If you have been reading my posts for the past few years, you already know that one of my favorite pass times is spending time outdoors in my garden, and taking pictures of the Beauty of Nature.

I love planting veggies and herbs, but also totally adore flowers.

Today I will share some of the pictures I took of few of my currently blooming plants.

My East side flower patch, with some of the flowers already blooming, and others are just getting  ready do bloom a little later on.

Irises and Sweet Williams loving the sunny weather today.

What a natural beauty of an Iris flower.

As you can see, I am not the only one enjoying these gorgeous blooms.

A perfect place to sit down and relax.

My youngest son built this bench, in his late teens, as a Mother’s Day gift to me, so it creates a very special place for me to sit down and relax, surrounded by blooming plants.  There are also three, corner openings for flower pots, but I usually leave them open.

I was very proud of him, since he did a very nice job with his first ever woodworking project (now he is my computer specialist and financial adviser).  I am so lucky!!

Are you saying – Is this a Poinsettia? – You are correct, this is my Poinsettia…no, I am not growing it outside.

I had to share a picture of this Poinsettia with you, since it is in my care for two years now.  If you recall my previous post, I purchased it for Christmas two years ago.

I preserved it for a whole year as per the instructions I also posted, and this is how it looks like today.

As you can see, it’s still doing very well.

Now my challenge is to keep it going for as  long as I can, and  I will definitely share my progress with you.

I am very curious to find out how long this Poinsettia will last, and still keep a descent shape.

Did any of you save your Christmas Poinsettias?

How are they doing?

Please share your stories.

Even though Spring and Summer are my favorite seasons , early Fall also amazes me with the bounty of colorful foliage.

Recently my husband and I were driving through the mountains of New York state, and realized how much we miss the the Autumn season in that state.

Since my camera always travels with me, I have some pictures to share for your enjoyment.

Aren’t these colors just breathtaking?

I still wonder how anything can grow in a rock…

Another beautiful display of Fall colors.

Wouldn’t you just want to be in this gorgeous alley of natural beauty?

How about this, near and far, view of the mountain Fall foliage?

Sunset stage 1

Sunset stage 2

And finally the radiant beauty of remaining sun rays playing with the slightly cloudy sky.

I think this kind of a red sky  is some sort of a warning sign for sailors, isn’t that correct?  If you remember that old saying, please chime in, and share with all of us.

I hope  you enjoyed these lovely scenes of the Autumn beauty in the mountainous region of New York State.

A couple of weeks ago, on Saturday, we had a gorgeous day.  It was sunny, pleasantly warm, with the temperature  in the low 50ties, but what was so peculiar about it, is that it’s still the middle of winter.  Mother Nature reminded us of this reality during this past weekend.

As you know, I love nature and gardening, so I could not resist to go outside and check out how my garden is doing this time of the year.

I was very surprised, and quite confused, when I noticed some of my spring plants are already popping out of the ground.  It definitely is way too early for them to be peeking out, but then again, it’s the call of Mother Nature.

I enjoy sharing everyday events with all of you, so I grabbed my camera and took some pictures, just to give you some hope that even though you might not see signs of spring in your area, spring definitely is on its way.

These are my Daffodils peeking out of the ground.

Red Sedum is squeezing out from between the old shoots from last year.

Hyacinths are poking through, and a nearby tulip is trying to compete as well.

In case you are wondering why I have a Christmas Cactus at the top of this post….well wonder no more, since the poor thing is confused, and decided to bloom now, rather than for Christmas, as it’s expected blooming season.

There is a very nice story behind that cactus as well, so here it comes.

Few years back, I worked with a really nice bunch of ladies who also knew how much I loved plants and flowers, and I had a Christmas Cactus on my desk.  While I was going on vacation, instead of taking the plant home, they offered to take care of it for me, and they did a wonderful job.

When I came back to work (two weeks later), I noticed that my plant looked great, vibrant, full of life.  I was very grateful that they took such good care of my plant, but they both had this certain look on their face, that something was not right.

