2026

Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to SEPTEMBER. My header photo this month shows a gorgeous picture showing the Great Smoky Mountains from the Foothills Parkway. God's Blessings to YOU for an awesome month.
Showing posts with label ROSES 2016. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ROSES 2016. Show all posts

Monday, October 24, 2016

Pretties in our Yard 10/16/16

Our Home on 10/16/16;  The pink dogwood in front (on left) is doing great --since it gets water from our sprinkler... We are also trying to keep the grass as green as possible in front.
Before we left for a short trip to the Smokies and Cherohala (pictures to come) this past week,  I took some pictures around our yard (10/16/16)  to share with you today... With the drought,  our colors in this area are not as good as they usually are (lots of brown and dead leaves)---but we do have some pretty things blooming to show you.  Hope you enjoy!!!!  You can click on them to see enlargements.


I love watching the DOGWOOD change colors in Fall.  The leaves will eventually be a dark burgundy color.  



APRICOT NECTAR ROSE  (Our Roses have done great thanks to all of the attention and watering which George gives them.)



From our deck,  we enjoy seeing the colors change along the GOLF COURSE Fairway.



I love our MAPLE Tree in Fall.  I think Maples are some of the prettiest trees in Autumn.



Maple Leaves --up close and personal;  So many pretty colors!



CLARENCE IRIS  blooming in our yard;  I love our Re-Blooming Irises when they bloom again in Fall.



The AUTUMN JOY SEDUM is now a RUST color... (Remember that these start out white,  then turn pink,  then a brilliant red --and finally a rust color.)



Another picture of our home on October 16, 2016



DOLLY PARTON ROSE



Another picture showing our pretty PINK DOGWOOD in Fall



My son and daughter-in-law (Jeff and Dawn) gave me this gorgeous hanging basket for Mother's Day ---and we have watered it almost daily to keep it alive... Isn't it pretty?



LEMON REFLECTION ROSE



A NEW IRIS in our yard this year;  This one is named LEMON DUET.  Isn't it pretty?



Finally,  here's a close-up picture of the front of our home  all decorated for Fall!!!!
Hope you enjoyed seeing some pictures of our little home on October 16, 2016...  We love living in this area of Tennessee ---and as much as we love to travel,  it's ALWAYS nice to come back home!

I will share pictures from our two October trips soon...

Hugs and Blessings,

Monday, October 10, 2016

The GOOD, The Not-So-BAD, and definitely The UGLY

The GOOD:  Our Front Yard:  (10/3/16)
My sweet hubby posted the picture above recently on Facebook.  By the looks of this picture,  one would never know that we were in a HORRIBLE DROUGHT here... You know that I have mentioned it MANY times since June...  For 'yard workers' like us (who love our flower, shrubs, plants, etc),  this has been hard...  It has even been harder due to the unusually HOT summer temperatures we have had...Also, financially,  it has about killed us--with very high water bills the past couple of months... AND--there's no end in sight for us since we are now in the 'dry season'.... BUT --we have tried to save as much as we could afford.

We are watering what we can (and our front yard truly isn't bad at all)... George keeps the roses watered --so they are fine.  The front yard grass and plants are okay since they do get some water.  The biggest problems are the BIG shade trees,  shrubs --such as our Rhododendrons,  Azaleas,  and Forsythia,  and grass--everything except the front yard.... Even the English Ivy (which usually does fine in dry conditions) is struggling in sunny areas of our yard.   AND---if you want to laugh,  even the WEEDS (which usually thrive in ALL conditions) are struggling!!!! ha

But---it's not all DOOM and GLOOM... There's a lot to be thankful for.  I'm thankful today that the weather is now a little cooler --which helps tremendously...  AND--I'm thankful that we DO have the extra money to water the yard as much as possible...   I'm thankful that we are not in a hurricane zone --since I feel so sorry for people who lost lives and whose property was damaged due to another Mother Nature situation...Prayers for all of them....  After seeing what has happened on the East Coast,  I have no right to be complaining about this!   I tell myself this over and over.

Today---I put together a post so that you could see our yard in October...  Hope you enjoy the pictures.... Click on them for enlargements.



