Blooms Inside the Tinker Bell's Butterfly Garden

Our visit to EPCOT in Disney World was just done in few hours. We wanted to stick to the plan: take three rides, stay in Future World and take photos in few areas there and the entrance. I tell you what, we were roaming about 30% in Future World areas. Yes, there is so much to see around but, since we have a pass holder, we are not in a hurry. We can comeback anytime. I already posted few photos of the topiary display in EPCOT as well as the fairy houses display. I still have more photo's to share though and for now, these are the flowers found in Tinker Bell's Butterfly garden.

This is one of my favorites. The blooms just explode.

I am not sure if this belongs to sunflower family.

Here's another color.

I like this too, it's like a scepter.

This is pretty too in fact, I got this one in my garden one time.

Here is Tinker Bell standing at the side exit/entrance of the garden.

This flower is my most favorite.

Very Pretty

This flower is nice too.

I think this flower is called Everlasting.

This is another color of everlasting flower.

That's all for now. What do you think?

Our Honda Lawn Mower and the Lawn Guy

When a guy came knocking on our door, I thought it was the mailman for I was expecting packages. Nope! The face was familiar and I called my husband. It was the lawn guy. We hired him few months back but, he  was nowhere to be found after. He said he went up north. We told him we bought a Honda lawn mower about two months ago and we plan of cutting the grass today. He said goodbye and wish us luck but then, we feel bad. Hubby and I looked at each other as he walked away from the front porch.

Almost instantly, we both said ... let him cut the grass for we really think he needs the money anyway. Right now, the lawn guy is mowing our yard. There is something in the tone of his voice that he needed the job. It is good to help you know. Our lawn mower is Honda, check out the photo above. This baby will not feel sorry because I will be using this beauty later in the afternoon. We told the lawn guy, just don't include the backyard, we will be cutting the grass later. He was happy and smiling.

More Blooms in my Garden

It is summer time and it is so good to be out in the yard. Hubby and I spent most of our time in the gazebo. In fact, we have our brunch at the gazebo and enjoying the cool breeze from the river. Not only that we enjoyed the breeze, we also enjoyed watching the flowers in blooms. This is my Kalanchoe, a succulent flowering plants. We had our thunderstorms the other day, it fell down and I thought it will not survive. Look at it, still in blooms

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I know, I took a lot of photos of these flowers. They are just gorgeous. How about you? What flowers do you have in your garden?

My Gardenia in Blooms

After having my gardenia for one week, here it is in full bloom. It smells good too. I love the soothing effect of fragrant flowers in my garden.

Back home in the Philippines, my mother has fragrant flowers in the garden. At night, the smell of flowers are overpowering but, in a nice way. Having this gardenia plant in the gazebo brings back old memories and it's really relaxing.

We have sampaguita, dama de noche, roses as well as gardenia. All flowering plants made our garden smells good especially at night time.

Anyway, since gardenia has a very fragrant creamy-white flowers and glossy too with dark-green leaves, it has its own myth story to tell. It is believed to have been named after Alexander Garden who is a physician in Charleston, South Carolina and that's during colonial days. You can check it online about his life story.

Gardenia has over 200 species, a shrub that can grow 6'-8' with almost equal spread. Usually, gardenias bloom in mid-spring to early summer. They have a powerful, sweet fragrance, and can perfume an entire area. That is really true because our garden back home, smells really good at night time especially when there is a breeze.

Snapdragons in Bloom

Here is another photo that I took from my garden today. The blooms are just so beautiful. Snapdragons are known to be cold-season annual plants. They do best in full or partial sun as well as in well drained soil. Here in Florida where the heat is a scorcher, this plant is like a baby that I need to water everyday.

 

Snapdragons are fascinating plants because when you gently squeeze the sides of the intricately shaped flower, you will see the jaws of a dragon head snap closed. The blooms come in gorgeous colors, including some with amazing color variations on each flower. I have red and white in the garden right now. I was reading on how to re-plant it and it's really easy because snapdragons are an outstanding cut flower. Snapdragons are cool-season annual, and a great for fall color. Check out this plant in the garden store in your area.

