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Sunday, April 26, 2015

Spring Garden and Babies Too!


This is such a beautiful time of year.

The sights, sounds and smells are wonderful.

It's the perfect time to take a stroll through the garden to see what's blooming.

I admire the flowers while Ellie-Mae hopes to see something she can chase.

She is posing for you,
that little white "dot" just in front of the porch.

colonial style with white columns



Here in the South,
there is no such thing as too many azaleas and they are in full bloom!

All shades of pink, red, and there are white ones too.

pink azaleas



pink azalea



azaleas



white and pink azalea



azaleas and pachysandra



Pink Azaleas



These are George Tabor.
They have a very large flower and such dimension of color,
one of my favorites.

George Taber Azaleas



George Taber Azaleas



White Azaleas


The birds have been enjoying the birdbath.
Ellie-Mae enjoys watching them through the great room window and she barks like crazy when the birds are bathing.

The white flower in front of the birdbath and also in the background is Candytuft.

Bird Bath and Candytuft


Candytuft is such a dainty flower that comes back year after year.
I especially like it because my Granny grew it in her garden, so it reminds me of her.

Candytuft


This is the Cherokee Rose, or Rosa laevigata.
Here's how this rose came to be in my garden...

A few years ago, in early spring while in South Carolina, we noticed a little white flower growing all along the back roads.  I was so curious about it, wondering if it was a weed or a wildflower?
We asked one of the locals who told us it was actually a rose, so when we noticed some that was close enough for us to possibly reach, we pulled over.
I hopped out,
jumped over the ditch,
and pulled up a little sprig to bring home.

I transplanted it as soon as we got back home.
The next spring, it had grown a little but didn't bloom.
Each spring thereafter, it's grown larger and larger with more and more blooms!


Rosa laevigata Cherokee Rose



Rosa laevigata Cherokee Rose


Out in the very back of our property is a Sweetshrub.
Mr. Heart remembered them as a child and wanted to add one to our garden.
We planted it about 13 years ago and it's huge now; boy does it smell sweet!

Sweet Shrub



Sweet Shrub



The purple iris are blooming, such a pretty flower.

Purple Iris



Purple Iris



Purple Iris



White clematis are growing along the garage.

White Clematis


The rhododendrons are in full bloom too.

Purple Rhododendron


I am really enjoying the garden views, but the sounds in the garden are sweet this time of year too.

I would love to know what this male house finch (the reddish one) was saying to the female,
it was loud, went on and on and sounded so sweet!

House finches


We have some babies!
I have to say, I was hoping for bluebirds in my bluebird houses,
but the chickadee took up residence and now has four in her nest.

Chickadee in the Bluebird House


Hope you enjoyed the stroll through the garden.
What's blooming in yours?


Join us each week at AMAZE ME MONDAY!


18 comments:

  1. Oh, Cindy, your home and gardens are just beautiful! Love seeing all of the pretty azaleas and flowers. After moving up here, I have so much to learn about what to plant! My backyard is completely nekked! :)
    Have a lovely weekend.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia :)

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  2. Is the second to last photo a house finch? Your flowers are so lovely.
    Brenda

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  3. You are so far ahead of us. We are in Connecticut and the daffodils, forsythia and tulips have bloomed but that's it. We drove to Georgia last week and it was interesting to see the difference. It is so cold here today we had to turn on the heat. Can't wait to play out in the dirt. Thanks for sharing.

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  4. This is a lovely post, Cindy! Your flowers and blooming shrubs are just beautiful! We are truly having a gorgeous spring here in N.C., aren't we? I especially love your bird pictures; you always manage to capture really good shots of the birds. I've never seen chickadee babies, but I bet they're cute. :) They're such darling birds and not aggressive like so many of the others.

    Thanks for sharing with us, Cindy, and have a great weekend!

    Hugs,

    Denise

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  5. Your home and garden are spectacular in spring...and I can only imagine how it all looks in the summer! Thank you for sharing. I love how everything looks so maintenance free, another great thing!! :)

    Jane x

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  6. Your gardens are as lovely as your home, but I would expect they would be.

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  7. Cindy your gardens are absolutely beautiful and your photos are too!!

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  8. I loved strolling with you and your little cutie in your beautiful garden. fondly ~lynne~

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  9. Gosh Cindy, my garden, here in Vancouver, is almost on the same time line as yours. Isn't that interesting? My roses ares till in tight bud and so is the white clematis. Your azaleas are spectacular! I don't have azaleas in my garden but I do have a 12 foot tall rhododendron, which is so spectacular when in bloom that random people stop to take photos of themselves in front of it. Candytuft and irises remind me of my grandparents too. :D hope your weekend is lovely and relaxing in your beautiful garden.

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  10. So charming! Love your new babies and your gardens are gorgeous!

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  11. What gorgeous photos, Cindy! Those azaleas are so pretty...people don't plant as many of those here in the Midwest. My favorite flowers are the iris, and yours are beautiful!

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  12. Cindy this was such a sweet post. I love your garden landscape. I'm waiting on my azaleas, iris and clematis still. Your George Tabor is a really pretty one. Love the stories behind the candytuft, Cherokee rose and sweetshrub. The chickadees are movin'on up in style!

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  13. Beautiful photographs and a wonderful house and garden.
    Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger

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  14. Cindy, I am always just smitten by the beauty of the front of your house. We do not have houses like that here. Very, very few of them have the two story columns and we have very few brick houses. Yours just whispers Southern Charm to me. It's gorgeous! Your plantings are so pretty and really suit your house style, too.

    What is growing here? Ummmm icicles this morning. It was 27 degrees on the back porch when I got up this morning. Hello? It is supposed to be SPRING here! xo Diana

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  15. Cindy, each one of your photographs is breathtaking! Oh my heavens, glorious flowers and your front porch is to die for! Your little babies, too precious! What a beautiful post!

    Have a sweet Sunday~
    Nancy

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  16. Thanx Sweetie for sharing the beautiful pictures. I visited South Carolina a couple of years ago and was bowled over by the beauty of the azaleas. It was March and everywhere I looked they were blooming. Loved it! Have a beautiful day, Jo

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  17. Your garden is GORGEOUS !! I'm afraid my azalea buds were killed by the cold, Only one white one "bloomed" and it had just 5 or 6 blooms. None of my others have bloomed and they should have already. :(
    I have a George Tabor, too and LOVE it...but no blooms. I'm still hoping. Thanks for showing us your garden.

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  18. Cindy, your flowers are so beautiful! I enjoy seeing everything in bloom this time of year. Now that the pollen has calmed down here, we are able to enjoy the gardens before the heat of summer sets in. Your views are wonderful.

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