The Not-So-BAD:  We do have a little color on some of the trees... Hope we get lots more color --and have a pretty FALL here.  (10/7/16)



The UGLY:  Our sweet little Forsythia Bush (even though we do water it some) is really struggling.  We bought that bush about 4 years ago when it was tiny.  It grew and this past spring,  it bloomed and was so happy.  NOT sure of its future... Sniff Sniff..  (10/9/16)



The GOOD:  Cantana IRIS  (10/3/16);   We love having our Re-blooming Irises bloom in the Fall.  We don't have too many so far this Fall --but what we have are pretty.



The Not-So-BAD:   The workers at the Golf Course behind our home are having to work very very hard to keep the fairways and greens in good shape this year.  I'm sure they have spent money above what is in their budget just to keep the course in good shape.  BUT---they have done a great job!  (10/7/16)



The UGLY:  This is our lower side yard.... The Periwinkle has done okay through the drought,  but the GRASS has not.  Hopefully,  the grass will come back when the rains come back!!!!  (10/7/16)



The GOOD:   ALL of our Beautiful ROSES;  This one is St. Patrick's Day...  SO pretty!!!!  (10/3/16)



The Not-So-BAD:  Our pretty VINCA;  George built me a small flowerbed in front of the big Rose Bed--and the Vinca (and our Pansies in Spring) have enjoyed this area.  (10/2/16)



The UGLY:  Our poor little AZALEAS;  We have 4 Azaleas in the backyard  which may not make it.. We also have 3 Rhododendrons --which we are trying hard to save.. Believe it or not,  but this Azalea is getting watered... It just needs DEEP water ---which only comes from lots of RAIN.    (10/7/16)



The GOOD:  A new Iris in our yard this year --and it has bloomed a lot this FALL.  Its name is  "My Friend Jonathan"... (10/3/16)



The Not-So-BAD:   Our Autumn Joy SEDUM has been GREAT for several months.  It started out almost white in color, then changed pink,  and is now a rusty/red....  (10/2/16)



The UGLY:  Our beautiful back yard!!!!!!  YIPES...  (10/7/16)
WELL Friends---that is enough.  You get the idea!!!!  None of the "Not-so-Bad" pictures are bad at all... In fact, they could be in the GOOD category... SO---out of the 12 pictures,  only 4 are what I'd call BAD...  Again I say that we do have so much to be thankful for... Weather is something we all have to contend with  sometimes...  (Remember the horrible Ice Storm we had here a couple of years ago????? Yipes)....  This too shall pass!!!!!

Blessings to all of you.

Hugs,

Monday, September 12, 2016

More ROSES in our Yard 2016

Beautiful Dreamer Rose 7/2/16
I had this post ready sometime in July --but never got it published... SO---today is a good time (before Fall actually really gets here) to enjoy seeing more Roses in our yard this summer... You can click on them to see enlargements.. The date is when I took the picture.  Hope you enjoy them.

For anyone new to my blog,  we grow Hybrid Tea and Grandiflora Roses in our yard --and have over 50 different varieties...  This is one of my husband's hobbies ---and I get to enjoy the roses since he brings one inside for me almost every single day.  The hardest thing is when he brings one in and I have to 'guess' its name.  I know some of them well--but not all....


Ronald Reagan Rose 7/2/16



Helen Traubel Rose 7/2/16



Mr. Lincoln Rose 7/2/16



Summer Nights Rose 7/3/16



About Face Rose 7/6/16



Paradise Rose 7/7/16



Strike It Rich Rose 7/7/16



Perfect Moment Roses (same rose bush,  different stages of blooms) 7/13/16



Sweet Freedom Rose 7/13/16



Chicago Peace Rose 7/14/16



Fragrant Cloud Rose 7/14/16



Gemini Rose 5/10/16



Daring Spirit Rose 5/12/16



Elle Rose 5/13/16



Radiant Perfume Rose 5/26/16
Hope you enjoyed seeing more of our 2016 Roses.... We have really had a good season this year thanks to my Sweetie for taking such good care of his 'babies'....  IF you missed my other ROSE post,  you can click HERE.

Hope you are having a good September SO far....  Have a wonderful week, my friends.

Hugs,