UPS 2nd Day Air Delivery from Louisiana Nursery + Fight against Tuberous Roots of Greenbrier!

We  found very special trees and shrubs in Louisiana from Albert, Dalton, Ken and Belle Durio in Opelousas, Louisiana.

Louisiana Nursery 

We got the largest size available, five gallon pots, for getting a good start of an established shrub or tree.This is where our special Magnolia Namnetense came from and our beloved Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold.Again, I've built in clickable points with English information as we always talked to Mom & Dad to whom we mailed these videos in The Netherlands.

Their Catalog of MAGNOLIAS and OTHER GARDEN ARISTOCRATS, has been the most impressive and comprehensive one, we ever saw...

Love their quote: FOR THOSE WHO KNOW THE ECONOMY OF QUALITY

We sure treasure their special Magnolia (see post below) and their Golden Live Oak (see also below).

At the end of the video Pieter mentions the mean thorns on those Greenbrier, standing backwards. ←click link for seeing such a thorn.

Related links:{Digging up Huge Indian Hawthorn and More...} | previous post where Pieter also dug up tuberous roots of Smilax (Greenbrier){Our Fragrant Magnolia Grandiflora 'Namnetensis Flore Pleno'} | previous post by me{# 1111 - Our Golden Live Oak 'Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold' changing color} | previous post by me

Husband Pieter became SUPERMAN - When Push Came to Shove

Having your own home and a huge garden to take care of is quite a challenge at times!

Well, one day I was lucky enough for standing on our balcony to videotape husband Pieter's ACTION.

He'd rented a heavy chain saw for cutting some more trees.

It started also raining and suddenly his 'rented' saw got stuck!

This short 2:39 minute video shows the action.Cutting out a wedge, while it rained heavily...If you watch this on YouTube on your PC, you can see the text below with clickable time where it happens.Pieter had already changed into dry clothes ones!Now he came home after he literally PUSHED that stubborn sucker to the side...So proud for having it TAPED... no one would believe it.Pieter gathered his once stuck chain saw, and walked home to yet again take a shower and change into dry clothes and return the rental chain saw.

Our Acer Saccharum Marshall or Sugar Maple Tree at its BEST

Already on November 20, I've taken these golden photos of our Sugar Maple Tree or Acer Saccharum Marshall.

Such a marvel to look at this Acer Saccharum Marshall!

Here you see the white bridge just to the right below the Acer Saccharum Marshall as this photo got taken from a different angle.

The weather at the time was fabulous too!

Bonus of living in the South...

Its neighbor the Red Maple or Acer Rubrum photographed with the house in the back.

Our Italian cypress are still alive, that is two of the original three. Though not very happy as they show lots of brown. We love them so much as they remind us of our time in Italy...

To the right are the leaves of yet another of our Acer trees, the Acer Negundo Kelly's Gold

A beautiful Ginkgo tree we captured on our recent biking trip on November 28!

Such a glorious sight.

Wishing you a great autumn or summer, depending which part of the world you are in.

Thanks for your visit and comment.

Related links:

{Our Acer - Maple Trees} | previous post by me
{Fall Colors & Clearing the Underbrush} | previous post by me

211 Countries Visited - Welcome Marshall Islands & Hurricane Michael visited us...

On October 5, my humble blog got visited by the 211th Country - Welcome Marshall Islands! 

According to the World Factbook, Marshall Islands are situated in Australia-Oceania.
~

Yep, from the Panhandle of Florida, Hurricane Michael traveled through South Georgia right over our area.

This we got in the morning...

This was the Hurricane Warning on October 10 with strong SouthEast wind of 77 km/h or 47.8 mi/h
A 4-fold warning...

By midnight it turned into a five-fold warning!

HURRICANE WARNING

TORNADO WATCH

FLOOD WARNING

TROPICAL WEATHER STATEMENT

FLASH FLOOD WATCH

It was just past midnight on October 11 at 12:16 AM when I read the above and especially the EastSouthEast wind of 85 km/h or 52.8 mi/h looked scary so I decided to stay awake till it would pass over.

Temperatures are in C, it was quite a bit cooler than the previous days.

Dublin is right in the darkest area...

Husband Pieter was sound asleep and I could hear the wind all around the house and heard some big noises, of a tree that came down. 

Turned out several big pine trees from a back neighbor's property had come down.

By 12:30 AM the power went off... and it was pitch dark!

Winds still were beating up anything that came in its patch.

We were only 19 hours without power and a couple of hours today...

Lineworkers are still working hard for restoring power back as soon as possible.

Even lineworkers from neighboring states have come to the South for helping out!

The above map gives you the dates or having power back on: October 12, Midnight, October 13, and October 14, October 15 and October 16...

We cannot complain! 

Our 6-year old Drake Elm - Ulmus parvifolia had snapped off...
It looked so dreary and gray next morning! 