Outdoor Patio Heaters

How's the weather in your place this week? I was watching the news and some states were being hammered with severe snow storm. I hope you are all safe from the brutal blizzard. As long as you stay indoors, nothing could go wrong. Today, I saw some photos of my friends who were having a good time and enjoying their morning after the storm. Most of them had a glorious day taking pictures in their white backyard. In fact, one of them was having a cup of coffee on the patio. I thought she must be freezing but, she was so comfortable. Seen at the background of her photo were the outdoor patio heaters. What a blessing to have those items at home. She was so comfortable and the heaters keep the area warm and cozy.

Are you looking for heaters? EquipSupply provides not only outdoor patio heaters but, they also have propane heaters as well as portable generators. If you live up north, you need heaters to keep you comfy and warm in winter time. Storms can knock down electric posts and when you are not prepared for any untoward incident, you put your life and your family in great danger. Get a generator for your household. Bundle up is not enough. You need heaters to keep you warm.

I bet you have a huge property so; splurge your backyard and create an ambiance for an amazing outdoor place. If you plan for an outdoor event on winter time, make sure you have outdoor patio heaters. Keep your guests warm for them to enjoy the party.

Purchase the product according to the size of your space. One time, I attended a party which was held in a beautiful garden. It was cold that night and their patio heater did not work right. No one stays in the garden for long because it was freezing. The hosts decided to move the food table in the kitchen and we all crowd the living room which was really awkward. Avoid this incident to happen to you. Heater is must product in the household so; you need to have one

Container Garden 101 and Miracle Gro Products

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Miracle-Gro. All opinions are 100% mine.
We traveled to Missouri few weeks ago and I was blown away when I saw the gorgeous mums planted in the 5 gallon container.  The mums are so beautiful and blooms in different colors. I was wondering why they are so lovely. I plan to do a project at home so; I check on the GardenieresWebsite.

I found an interesting video and I thought, the tips provided by Chris would help me achieve my next project. Check out the video below:Container Garden 101 by Chris Cerveny provides helpful and thorough tips. He is a senior horticulture scientist at Scotts Miracle Gro so; his expertise in gardening is incontestable. The video gives us the inside-look at one of their research gardens and it is pretty interesting. Chris provides the basics on how to set up a potted plant using the right container and choosing the right potting mix for gardening needs.
He said that the keyword is potting so; we can actually use potting mix or potting soil.  Using the Miracle Gro Expand and Gro makes gardening a lot easier because it has coconut fibers. This product has water holding and air holding capacity which is good to use for container plants.
I follow the suggestion by the expert and I know, nothing could go wrong with my project especially that I have green thumb (wink). For more gardening tips and ideas, like the Miracle-Gro Facebook page and I hope to see you there. 

Wandering Birds

This is the last time that I have seen the birds wandering our front yard. I wonder where they are or where they usually go. They are groups of 8 and I saw them in two different ocassion, twice in our neighbors front yard and on this particular day at ours.I do not know what type of birds they were. I am sure they will comeback in our property in the near future. I would love to take an upclose photos of these birds somehow. How about you? Have you seen birds wandering around in your yard?

Birds at the Front Yard

We have a bird bath at the front yard minus the bird feeder because the squirrel is hanging out on the treetops and they ate the seeds intended for the birds. The birds love to bathe early in the morning and the squirrel is after them so; they would fly away once they saw the squirrel snooping around. It rained in Orlando and Cocoa yesterday. In fact, it rained from 11 AM until night time. We went to the boat ramp to see the Atlas V Rocket launch and when we went home, there were 8 big birds at the front yard eating and digging down the grass. I don't know what they are though. They are smaller than the ducks. They look like chickens *wink*. Anyway, it's okay with me if they come around once in a while. I like watching them having a party at the yard.

Garden Trellis

I love watching HGTV. I am a home owner so; to save a lot of money while improving and upgrading some parts of the house, I find ideas through this channel. The picture below is called trellis; an architectural structures used to support plants are featured in the show too. In a country type of home, I saw garden trellis most of the time. It added beauty to the landscape of the garden. If you travel the Gulf Coast along the Mississippi State, you will see trellis in different style.
My FIL has this product in his garden and he used it to support a climbing rose and it was made of vinyl trellis. It looks nice especially when the roses bloom. When we lived with him last year, hubby bought a metal garden trellis for his cherry tomato plant. The three of us enjoyed that garden so much because it was cozy when you look at it from the road. Well, when my FIL passed away, we sold the house and the new owner keeps the garden the way it was. In fact, we just went for a visit in Mississippi last month and we drove down the old house. This picture brings back memories of him. He just loves gardening.

