Magnolia and Gardenia blooms

It's springtime in Louisiana and the beautiful state tree is blooming. If you have never smelled a magnolia bloom you are missing a sweet part of heaven on earth. The blooms are large and very fragrant. The downside is they don't last long after you pick them off the tree..maybe a day. But for that day, they are sweet and intoxicating, filling the whole room with wonderful fragrance.

Gardenias are similar in smell  and just as delicate a flower as the magnolia. It too turns brown all too soon once picked. But the fragrance it brings to the room is worth the sacrifice of losing a few flowers off the bush. This is the first year my bush really bloomed and it must have about 30 flowers on it waiting to pop out. In an effort to make the flowers last longer this time I smashed the stems with a hammer so they could take up more water. I'll see if this helped any.

New Flower Bed

My son created a new flower bed for me last weekend. I transplanted a wisteria vine to the back, planted 2 knock out roses in the center, a hibiscus on the left and a hanging basket of Tex-Mex geraniums on the right.
I have not tried growing these before because I haven't had a sunny flower bed and now I do!.I surely hope the plants do well. I still have to put some mulch in...maybe this weekend.

Plantation plantings

My cousin and I went to St. Francisville to visit a few plantations while she was here visiting.These were taken at Afton Villa where the gardens and remains of a large plantation are located.

These were taken at The Myrtles, one of the haunted plantations in the area. There is a special mystery tour in the evening, but we couldn't stay for that.

 These were taken at Oakley Plantation where John Audubon spent 3 months painting some of his beautiful birds. I just love all the old gardens and this was the 1st time I had ever seen asparagus growing. It inspired my to try to grow some next season.

Easter Vacation

 We are at Henderson Beach with my son and his family The beach is gorgeous and the weather is perfect in the mid 80s Hope everyone had a Blessed Easter Here are a few pics


 

My Granddaughters enjoying the beautiful beach. It is glorious here.

My grandson fought going to sleep till almost 3 p.m., but when we placed him in the wagon to go back to the campground he fell sound asleep in seconds

Loquat Jelly

I made some loguat jelly last weekend. Down here we call them Japanese plums. The tree is a tropical and when we get mild winters like the last one we usually get a crop. Husband likes the jelly and it wasn't difficult to make. Am packing the camper for a trip to Florida this weekend with my son and his family. Haven't used the camper in a while so I need to get in there and do some cleaning. Not my favorite thing to do, so I am procrastinating and writing my blog.

Rainy Spring

We are having a very rainy spring this year and quite warm too. The temperatures have been in the upper 80's for several weeks now. Usually we don't hit them till the end of April. I hope its not an omen for a super hot summer. Much as I want to hope global warming is not happening, I think it is probably. I really don't like the summers here in Louisiana, way to humid and hot. I need to hit the lottery and buy a house in Maine for the summer! What a sweet thing that would be.
The garden is planted but I haven't had time to check it lately. The green beans were coming up sporadically so I think we will have to fill in the gaps soon. The tomatoes I grew from seeds didn't look so hot either. Might have to buy some from the nursery. I hope when things dry out a little I can get a better look at things in the garden.
Need to pack for our camping trip to Destin, FL for Easter.
Later...

Back Again

I have been snoozing for quite a while now. Think I will give this blog another try. Its a good way to document my interests and family life as time flies by.

We had a wonderful family reunion Saturday with my sisters and brothers and their families. Little brother boiled crawfish along with corn, potatoes, mushrooms, and sausage for about 50 people. We also had hamurgers and hot dogs and LOTS of yummy desserts. Kids had an Easter egg hunt and the top prize was a 1922 Silver dollar donated by my oldest brother. My cousin from Maryland was our special guest for the day. Some of us hadn't seen her since we were kids. It was a little on the warm side, but everyone enjoyed themselves.