Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to APRIL!!!! Spring is AWESOME. Enjoy some beautiful TULIPS from Biltmore!!

Monday, May 11, 2020

Azaleas are Spring!!!!

One of our Front Yard Azaleas --5/3/20
Dear Friends,   Hope this finds all of you healthy and happy!  I don't know about you --but I'm SO ready to get this Pandemic OVER and DONE....  I'm  tired of reading about it;  tired of hearing about it --over and over and over...   I'm sorry to say this,  since I TRY to stay positive  (and have until recently)...  I will continue to be careful and we'll make it through this....

What worries me more now than the Virus is the Economy....  We are in such a terrible mess ---and so many other things in life we count on,  such as our food supply (and I'm NOT talking about toilet paper),   will cause other problems over the next many months....When we made our weekly Walmart trip (wearing our masks) this past Friday,   we noticed so many shelves (of many ordinary things) fairly empty...  Farmers are having to throw out milk and eggs since the factories and packing plants have been closed.    Ordinary people are out of work --and need to work in order to feed their families....  All of this scares me MUCH more than the Virus does.... OKAY---I'll get off of my soap box!!!!  SORRY!!!

The biggest JOY lately for us has been taking time to enjoy all of the Spring flowers/plants/shrubs in our yard and neighborhood.   We cannot travel YET ---so sitting at home for days and days and months is not easy for us --but there's not a day that goes by that a new flower appears --smiling at us---and bringing us JOY...

Today, I'l share more of this JOY with you... We don't have many Azaleas,  and we miss going to Biltmore this time of year to see all of their gorgeous azaleas.  SO--instead of the huge Biltmore Azaleas this year,  we'll show you some from our yard.  We have two large ones in the front yard and about 6 smaller ones in the backyard... The large ones have been gorgeous, but even the smaller ones bloomed and were pretty this year.... All of the pictures were taken from 4/10/20 through 5/3/20.    Hope you enjoy seeing the colors!!!!



































Okay---that's enough pretties for now!!!!!  As you can tell we have various colors of reds and pinks.... There are some white Azaleas across the street from us --but I've never had a White Azalea.... AND--I've never had a Purple Azalea.  How can that be--as much as I love purple!!!! ha ha

Hope I could put a smile on your face today....  Not only do the flowers make me smile,  but I got to see two of my sons yesterday  (first time in a LONG LONG time).   It was Mother's Day---and they took George and me on a picnic on the top of a mountain in the Cherokee National Forest.... How NEAT is that!!!!   It was one of the best Mother's Days I have ever had!!!!

Have an awesome week ---and 'keep on keeping on' and staying careful during these hard time...

Hope you had a Happy Mother's Day TOO!!!

Hugs,



21 comments:

Linda said...

Your azaleas are lovely! Have a good week.

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Beautiful azaleas, thanks for sharing ~ Have a great week ~ FlowerLady

Ann said...

I share your feelings regarding the virus Betsy. I'm tired of hearing about it and the worst part is that there have been so many conflicting stories that it's hard to know what to believe.
Thanks for sharing the beautiful azaleas. My dad used to have these around his house and they were gorgeous. I've tried to plant them in my yard but they've never survived.

Big Dude said...

The azaleas look very pretty and we enjoyed ours but they are done for the year. As I see how few folks are taking precautions to prevent virus spread in our area, I'm afraid the worst may be yet to come. We've found we feel better when we don't watch the news. Stay safe.

Dee said...

Love your pictures!! Two weeks ago I trimmed back our Azalea that looks like your deep pink ones. Even though it had big buds on it opening, it had overgrown its place. I couldn't bear to even throw the branches away so I stuck a big amount of them in an old tin bucket with water and sat it on our patio. The buds opened on up and it is the most stunning flower arrangement. I look out my kitchen window and smile every day enjoying it from that window or looking out the patio doors from the dining room. Hope you had a beautiful Mother's Day. Our son took me on a 4 hour driving trip back little country roads, by a lake, and eventually to a park where we enjoyed a picnic here in south central PA. Since I haven't really been out since March 10 (just sheltering in) it was wonderful!!! Sunny and up in the 60's.