Garden Arbors

We went to visit our family in Mississippi for a week. It was almost a year now since we left the house of my father-in-law. It was sold few days ago so, we drive down to see the house for the last time. It was sad to see it because we took care of the place and we had the fun memories with my father-in-law. We love gardening and every morning we spent time outside the yard planting or watering the plants. We have garden arbors and we planted flowers around it.It was simple but, beautiful and it was an attractive accessory in the yard. Wooden arbors are very common in the yard if you visit the small towns along the South of Mississippi. Some houses have the vinyl arbors in the yard too and even if you drive down the Gulf Coast, you would see arbors in the garden of the houses along Beach Boulevard. The arbor in the house was still there and the new owner of the house kept it as well as the bird bath and the brick garden we made. The neighbor next door has New England Arbors so; the two houses together jive with the garden decor.

Home and Garden Show

I love to go to a Home and Garden Show. I love the freebies too LOL! Parking fee is $8 and I do not know yet if we can get a free ticket. We were able to get free tickets the last time so; fingers crossed. This is the Convention Center in Orlando located in the Universal Drive. There will be a Home and Garden Show starting Sept.9-11, 2011 with special celebrity guest Frank Fontana, a lifestyle expert.Frank Fontana is an Interior Designer and host of HGTV's Design on a Dime show. His innovative vision with traditional home design basics makes him one of the most successful designers on the lifestyle scene in this generation.

Rubber Mulch For Landscaping

Our yard should be inviting and not an eye sore of the community. A well-manicured lawn usually depicts the kind of family living in the house. Do you have a big yard? A simple yard work doesn't really hurt our time. The trimming of the bushes and creating a beautiful garden is rewarding especially if we receive a compliment from our neighbors.Have you heard about rubber mulch from Rubberecycle? This company is the innovator of tire recycling industry and only process scrap tires which are really a good cause to preserve the environment. Their product is affordable because it comes directly from their own plant to the consumers. Rubberecycle offers the top quality products making their company a gold standard holder and they are on top among competition if there is one that exist. Their product is good in playgrounds because it is safe, long-lasting, kid friendly and environment friendly as well. The view of your yard will transform into beauty if you add this quality rubber as a landscape mulch, arena footing or equestrian footing. Did you know that this company supplied the play safe rubber mulch at the White House? That goes to show that their product is phenomenal when it comes to making your yard beautiful and inviting. This product is available in different attractive colors, odorless, non-toxic and it reduced the growth of weed which is very important. If we talk about landscaping, include this product in your list. For more information, visit the Website today.

Garden Rain Chains

If you have been following my blogs, you know that I am not over with gardening. I miss my gardening moments while living in Mississippi. My father-in-law has this huge yard but, I only make the front yard as a flower garden and the side area as a vegetable garden. Big yards are hard to maintain so; I am only dreaming to have a good size yard where I can plant my vegetables and grow a flowering plants. Anyway, while doing my gardening, my neighbor called me over to her place to brag her newly bought rain chains. Actually it was a rain gutter chain, in good style with attractive design. It really adds as a beautiful accent outside her house. My husband first heard about this accessory from our neighbor and he admits, a rain chain was really a nice piece but, garden rain chains would be more awesome he said. If you have a big yard and you want to accessorize it, visit the link which is provided in this post. You will find amazing rain chains which are so beautiful. A rain chain adds a remarkable and brilliant glamour in your garden. Check out the Website now and find the piece that you like the most.

Window Flower Boxes

I love gardening especially flower and vegetable gardens. It is very obvious with my past blog posts. I talk about my beautiful blooming flowers and my produce in the vegetable garden. It was fun and in fact, my husband got into gardening too with his potted tomato plant. But, since we moved to another place, we left behind the garden that we love.Anyway, the house of my father-in-law has flower boxes at the side of the front door. I like it because it has a nice decorative design and it serves as a nice accent at the entrance way. It is very inviting and warm if you have flowers in your garden. If you use a flower box to accent your window then, you might as well get a windowbox. The house decorated with window boxes just like the picture above is very inviting and it adds to the beauty of the house. If you planted fresh flower on the box, it adds a pleasant sight to your property, right? So, if you want to add colors and life to your windows and front porch, put a finishing touches of flower box. Visit the links to find out where you can buy this product.

