The Biltmore House and Conservatory




BILTMORE HOUSE

 




BILTMORE CONSERVATORY

 




ORCHID IN BILTMORE CONSERVATORY ... BEAUTIFUL!

 


ORCHID IN BILTMORE CONSERVATORY ... POSSIBLY MY NEXT FLOWER ADDICTION ...

IN THE BILTMORE CONSERVATORY - LOVED THE ORANGE TREE!

 Almost "Wordless Wednesday" ... :-)  Hope you enjoy the photos ...

Fashion Moment!




One of my "fashion" moments ... :-)

  Well, I just had to post one of my "fashion" moments tonight ... LOL!  Unfortunately, it's too hot here for a hat like this, and I have no trip planned to anywhere cold, so back to the rack it went.  At least I owned it for a moment. :-)

During my "blog time," I've been busy changing my blog theme (still need to customize it a little bit), rewriting my "About Me" page (still working on it).  I have found that my blog has evolved during the short time I've had it into something different than I anticipated.  Has anyone else had this happen?  Annabelle, I should just direct my question to you, since I know you're probably the only one reading this ... LOL.  To begin with, I thought I'd mostly blog about dayliles and gardening, since I 'm a true daylily addict three months out of the year and do love to garden.  Believe me, this blog will be loaded with dayliles, etc. during daylily season.  However, I have found that I like to blog about all sorts of things.  After all, what would I blog about when the flowers aren't in bloom?  Anyway, that's what I've been up to in the blogosphere tonight. :-)

Feathered Friends - Panama City Beach, Florida



HAND OVER THE SNACKS!




POSING

 Panama City Beach, Florida - beautiful beaches on The Gulf of Mexico.  A favorite place!

My Blogging Space



MY BLOGGING SPACE

 Here's where all the blogging happens ...   I use the desktop computer in the guest room for my online power-shopping excursions :-). Anyway, this is where I like to be when I'm blogging, etc. There's lots of natural light in here with a view to the flower garden.  The back of the house is mostly glass.  To the right of my blogging space, there's a queen palm that I'm overwintering indoors.  It's grown three feet this winter!  That's a bougainvillea in the background that needs a haircut!  This room turns into a temporary green house during the winter months.  A proper green house is always on my wish list.  :-)

Bloom Hunting - Carolina Jasmine & Pear Blossom



CAROLINA JASMINE



PEAR TREE BLOSSOM

Yippee!  The Carolina Jasmine and the pear tree are blooming today!  The pear tree went on strike last year, so maybe we'll actually have a few pears this year. :-)  The iris blooms shouldn't be far behind.  I'm trying to hurry the irises up.  I stop at their bed on my way in and out of the back door, and envision the blooms to be.  My family and the neighbors are used to my flower addiction, so they think nothing of seeing me standing by a barren flower bed deep in thought ... LOL.

 Bethany

Chocolate Pound Cake - Kaiser Charlotte Bundt



CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE - KAISER CHARLOTTE BUNDT PAN

 Hallelujah!  It turned out!  Its all about the pan ... Kaiser Charlotte Bundt Pan (http://www.kaiserbakeware.com/).  The cakes that are baked in this pan turn out so tall and are quite impressive.  When I have taken one of these to work, I have been told the cake looks like it came from a bakery.  What can I say?  It's all about the pan!  The Pioneer Woman (http://thepioneerwoman.com/) might even approve of this one ... LOL.

  Bethany

Black and Red Irises of Yesteryear



BLACK IRIS - HERE COMES THE NIGHT




RED IRIS - RIP CITY

 I noticed new growth in the iris bed today, so soon I will have current iris photos rather than irises of yesteryear. :-)  It's a balmy, blustery day here today with rain showers off and on.

 Bethany

Anne Hathaway's Garden




ANNE HATHAWAY'S GARDEN

 



LOOK!  THERE'S ANNE! ;-)

These were taken a few years ago when my son and I were lucky enough to take a trip to Europe.  We have cherished memories from that trip of a lifetime.

Bethany



Designer Daylily



JESCO - MY FIRST "DESIGNER" DAYLILY 



The beginning of my addiction ... this was the first "designer" daylily I purchased from the local daylily farm (a beautiful place in the country about thirty minutes from our home).  The owner of the daylily farm is a fascinating lady named Marjorie with sparkling blue, wise (over eighty years wise) eyes, and she knows EVERYTHING about daylilies.  Upon first impression, one would wonder if she's has ever left her daylily farm, but that's far from the truth.  She's traveled the world and has many tales to tell.  We go there for the daylilies and for the tales!

The name of this daylily is Jesco.  I've haven't had very much luck finding any information about this daylily on the Internet since I purchased it.  Jesco blooms three or four times per summer.  The blooms are quite large and the petals have a tissue paper like consistency upon close inspection.  Jesco was my husband's favorite daylily when I began collecting them, but I think he has "eyes for another" now ...

Bethany

Daylily - Lola Branham



Daylily - Lola Branham

 This is one of my favorite daylilies from 2011.  I have a feeling it will be on my top ten list again this year.  I hope everyone enjoys the photo.  This is not an optical illusion.  The blooms on this daylily are gigantic!

Danger, Danger, Danger!



Nothing but creams left ... at least I'm safe now!  LOL



Conquering the evil weeds ...



"GARDENER GONE MAD" WEEDING THE IRIS BED!  THE GREAT MEDITATION ...



Iris of the Day!



Another one from the past ...  I have a terrible case of spring fever this year!  LOL



From the past ...



Iris from the past ...




Iris from the past ...




My Chameleon ...



Old fashioned iris ... reminds me of my grandparents' iris garden.

My phone photos leave much to be desired ...

I'll have to work on my phone photos.  I'm beginning to think my phone's not so "smart" after all.

This would be beautiful if not for the checkered sky!

Actually, the "checkered sky" effect is very hard to achieve. LOL

"Look Here Mary" is it's name.



Look Here Mary ... Beautiful Daylily!

 "Look here Mary" is a tall daylily with a gigantic bloom, and it's a repeat bloomer in southeast Alabama.  This beautiful daylily is also a late bloomer, which helps extend the season in my gardens.

Lunch Blog!

Just bought a new pair of shoes on my lunch hour from my favorite shoe store, Zappos. Yippee!  This is my kind of "power lunch!"  A girl's "gotta" have her shoes.

One of my favorite quotes:

"Happiness must be grown in one's own garden."
-Mary Engelbreit

Day One!

Welcome to my first blog and to my garden!  I've been "feverishly" working in my flowerbeds this year (one advantage of living in southeast Alabama).  The iris bed has been weeded and fertilized.  Yes, irises really grow in Alabama!  I received a bed full of iris rhizomes from Schreiner's for my birthday the year before last. They did extremely well last spring even though it was their first bloom season.  There should be quite a performance this year!  Spring 2011 irises:



About Town



Young at Heart (and my coveted Bogs gardening boots ... last year's Valentine's Day present from my husband .
Flowers come in many forms.



Young at Heart



Proud Tradition



Martha's irises (my late mother-in-law and great gardening buddy)



Champagne Elegance