumed pillar candle with some holly and real cranberries on the green Hardanger table topper.

My red Hardanger tablecloth with the beautiful table runner—done in Portuguese Guimarães white work. 

We bought this in Coimbra, Portugal during our 19–day trip by bus from Limburg/The Netherlands to Spain and Portugal in September, 1994.

On eBay I once got a hold of this Baccarat Crystal Vesuve / Vesuvius Caviar Server (2 pcs) because the inset was missing—it was a bargain...

Perfect for filling up with cranberries and floating candles!

AMAZING recovery of Japanese Magnolia—after getting LIGHT and FOOD!

 With our HUGE oak tree now gone, there is more LIGHT + FOOD available for this beauty.

On the side, where once that HUGE oak tree took away all the light, and no doubt most of the food and moisture available, now some healthy NEW branches did sprout off!

Our Japanese Magnolia or  Magnolia x soulangeana is next to the vinyl picket fence.

A bird house (a Carolina wren residence) and also a hummingbird feeder make it into a favorite tree for birds.

From our breakfast area, we did notice another NEW shoot off branch right in the middle—look at the size of its leaves!

Vinyl picket fence is visible below...

It was rather hard to capture but here you see its enormous size leaves!

Happy and Healthy...

And, already on September 8, I noticed that all the BUDS for next spring were formed already!

Soft, hairy buds—waiting for the spring and here they bloom as early as February 12; often on my Mom's Birthday...

As I've always said, give a tree about 5 years to restore its shape and health after removing another big tree that stole light, food and moisture.

Looking forward to seeing it in the spring!

Have you seen some trees or shrubs recovering that way after creating more room/space for them?

Related links:

{MORE BLOSSOMS IN OUR BOTANICAL GARDEN} | previous post by me

{Our Japanese Magnolia against Vinyl Picket Fence} | previous post by me

Big Trees Down and others Trimmed  | Previous post by me

Pieter Captured our Estate + Progress for me to View While in Limburg

 After doing the usual watering in the morning for keeping plants and shrubs alive, using the electric pump and water from our pond, Pieter made another round for me to SEE how our Estate looked like.

June 7, our Magnolia Grandiflora 'Namnetensis 'Namnetensis Flore Pleno',

A near perfect bud

Looking inside

Our Fiberglass Window Boxes alongside veranda and bay window area of kitchen on June 8.

These are our double greenish white flowering petunias; Blanket® Double Chardonnay Petunia Plants ←click link

Our Moonflower, a night blooming Ipomoea

Near our Vinyl Picket Fence Hibiscus syriacus 'Diana' - Rose-of-Sharon 'Diana' 

Our double blooming Hibiscus syriacus Jeanne D'Arc

Fiberglass Window Boxes on retainer wall near driveway on June 9 with Golden Lantana that trail down.

Detail and you see an empty can of wood preservative for Pieter's Wood Trail Mega Task...

He spent quite a lot on that trail, going back and forth to Home Depot.

These photos are all from June 9, around 8:40 after breakfast time.

Looking all so lush!

Our Palm trees.

Palm Trees with the tall Italian Cypress.

And all Pot Plants around...

Happy and well cared for Pot Plants and Palm Trees!

Our Home seen from the back, taken from the gazebo area.

We both love the sight of the house without that humongous live oak there.

The bare spot still needs to fill in with grass but in a couple of years, that too will be done!

The progress of the Wood Trail on June 11

Detail with the axe to the right for attacking roots that were in the way...

Pieter's shadow is visible with his iPadPro.

Another short 1:55 minute update on Pieter's progress, captured on June 11.Oh, I KNEW that he was aiming for having it all DONE when I would come home!

Photo taken on June 14, around 8:15 after breakfast.

Showing all the cut up 22 inch boards, that Pieter got at Home Depot.

By having several rotten boards he was short of several in the end.

We used to buy those 22 x 22 inch squares with boards from Lowes in 1993 through 1996 but they are no longer available. Only 3 seconds, video taken by me on June 21 and to the right you see the blue tarp that went over those 

cut up 22 inch boards from Home Depot, to protect them from heavy rain.

The FINAL part seems always to be hard. 

Photo from June 21 shows clearly the elevated way of this newly laid wood trail.

The rotten boards and beams that were buried in the ground still needed to be gathered up along the trail.

We also need to get rid of the black bottomless trash can, left on our property by some workers...

Related links:

Our Agapanthus and Wood Trail | showing our first Wood Trail laid out

Pieter's NEW Love—While I was in Limburg | previous post by mePieter Capturing his Progress on the Wood Trail while I was in Limburg | previous post by me{Our Hibiscus syriacus 'Diana' - Rose-of-Sharon 'Diana'} | previous post by me{Our Hibiscus syriacus Jeanne D'Arc & Our Life in Italy} | previous post by me

Our Garden in May

 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

Spring Started at the End of February

 Yes, Spring did ARRIVE...

On February 20 I made my rounds to capture the Spring Beauty around our Home.

Pieter had planted these lovely snapdragon plants.

Some of them ended up residing on the steps to our front door...

Some Japanese Magnolia blooms were fully open before we left on our 10-day trip to Florida.

Despite the cold–spell with some frost, they continued to bloom.

Only a few brown ones from frost damage, seen bottom left...

We love our patio with pot plants!

They are quite a show, every spring!

Golden Pansies have been planted by Pieter, inside our Fiberglass Window Boxes.

This shows the bay window area of our kitchen, where we enjoyed breakfast in the sun just before I captured these photos.

Closeup of the golden pansies in the Fiberglass Window Box on our bay window with the gazebo visible in the back.

Our Camellia Sinensis or Tea Plant

We can just see those from our bay window.

With 'half' of the other Japanese Magnolia tree above...

Once a big tree fell into it and ripped off the other half.

Now with more light, big oak tree limbs that hung overhead being cut off, it might recover even more.

View back towards the house

Forgot to capture this planter with violets, residing on the huge oak tree stump.

Have you planted some spring plants already?

Related links:

{Our Camellia Sinensis | Tea Plant} | previous post

{MORE BLOSSOMS IN OUR BOTANICAL GARDEN} | previous post