Our Pecan tree had come out...

Our Pussy willow snapped off...

Of course, our bridges took a brutal beating as well, you can see some damage to the right at one of our three bridges.

TONS of green leaves have been snatched off and little branches are everywhere...

This is on the edge of the lawn and on our driveway... so many green leaves are off!
Also our Leyland Cypress is leaning over the fence towards the street and needs to be cut down... 

At the end of our property line in the corner with the neighbors...
This needs to be cut down!
But NO damage to our home, not even to our greenhouse!
Lucky, compared to so many others in the Florida Panhandle; our prayers are with those people!

Proud of our community that is feeding 375 linemen (lineworkers) for lunch tomorrow!

Thanks for your visit and comment.

Related links:
210 Countries Visited - Welcome Sierra Leone | previous post by me
{Pussy Willow from Cuttings} | previous post by me
{Our Drake Elm - Ulmus parvifolia} | previous post by me
{2004 Hurricane Francis - Our Garden Before and After} | previous post by me
{Our Damage from Tornado spin off of Hurricane Earl, 2003} | previous post by me

Garden Miracles After the Late Frost

On March 31, I've taken photos from some more tender pot plants on our patio and around the gazebo.

Having lived a sheltered life all winter, inside the greenhouse, they were now ready to move outdoors.

Spooky boy is always following you, like a loyal doggy... being a feline though.

Azalea is so HAPPY as one of Our Pot Plants!

Cleaning up the patio didn't make sense yet, or you could repeat it every day.

Catkins falling and frozen and dead leaves...

A very happy Hibiscus, the latest 'RESCUE', as Pieter loves to bring home neglected and abused pot plants from Home Depot and by placing them straight into a larger pot with good potting soil and being sheltered inside the Greenhouse, it LOVED us right back!

Our Staghorn Fern came out of the greenhouse for living one more year on the remainder of the special saved stump.

However, the stump is being worked over by the woodpeckers and such so each year there is less and less!

In the back you still see the frozen Japanese Magnolia leaves being brown.

This was such a delight on March 31!

Our variegated Bougainvillea was in FULL bloom while in the greenhouse...

Joy for the blooming Bougainvillea but what a SAD sight was this totally frozen Pommegranate tree...

BUT - Miracles do happen in nature!

This photo and the next are taken on May 8, and sadly there is only ONE Bougainvillea flower left...

But LOOK:

Next to the Bougainvillea this young Pomegranate tree has gotten completely NEW LEAVES!

Still you can see some of the dead, brown ones from the March 16 Frost.

Oh, one of our cat boys comes following me of course!

Closer to our Greenhouse, there is the 2nd young Pomegranate tree and here you see the very same young green leaves with some of the wilting frozen and brown ones.

That makes one very happy!
Both of us LOVE this Antioxidant SuperFruit.

Need to get out and weed our garden as on May 20 we will have people come for a Garden Tour, a fund raiser of one of my Knight Owls Choir members.

And yes, we did perform on Saturday the 6th at 14:00 and at 19:00 o'clock at our local theatre.

Together with the younger Mockingbirds; Hummingbirds; Knightingales we sang, danced and performed.

The full DVD of both performances will be available by the end of the month so finally all choir members can enjoy it too!

Husband Pieter was very impressed by this 20th Anniversary Revue.

All because of one single woman, our talented Leader Kelly Knight (hence our names Knightingales and Knight Owls...).

What a great asset to our community!

Will soon be catching up with your blogs and thanks for your visits here.

Related links:
Our Japanese Magnolias got Twice New Leaves | Previous post by me
{Dreaming of BIG Pomegranates from our own...} | previous post by me
{Growing Pomegranates the Ancient Persian Superfruit} | previous post by me

{Our Golden Live Oak 'Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold' in April}

Just have to share with you our biggest garden treasure and that is the very rare, I do believe it's perhaps the ONLY one within the USA... Golden Live Oak 'Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold.

We had tea on the balcony and I took this photo just this afternoon.

To the right you see the brown foliage of our sick Italian Cypress...

But this Golden Live Oak ' Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold' looks stunning every spring! 
We have it now for 20 years and it is not a tall tree, like the Quercus behind it.

This  Golden Live Oak ' Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold' has been a big influencer for selecting our Benjamin Moore Golden Mist color for the exterior of the house.
Don't you love this sight?!
Photo is from April 16 in the morning.

This huge 'Magnolia Namnetensis Flore Pleno' is framing our home nicely, as does the semi evergreen oak on the other side of the house.
All the Pot Plants on the Patio dwarf in comparison...

Turning around makes you see the Golden Live Oak as well as the huge Magnolia Namnetensis Flore Pleno with in the back another huge oak tree... 
We got many different oak trees on our property!