Marcia said...

I hope you were driving yourselves and sitting at a distance at the picnic. Lovely colors in those blooms.

George said...

You got some beautiful photos of our azaleas. They are not quite up to the standard of Biltmore, but they are gorgeous just the same.

Gardener on Sherlock Street said...

👩‍🌾 I stopped by for a visit. Thanks for sharing.

Arkansas Patti said...

Love your Azaleas. I tried to grow them in Florida but they never took.
What a lovely idea for Mother's Day. A picnic. So glad you got to spend it with your boys.

David said...

Hi Betsy, Our azaleas also had a great spring blooming season! They seemed to like the wet and cool weather... As for the pandemic, there's nothing wrong with a little frustration and a bit of complaining. I'm afraid that the pandemic and the economy will be in the headlines for months if not years to come. Just have to keep on keeping on... Stay Safe and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Betsy said...

Your flowers are gorgeous Betsy. I'm so thankful that we're able to go out to our trailer at the lake now. In fact, that's where I'm sitting at the moment, watching the wind blow the water into waves, (23 mph wind today), while I'm snug and cozy inside.
I share your feelings about the virus. I've tried to stay positive and prayerful. However, I now feel it's been made political and the various ways of controlling it are being made political. It's frustrating to know who is telling us the truth and not twisting facts for their gain. The media is NOT the media I grew up with when we were told the facts and then left to make up our own minds. And now I'll get off MY soapbox!
Blessings and love my friend,
Betsy

Ginny Hartzler said...

I am so glad you got to go out on mother's Day! Your azaleas are all gorgeous, my favorite being the peachy pink. I am fine about staying home if it means we both remain healthy.

Betsy said...

Right there with ya. I am sick of hearing about it and really am a little suspicious. Need to get back out there, be careful and take precautions but sunshine and staying active is good for us I think. I have been babysitting my grand kids as who else is? Parents need to work. Can't shut everything down.
DONE! One thing I have realized is that these Taj mahal schools are not necessary and my grand kids have learned so much at home and keeping up with their work.
Beautiful azaleas in your yard. Mine are all gone except for a few late bloomers. There are some that bloom in September Mom used to have, I need to get some of those.
betsy

Ruth Hiebert said...

I agree with you about that virus. I am so done, hearing about it, but I know it is still a reality . I am trying to be patient , but there are days when I feel like screaming. Your flowers are gorgeous. If it will ever warm up, and I know it will, I want to plant some annual and get some color on the yard.

The Furry Gnome said...

What amazing colours!

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

What a joy to see all your beautiful flowers blooming so well Betsy. Stay safe and have a good week.

Lowcarb team member said...

Oh Betsy, it is so nice to see your beautiful azaleas, they are such a wonderful bloom aren't they.
So pleased you had a most enjoyable Mothers Day.

Take care, and as always I send my good wishes.

All the best Jan

Connie said...

I love azaleas. They look so delicate and frilly. Yours are beautiful. Glad to hear you had such a lovely Mother's Day.

Rose ~ from Oz said...

Your garden as it always has been through the years and the seasons...utterly gorgeous!
You're right Betsy when this awful pandemic is finally over, globally the economy will be a real concern.

Beth said...

Beautiful flowers. I posted some pictures of a few flowers that I have so far. I'm planted more. I have mostly annuals.

Jeevan said...

The situation isn’t much different here and the lockdown is partially relaxed in India at the same time covid 19 cases are raising in thousands every day. The groceries aren’t demand for us and milk is supplied through government sources and some food industries are opened already with minimum works to keep away the demand.
Btw. Azaleas looks gorgeous in pink and red and you captured them all elegantly! Loced it
Have a nice time and take care