“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Psalm 16:11
It is good to be blessed with a new day and a new week. Happy Sunday!
Things are moving slow this year in the garden but warmer days ahead should bring on new growth. We have not been in a rush to set plants or sew seeds. Spring weather has been a little “iffy” here in Alabama. How about your location?
I always check out a few fringe trees that are nearby and it seems last week was good timing. We don’t have one in our yard but have considered planting one, maybe even a transplant from the woods.
I know blooming azaleas are currently plentiful but this one is special. This one is very old and was a plant set out by Pam’s mother many years ago. It doesn’t get the attention it once did, as “Nanny” has been in heaven since April of 2007, but its beauty, like hers, still touches everyone.
Queen Ella Mae turns 5 in a few days. Hard to believe. She and Princess Emma Kennedy are excited about baby brother Wyatt who is due any day. He may make himself available by next Sunday’s post. We shall see!
We wanted you to see our box garden. Very low maintenance and never needs watering!
The bucket garden is also doing very well and is providing a lot of color.
An advantage of leaving plants in the cart is that you can easily move flowers so they can be displayed in various places throughout the garden.
Of course you probably know by now that April has been unusual with late frost (last week) and cool nights. Spring has come slowly and has been a bit unsettled it seems. We’ve noted that many plants are later and slower this season than most years. A lot of tender blooms, buds, and leaves were hurt last week as we had 29 degrees one morning. Buckets and boxes do come in handy sometimes and not necessarily as containers!
Wild blackberries seem to have fared well in spite of a couple of frosty mornings!
Hop clover does well in cooler weather too.
Such a beautiful cluster of blooms to be considered an invasive in most places. Multiflora rose is in full bloom now and there is a lot more around than realized once these prickly stems become adorned in white.
Please indulge me as I include a pic of a sycamore tree. It is just a favorite of mine and has something to offer in all seasons; only my opinion of course!
From April, 2020, this heartwing sorrel was in a field that was later planted in cotton. A native plant that is a member of the buckwheat family, it is considered a weed. The same field is already planted this year with another crop.
I have mentioned that I’ve had no sense of smell, and that has been the case for almost 5 months. For a couple of days I have sensed some very faint smells when really close to certain things and this has given me optimism. Our snowball blooms have a very strong, unpleasant, putrid odor when the petals turn brown. Yesterday I could detect, ever so slightly, a terrible stink as I passed near the bushes. To be sure, I placed my nose on a spent bloom and was elated with the results. But the reason for this unusual photo is what was just beyond my nose. Hornets have begun to build a nest in a most unusual place. It is small at present but a large black and white hornet came out just after I made this pic.
A rose enjoys a rainy Saturday morning. April showers do bring May flowers!
May you have a pleasant and peaceful week. And try not to stick your face in a hornets nest!
When we return next Sunday it will be May. That hardly seems possible. Everything in this life changes very quickly, but…
”Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”.
Hebrews 13:8
Linking with:
Pieced Pastimes, Between Naps on the Porch, Katherines Corner, Follow The Yellow Brick Home,
Imparting Grace,Life and Linda
Another beautiful post. I learn so much from you and Pam.
Aw, you are sweet, Nancy. Wishing you a lovely week!
Hooray for your sense of smell returning! The heartwing sorrel is beautiful. Is it possible Baby Wyatt might arrive on Princess EM’s birthday? I don’t ever remember a Spring like this; we had freezing temperatures just 2 days ago. My garden looked like it was inhabited by ghosts because everything gets covered in sheets! Have a wonderful week, Pam and Butch!
Wishing you a lovely week, Roxanne.
Oh my, I hope you destroyed that hornet’s nest!! Glad your sense of smell is coming back. Lovely photos this morning of your flowers, and I got a chuckle from your box and bucket gardens. We had to cover our tender plants this week too.
Thank you Carole. Have a wonderful week!
I hope this week brings good news for the RIchardsons in the way of baby Wyatt! Our weather was much the same this past week, and the next few days are forecast to be a preview of summers temps. I rather like the drawn out spring better than a quick-to-turn summer. Happy your sense of smell is slowly returning. You needed to cook some bacon or brew some coffee after the putrid smells! And good thing your vision is on queue…..else the hornet’s nest may have been a real disaster! Have a great week.
Thanks so much Rita. It has been a busy time for us with baby Wyatt expected soon. I will have the girls during the hospital stay. We are sad that they will not be permitted to visit the hospital, nor can we.
I couldn’t believe a hornet’s nest in the snowball viburnum. Have a lovely week.
Yesterday was entirely crazy in Bham, one minute warm and sunny, the next windy and rain, then back to sun and calm…it even hailed for a few minutes mid afternoon! I always love seeing your variety of blooms, and how brilliant to use boxes and buckets for frost protection! So smart! I’m so excited about baby Wyatt, he will be so surrounded with love, prayers for a smooth delivery and safe week for everyone, how wonderful you are able to take care of the girls 💕
Jenna
Fortunately, our weather never got bad yesterday. Thank you for your sweet comments, Jenna!
Good morning, Butch and Pam! How exciting that baby Wyatt will soon arrive! I know you both must be over the moon with excitement. I can’t believe that Miss Ella Mae will be 5. Time goes by so quickly. As always, this Sunday’s post is filled with lots of beautiful photographs. I’m going to remember your box idea. We used old sheets to cover our blooms this week. It has definitely been a strange year for weather. Wishing you both a most blessed and joyous week ahead!
Thanks so much, Shannon. Yes, we are excited. Wishing you a joy-filled day!
I love your photos and the perspectives you give on nature. Glad for your sense of smell! I had the same issue until I started using a rinse that also included budesinide, prescribed by an allergist. It is a gift to have a sense of smell!
Thanks so much Maria. Wishing you a wonderful week!
