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

Turtle Talk

 While Pieter was working in the yard, on May 24, 1993 a Turtle stopped by to Talk...

May 23, 2022 is World Turtle Day!

The little guy seemed not afraid as it looked at Pieter...

Not that tall...

On its way to our pond no doubt...

Related link:

{Our TURTLE KINDERGARTEN} | previous post by me

{TURTLE} | previous post by me 

We Almost Grew BANANAS

 Well, living in the tropics and also having friends from India, Thailand and Vietnam, makes one appreciate exotic things.

So from our Thai friend we got a young banana tree...

Both of us were thrilled to see it BLOOM!

Quite a sight on July 25 of 1993!

We just had completed adding the balcony with storage room below.

What do you think about our banana tree?

Of course we never got to harvest the mature fruits.

They grew but then before maturity we had frost and a banana tree can absolutely NOT handle any frost.

Yep, less than a month after the little greenhouse got completed, we had SNOW!

That banana tree was way too big for transplanting into the greenhouse...

So it wilted away and in the spring it started again from the roots up.

Our Home in the Snow... only in the morning for a couple of hours as it melts away FAST.

Related links:

Pieter Built our Greenhouse | previous post by me

{Our Garden White & Icy Today as Snowstorm Slams South} | previous post by me

{RARE Icicles in Our Garden} | previous post by me