As honest as they were, all true friends should be, they informed me that this was a replacement plant, as they “killed” the original one, without knowing what really happened.  “It just died” – they exclaimed!  I did not mind.  It was just a plant, and plants do die.  No big deal.

We all laughed uncontrollably about it.  They felt so much better by telling me the truth, and I could not believe that they actually went to so much trouble finding another cactus for me, an out of season plant during that particular time of the year.

So, when the time came for me to move and leave the company, I took the cactus with me, and now every time I look at it (it is hanging in my kitchen window), I think of our friendship and reminisce about all the great times we spent together.

I hope you enjoyed the Christmas Cactus story, and the early signs of spring.

photo credit: Andrew Stawarz

Recently I read an article, Suburbia R.I.P, written by Michael Cannell, leaving me with a feeling that living in the suburbs is a dying dream….” In the wake of the foreclosure crisis many new subdivisions are left half built and more established suburbs face abandonment”.  There might be some truth to his statement, since the downturn of our economy affects everyone, including the suburbs.  The new home construction did slow down considerably, but I have yet to see “half built” abandoned subdivisions, or totally abandoned suburbs.

Suburbia took on a different look these days, in comparison to what it was like 50 or more years ago.  The square footage of new homes is ever increasing, so is the demand for large lots, multi-car garages, private outdoor heated pools, tennis courts, central air conditioning, etc.  Many homes in the suburbs are built now in clusters, gated communities, or developments, run by associations, giving them a very neat and uniform appearance.  These developments are usually located within 5-10 miles from shopping centers, restaurants, hospitals, and other commercial centers, not exactly located somewhere in deserted areas, away from civilization.

Michael also states that homes constructed today do not measure up, quality wise, to homes built year ago…”the 1930s homes held up because they were made with solid materials, and today’s spec homes are all hollow doors, plastic columns and faux stone facades”, here again I only partially agree with his analysis.  Consumers have several choices today in constructing a home they can afford, thus some choose modular (precision-built) homes, which cosmetically look very nice, but does lack the quality of the traditional home.  But then again, one still can have a newly constructed traditional home which supersedes the 1930’s homes, because the new homes are star energy efficient, include environmentally safer materials (such as no asbestos or led paint), are well insulated, have double or triple pane windows, thus saving on energy usage, and still may include hard wood floors, ceramic tile, granite countertops, hot tubs, brick or stone exterior, etc.

Of course one expects to have a higher energy bill living in the suburbs in a 3200+ sq.ft. home, in comparison to 450+ sq. ft. flat in the city…. luxury costs money.  However at the same time, the purchase price of the same flat in the city could cost you as much as the home in the suburbs, so it’s all relevant.  Also, rent in the city could equal the mortgage payment of the suburbs’ home.  In the suburbs every licensed member of the family usually owns a car, but in the city majority of the population depends on public transportation, due to high maintenance cost of owning a car (limited space, high insurance rates  and parking fees).

I personally experienced life in the city and the suburbs, and I still prefer the suburbs to live in  and raise a family.  I love to visit cities, since there is so much to see and enjoy, but the suburb’s fresh air, the abundance of nature, the tranquility, the close knit neighborhoods, are my favorite attractions of these areas.  The privacy and luxury of having y0ur own yard to play with your children or grandchildren. To be able to have a flower patch or a garden, to cultivate your own organic fruits and vegetables, relax on the patio and watch the sunrise and sunset.  Wake up to the sound of singing birds, rather than a siren of a fire truck, or a police car.  I also love the beauty of the seasonal changes of nature, especially during spring and fall, which is so much more noticeable  in the suburbs.

I strongly believe that the suburbs will survive the current economic downfall and continue to flourish and attract the urban population to move into them.

I would love to hear your stories and opinions on this subject, whether you live in a city or suburb.  What is your opinion on Michael’s theory.