Oh Butch… 5 months and now you can start to smell stinky things… and what ever you do don’t get your nose stung. Prayers that more of your sense of smell comes back.
The excitement in the air at your place has got to be so wonderful! Baby Wyatt is coming soooooooon! Will he be a prince?
The Box garden gave me my morning chuckle… I loved it!
Butch… Enjoy this beautiful Sunday that the Lord has given us and tell Pam I said Good Morning! 😊
Hello Nancy. I thought the box and bucket gardens were funny! We can’t wait for Wyatt to arrive. Have a fun week!
Happy Sunday Pam, such a beautiful post. Baby Wyatt’s arrival I hope is non complicated. How exciting to have another baby to spoil. Ella Mae is a cutie.
Funny about the wasp’s nest. Years ago, I was trimming my Nandina bushes and all of a sudden they stung me. I was running away like crazy. Threw my clippers somewhere.Years later, I finally found those missing clippers.
Oh, Linda I have heard hornet sting is the worst.
We have a few busy weeks ahead and we are excited! Thank you and have a wonderful week!
Pam and Butch, We’re so excited for you both! A new baby and Butch getting his sense of smell back. It has to be frustrating to lose your sense of smell. Did it affect his sense of taste too? Hornets attacking you would not have been a good thing! Glad he noticed them before getting attacked. Our flowers were covered with clear drum liner bags twice in a couple of weeks. The weather has been so strange indeed. I can’t believe sweet EM is 5! Loved all the pics! Enjoy this beautiful day! Clara❤️
Thank you Clara! His taste was affected also, but not as greatly as his smell. I am praying both will return 100 %. Have a wonderful week ♥️
Good morning, Butch and Pam. It seems like yesterday we were seeing photos of Queen Ella Mae. Time certainly moves on. Butch, so happy your sense of smell is returning and you will be able to enjoy the fragrance of summer blooms. How exciting baby Wyatt is about to arrive – he will be one spoiled baby with two older sisters. But then, that is what it is all about. Wishing you a lovely week, full of sweet baby cuddles.
Thanks so much Sandra. We expect baby Wyatt to be spoiled. Happy week to you!
Butch, when your sense of smell returns, may only lovely fragrances fill the air for you. Our princess birthday gal is wished the best of blessings on her day. Just know she will be the self-appointed doting protector of “her” Wyatt as she has been of EK.
Just the music of the words, “sycamore tree”, befits its beauty. Heartwing sorrel is so lovely and new to me….thank you for that introduction. As ever, your photos of the nature around you with the comments are a Sabbath tutorial in the exquisite creation the Lord provides; a book of seasons…
Hello Mary, EM has been a wonderful big sister to EK and without a doubt, she will be the doting protector of her Wyatt.
Wishing you a wonderful week dear one!
Wonderful post,dear friends. Blessings to all of you and Happy Birthday to the queen E.M.!
Thank you Maristella. Blessings dear one!
So glad to hear your sense of smell has returned Butch. That is answered prayer.
Very exciting that your new baby Wyatt is due to arrive this week. We will be keeping y’all in our prayers.
Happy Birthday to Ella Mae. Lots of excitement all at once.
I love the bucket and box ideas ! So clever.
Butch, that is the sweetest thing to say about Pam’s mother. Her azalea is beautiful.
Have a great week. I can’t wait to meet baby Wyatt.
Thanks Bonnie. Yes, we have some exciting times coming up.
Lord Butch, stay away from the hornets nest please. Their sting is much worse than not being able to smell. Ella Mae is beautiful. She should be the apple of her granddads eye as I’ve picked up on.
Thanks so much Alice. Have a wonderful week!
I wish I had known about boxes and buckets (or thought of them) before our frosts. As it was, I think I used every beach towel and tarp I had! It’s a great idea and thanks for that! And yes, I agree — keep far from the hornets! Good news about the smell. Was that a Covid effect or just some odd thing? Maybe that’s too personal to ask but I am so grateful is is back!
Thank you so much, Jeanie. Butch had a rough case of COVID and thankfully I did not get it. It has been five months and his sense of smell is just barely returning.
I didn’t realize he had it till he mentioned the smell thing. I am so grateful he is all right or at least recovering and that you didn’t get it, too. Big hugs.
Thanks so much, Jeanie. I even went to see if I had antibodies and I was negative, so strange.
The boxes and buckets gave me a chuckle…reminding me of how I gardened in the first half of May each year at our summer cottage in Maine. I also had a John Deere wagon and kept it loaded with my tomato plants. I would wheel it out into the sun and put it back into our storage shade late in the afternoon. It wasn’t until Memorial Day weekend that I could plant anything in the ground for fear of frost.
Thanks so much Karen. Every area has its ups and downs with gardening. Happy Wednesday!
We had snow flurries a few days ago and a “summery” day here in Wisconsin today, with a forecast of much-needed rain…AND not-so-much-needed hail. I worked in my front flowerbed for a bit today pulling weeds and planting a package of gladiolus bulbs, which I will treat as annuals, as digging up bulbs in the fall is just not my thing.
I’m praising God with you, Butch, in the signs that your sense of smell is returning. I pray it will recover completely, as I’m sure there are many beautiful scents in that luscious garden of yours to smell.. It sunds like there are some exciting days ahead of you. I can’t wait to see photos of your new little grandson. God bless you both (and your family) and thank you for sharing your garden, your wisdom and knowledge, and the Word.
Oh, you have been so busy! Thanks so much for your sweet comments, they are most encouraging!
I can’t believe your little granddaughter will be 5 years old! I can’t remember when I started reading your blog, but it seems like she was so much younger! Time flies and they grow up so fast. I hope the Lord blesses you and restores your sense of smell. May He bless all of you!
Happy Mother’s Day dear one!