Just Beautiful

I enjoyed gardening and I just love flowers just like this picture below. I don't know the name of this flower but, they sure looks pretty in bloom. I took this picture outside our sunroom using my BlackBerry phone. Isn't it beautiful?Hubby and I can't wait to purchase a house that has a good size garden for me. At present, we live in a condo which we bought last year. This is our first property and we did just close another bid which we purchase as an income property. We are still looking for a house and if we can find one, the condo that we live now will become our second income property. I sure would like to have a garden full of beautiful flowering plants. Hoping we can find our dream house soon.

Chrysanthemum

This is one of my favorite flowers. Usually it is called mums or chrysanthemum. The blooms of this flower are composed of many individual florets. Each floret is capable of producing seed. The disk florets are in the center of the bloom head while the ray florets are on the perimeter. The disk florets are considered perfect flowers for they possess both male and female
reproductive organs.Here are the kinds of mums:

Reflex: The disk florets are concealed and the ray florets reflex outwards to create a mop like appearance.

Regular Incurve: Similar to the irregular incurves, only usually smaller blooms, with nearly perfect globular form. Disk florets are completely concealed. They used to be called 'Chinese'.

Decorative: Similar to reflex blooms without the mop like appearance. Disk florets are completely concealed, ray florets usually don't radiate at more than a 90 degree angle to the stem.

Intermediate Incurve: These blooms are in-between the Irregular and Regular incurves in both size and form. They usually have broader florets and a more loosely composed bloom. Again, the disk florets are completely concealed.

Pompon:The blooms are fully double, of small size, and almost completely globular in form.

Single/Semi-Double: These blooms have completely exposed disk florets, with between 1 and 7 rows of ray florets, usually radiating at not more than a 90 degree angle to the stem.

Anemone: The disk florets are prominently featured, quite often raised and overshadowing the ray florets.


A red chrysanthemumSpoon: The disk florets are visible and the long tubular ray florets are spatulate.


Chrysanthemum morifolium - an example of Spoon shaped bloom.Quill: The disk florets are completely concealed, and the ray florets are tube like.

Hydrangea

Last year, I bought a flowering plant called Hydrangea. This plant is native to southern and eastern Asia such as China, Japan and Korea. Right now it is a blooming shrub and the flowers really look beautiful.

I gathered some information online that hydrangea can change colors. I remember buying a pink hydrangea but as of this year, the flowers turned blue. If you have this flowering plant in your garden, you can change your hydrangea from pink to blue by adding aluminum to the soil. And, to change from blue to pink hydrangea, just subtract aluminum from the soil. Amazing!

Flowers in Bloom

In Florida and Mississippi, the heat will really burn your skin if you stay outdoor. Some residents love to soaked themselves under the scorching heat of the sun aiming to get a tan colored skin. Others stay indoors and enjoying the taste of the cool drink caramel frappe or frapuccino. I belong to second description and I can't stand the heat! One thing that is worth waiting for in a season like this is our garden.

We have these flowers blooming more as the heat rises. As if they are more beautiful under the scorching heat of the sun.
The lily smells good too and loving its shady area where it can see the sun in 300 degrees.
The azalea is pretty but, soon it will wither and that is it's nature.
The tulips though it is in full bloom is like azalea. But, I am enjoying their beauty as long as it lasts. What blooming flowers do you have in your garden?
Enjoy the sun and look for positive blessings in your backyard. Have fun!

Withered Plants

Remember these pictures last Summer? What I meant was, can you remember how this area looks like last Summer? If not, check my garden BEFORE. I know, it was so sad that the blooming flowers were gone because of the Cold Snap. I do not have the time to cover it with blanket.

I was sad seeing my plants like this but, I can't do anything. I can not just go out the yard and put them inside the house. Even the garage area is at freezing point.

The picture above is my round flower bed area. All the flowers were gone, just withered because of the cold weather. I do not think if the roots underneath survive though. But, lets look and wait if there's a miracle under those brown leaves.

The flowers in the pot were all withered too! Just look at the link I provided here to see how blooming this space here before.

How about in your garden? Still in bloom?