Looking past the Magnolia, the Golden Live Oak comes into full view behind the retainer wall, with our Acer Negundo Kelly's Gold Yellow Box Elder.
Stepping back now... To the right you can see the road.

View from our driveway where the two (one already died) Italian Cypress struggle for life and our Windmill Palm.
Against a backdrop from the Quercus Virginiana Live Oak, a green form.

The Acer Rubrum, or Red Maple, gives its best red and the Acer Negundo Kelly's Gold Yellow Box Elder, to the left is also a show stopper!
The above photo is taken this afternoon, from the balcony.

Also our Canary Island Palm (in a pot) is visible here.

This last photo is from April 14, less sunny and thus looking less golden...
Hope you enjoyed our Garden Treasure!
Wishing you a lovely new week ahead and always thanks for stopping by.
In one week I also will find time again to visit you... SORRY!

🌴

Related links to our Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold:

Adam Black (who tried several times to propagate this tree!), together with Jason A. Smith from the School of Forest Resources and Conservation University of Florida/IFAS did show one of my photos towards the bottom of their Pdf: Presentation University of Florida
{Golden Live Oak 'Quercus Virginiana Grand View Gold' in Sunshine at its BEST} | my previous post with more links below

{Our Vinyl Picket Fence Extended}

When we did have heavy rains on Christmas Day, husband Pieter had a very close look at our extended Picket Fence from the previous year's Water Control job: {Our New Retainer Wall & Vinyl Picket Fence} ←click it.

He than decided it needed still TWO more extensions...

This is on December 30, 2014 after I'd ordered two more at the nearest Lowe's Home Improvement store and Pieter picked them up, together with some posts. He already had bought the concrete blocks and cement for the foundation.

As you can see, two of our cat-boys are helping him! 

Perfect day for completing this project, even a bit sunny.

You can see our huge oak tree being trimmed up quite a lot.

That will give the Japanese magnolia to the left more light and space for growing.

Of course, our neighbors agreed with this extension!

The foundation is done, concrete blocks laid and now connecting the panels to the posts...

Our Spicy girl is acting as supervisor...

She planted herself on a strategic point where she can overlook the entire back yard.

Our white pansies are blooming so happily in the Fiberglass Window Boxes from Flower Framers of Cincinnati.

Our Wood Trail is visible here as it goes past the big oak tree.

December 30, 2014 at 5:29 PM I made this photo after it got all done!

Our neighbors for sure will enjoy the view of this Vinyl Picket Fence as well.

Talking about neighbors, we have 10 neighbors surrounding our property. Here to the left you can see in fact three homes, that gives you an idea about the distances.

{5 Giant Oak Trees got a 'Hair Cut'}

We needed to give 5 of our Giant Oak Trees a 'Hair Cut', so it happened on November 6, just the day after I took their photos to show the before and after.

Our Giant along the driveway on November 5, showing the maple trees in the back with some fall color.
When mowing the lawn on the John Deere, low hanging branches are a problem too!

We really love this majestic, old oak tree.

Photo from December 14, clearly you can see that the lower branches are gone!
You also can see that the under brush in our wood garden has been totally cleared.

This is our broadest oak of all we got; it also is semi evergreen!

Those low hanging branches are gone now, photo from December 14.
The low hanging branches prevented the waterlilies from growing in the pond because of the shaded area.

This giant oak is near the gazebo and was touching the Japanese Magnolia to the left and a dogwood tree to the right; which light branches you can see in this photo.

Seen from the other side of the gazebo it looks a lot more open now for other trees to breath again!
This too is semi-evergreen as seen on this December 14 photo.

Between our property and the neighbors, we have another Giant Oak...
This one had kind of weeping branches, touching over the picket fence all the way down.
Also suffocating the Japanese Magnolia that is visible to the left of the lantern.

Impossible to capture it entirely...
Photo from December 14, and almost bare. The Japanese Magnolia to the left is happy with those lowest branches being removed!

This was the main problem... Our Quercus Virginiana or Live Oak, which was touching the chimney when it was windy and hanging over the balcony...

Photo taken on December 14, and you can see how much has been cut off here!

This photo I took from the balcony, on November 5th.

Photo from December 14, our balcony is free now!

One big reason was this!
The sap from the catkins and leaves (yes, those evergreen trees also do shed!) caused this staining on our balcony's Polyurethane ballustrade...
We love the shade from our giant trees but not the mess!
See two of our felines underneath the tree?

Soles Tree Service did an excellent job!
We're all set for the coming years and hopefully the balcony stays clean(er) as well.
Do you have any Giant Oak Trees or others, that need 'Hair Cuts'?

Related link:

{Black Gum Nyssa Sylvatica Cut Down} | about tree that got cut down in front of the house on the same day.
{65 Year Old Pine Tree Cut Down} | previous post by me from December 2013
{Our Live Oak got a Haircut} | previous post by me