Sunday, May 3, 2009

Lots of pics to share....

No stitching pics at the moment, but I should have a few later today! These are from around our yard that Ray took yesterday. The view at the beach was wonderful, but you know, I still like "home" best! :-)


We had a visit by a Painted Bunting.... isn't he GORGEOUS?

And a finch.... he's pretty too!


And here are the 5 baby bluebirds, though you really can't see them too well in this picture. Trust me, they are there & had their mouths wide open when we peeked in! ;-)

Here are just a few of our plants on the back patio... I love petunia's... these are some we have hanging on two different posts... aren't they pretty!


And a couple of blooms on the bleeding heart... this sat out in the weather all winter... I didn't expect it to come back. It was blooming like crazy earlier, but not so many blooms on it now.

This is one bud on a miniature rosebush that my mom gave me in Feb. We have part of it inside & part of it outside. This little bud popped open yesterday. So pretty.....


Here is another Petunia I bought at the Garden Club plant sale a few weeks ago. The blooms were a much darker red when I bought it. I assume the PH in the soil is what caused them to become lighter & brighter? It's still pretty though!

And another variation of Petunias. When I bought these two plants, they were red and PURPLE, now the purple has turned to fuschia. Very strange to me. I'm certainly NOT a plant expert! I have some Dahlia's (no pic this time) that did the same thing. They were a deep orange & now are light orange. Still pretty though......

And the Fuschia that Ray bought me recently... it's SO pretty & the hummingbirds just love it!
Here is our peach tree... has quite a few peaches on it & Ray said he cut off about 70+. Wonder if they'll be tasty? ;-)


And a few pears on the pear tree... we also have an apple tree & a plum tree. The plums that were on it have disappeared (birds?) and the apple is much later getting started than the others. Hope to see apples on it before long though!

This is Ray's grape vine that he started last year and hopefully we'll have lots of grapes. It looks very healthy anyway! This is just a small part of it, it's about 5 times this size, all in a year's time. Wonder how big it will get!?


And our blueberry bush has quite a few on it. Wonder if Ray will get any before the birds/bugs get to them all? ;-)
And last but not least, this is from a very OLD plant. Long story, but Ray's aunt has has oxsalis (Shamrock) since she got married (50 years+) that was her DH's great grandmothers. She gave me one tuber with maybe 4-5 stems on it about 12-13 years ago. I have a pot full in the house (just the green), this pot out front in our courtyard that we mixed with some of the purple that my mom gave me, and it's in several spots in the back yard & we have given tubers to several people as well. It just grows & grows & I LOVE it! Funny thing is, the leaves on the one in the house look slightly different from the ones outside. It's all from the same tubers though, so it must be the sun/heat causing the difference. The planter beside of it has some Dahlia's we just planted... they are starting to grow, can't wait to see what they turn out to be.... lol They are supposed to be red! To give you an idea of how big this is, the pot has to be at least 18" across. It stays full all spring, summer & fall!

Thanks for stopping by & check by soon for some stitching pics! :-)

Happy stitching!

17 comments:

Christine S said...

Lovely photos! I guess you must live somewhere in the south to have so much blooming and growing already?

Daffycat said...

Oh Amy, such beautiful photos! You lucky girl, getting the Bunting! I've only ever seen one once in Oklahoma...it flew down and landed near me in the yard and I thought I was gone crazy for a moment! And that 20 years ago!

Chocolates4Breakfast (Terri ~ Boog) said...

What gorgeous pics, Amy and that painted bird is gorgeous. I've never seen one of them around here (Michigan). Love the story of your clover - how sweet!

Sherry )O( AutumnTurtle said...

Amy that bird is stunning! I love your flowers too!!

TraceyDNJ said...

The birds are just gorgeous! I've never seen a painted bunting before, I think they may not like us up north :) Your flowers are just gorgeous too, I bet your courtyard and backyard are just a beautiful oasis for you. Enjoy!

Tracey

Natasha said...

Wow I have never seen a bird like the painted one before. What a beautiful picture you got.Petunias are my favorite they are so pretty and easy to grow.

I love the shamrock story. I was at a yard sale once and commneted on the afican violet the lady had on her window ledge. She went in the house and came back with a cutting. I kept it till we moved to SC
Thanks for the pics
Natasha

Unknown said...

Love the photos! I just posted two photos of the bush outside my studio window (I think it's a hibiscus bush) and a little nest with Robin eggs! I'm glad I came across your blog...it's lovely.

I wish I had something like your clover to pass on-so sweet.

Petra said...

What beautiful photos. I love that bird. Nothing like that around here.
;(
Petra

Shelleen said...

love seeing the birds and flowers you have.

JuneQ said...

Great pictures. We should have come by to see the flowers. June

Nicole said...

Beautiful spring pictures Amy! The Painted Bunting is so pretty! Love all the flowers too! Looking forward to the 30th! :)

Jennifer said...

Love the painted bunting - so pretty! We have a bluebird (or two) in our yard now - very, very shy, but we're happy to see them when they show themselves.

The gardening pictures are just great. DH and I are finally able to do some gardening ourselves (after many years of renting, we bought a house last year). Really, with our plans, we should have bought a much bigger lot! LOL Have you tried draping the blueberry bushes with some netting? That might keep the birds off long enough to harvest some berries for yourselves.

Sharon said...

What pretty, pretty pictures! Very refreshing to be reminded how lovely nature can be! :)

Unknown said...

Gorgeous pictures! I didn't even know that there were such beautiful birds in North America!! I guess KY is too far north for them because we have lots of feeders but never saw one of them! I love your flowers as well. This upcoming weekend is the first "frost free" date for us, so we will get to do some planting! Thank you so much for sharing.

CindyMae said...

What fantastic photos! I love the birds! All the flowers are just gorgeous! Thank you so much for sharing!!

Chris said...

The painted bunting is beautiful, never seen one of those here. All your flowers are doing great. Good luck on getting the blueberries before the birds eat them.

Margaret said...

Hi Amy
I can't believe you grow Oxalis in a pot - here it is a noxious weed and we gardener's agonise over how to readicate it from the garden. Love the bird photos.