Thursday, February 13, 2014

Flowers Everywhere . . . is it really February?


While eating breakfast this morning, I was looking at blogs and I saw gorgeous pink flower displays on Peeking Thru The Sunflowers.

source                                      source

From my spot on the window seat,  I looked into the living room where Steve had thrown open the windows to greet the day.


I had no plans because Steve had shoulder surgery yesterday and that view of the garden just called to me.


I made a quick run to the nursery, brought home a bunch of plants and spent the rest of the day finding homes for the everything - off the ground so Lulu can't dig them up.


Containers were gathered, from wherever I could find them, to hold the plants.


A variety of plants and containers decorate an old ladder.


Old blue boxes nailed to one of Steve's old easels got some fresh plants.


A striped bucket holding yellow primrose hangs from another old easel.


With everything planted and Steve feeling pretty good, we decided to take some time outside with Lulu.


On our walk we passed a tree full of flowers that look like little lanterns - I would love to find a place in my garden for this tree.


I know I do not have space for this amazing tree, but the clusters of bright yellow flowers are gorgeous.


I need to find the name of this drought tolerant bush with sweet pink flowers that look like they are made of tissue paper.


Everywhere I looked today, I was surrounded by colorful flowers - is it really February?

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I am joining in at

The Dedicated House - Anything Blue Friday

My Romantic Home - Show and Tell Friday

French Country Cottage - Feathered Nest Friday

Rooted in Thyme - Simple & Sweet Fridays

My Little Home and Garden - Sunlit Sunday 
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Just a reminder that my giveaway 


for the Grow Your Blog party through 2 Bags Full ends on February 15.

64 comments:

  1. That's not February in my world! But it looks so fantastic I want to move there.....NOW!!!!

    Thanks for sharing your blooms...beautiful, love the containers.

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  2. We are very snowy right now. I am dreaming of when I will look out and see all of the flowers. Yours look so pretty! So fun to look out and see all of the color.
    Thank you for your sweet comment on my shabby green bistro chair!

    ~Shanon

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  3. gorgeous blooms. i love those colors. enjoy the beach shot too. happy <3 day! ( :

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  4. It all looks so beautiful to these eyes that have being seeing the white stuff for a long long time now :)

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  5. Wow all that color! Your flowers are amazing especially as I look out on a white world after our big storm. Hope your husband's shoulder heals well and have a nice weekend!

    It always amazes me that one can throw open their windows without screens. One of the bonuses of living where you do!

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  6. You'r flowers are all so pretty, bright and cheery. If you throw open the windows in my neck of the woods you will be greeted with snow.

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  7. Your February flowers are the perfect Valentine's Day gift for us, Carol! So cheery and delightful!

    Happy Valentine's Day!

    Poppy
    PS: Wishing Steve a speedy recovery!

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  8. YOu have made my day. I am visiting blogs before I go to work and just seeing the happy colors and the various posts on happiness is helping me go into my high school class with courage (I've been feeling a bit defeated in there)

    THANK YOU FOR THE ENDLESS SUNSHINE YOU SEND US, CAROL! Anita

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  9. Oh, I love visiting your blog early in the morning. The beautiful colors just give my day a bright start. Today, it's not so cold here, but everything is winter brown.

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  10. It's amazing how different parts of the country can be so different as I look out my window at the snow! Beautiful flowers and that photo of looking out the doors looks like a magazine photo. Guess what? I'll be in California in 9 days seeing my grandson and family. So excited! I'll see many pretty flowers in person then! But for now, thank you for the thoughts that an Indiana spring will be here before long.

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  11. Gorgeous flowers, look at your garden! And your containers rock too. Hope Steve feels better so you can get back on those kayaks. Our snow wasn't nearly as bad as they predicted,thankful for that!
    Mary

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  12. I love your garden like a artist palette I also love the tree you found with the red lanter type flowers beautiful:))

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  13. I want to live in your house and wake up every morning to that beautiful garden. You have just cheered up my dull and dreary wet day :)

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  14. I look at your beautiful backyard and sigh with envy. Then I look out at my foot of snow in my back yard and whisper, hurry up spring!

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  15. Your outside space is looking so incredibly beautiful and glorious!

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  16. Oh Carol, your flowers are beautiful. I need to get into the garden and do some planting. But, I have had a very bad cold and feel really crummy. Hopefully I can get out this weekend and do some sprucing up.
    Your post is stunning.
    Mary

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  17. Your garden looks so beautiful.... I love the containers you used!! How wonderful to be able to open the windows and greet the day with fresh air. I am completely envious! Thank you for the shout out too. Have a Happy Valentine's Day!!!
    ~Des

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  18. Beautiful flowers! Your blog makes me miss living in Cali so very much! Still my little Grand is the sunshine in my life so here I will stay. Hugs, Linda

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  19. Carol,
    What a wonderful treat to open your blog today and see the beauty around you. Hopefully soon we will see that kind of pretty. You did a great job of planting all the sweet colorful flowers. Hope Steve feels great and continues to heal. Enjoy the sweet day together. Hugs to LuLu too.
    Kris

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  20. Carol,
    I am enjoying your beautiful happy colorful flowers. But in our neighborhood 12 inches of snow was dumped on us yesterday and there are no Spring whispers or hints of warm days soon anywhere!
    I always enjoy stopping by for a visit. Speedy recovery wishes to Steve. Lulu needs her stories told in an adventure book.
    Happy Valentines day.
    XO,
    Vera

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  21. **sigh** how I miss living on the coast!!

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  22. Absolutely gorgeous! We are in the refrigerator right now, but I imagine things will turn around soon. Love your flowers!

    xoxoxox

    Sheila

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  23. Almost forgot... Happy Valentine's Day, Carol! xoxox

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  24. Your garden looks fantastic, Carol. It pays to go with the urge to visit a garden centre, something I'll do in about 3 months!

    Karen

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  25. *sigh* I live at the beach too, but my coast is covered in ice and snow! I like your view much better! Hope Steve has a super quick recovery!

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  26. Oh...how I would love to see flowers in February instead of all this snow. Your flowers are so beautiful!! Love all the containers that you used too.
    hugs,
    Cindy

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  27. You are one lucky lady to have such brilliant colors to look at this time of year!!! And your garden looks hands down awesome right now friend! What a wonderful job putting them in containers away from LuLu!! I hope Steve is recovering well...a wonderful weekend to you friend!! Nicole xoxo

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  28. Hi! I'm visiting from the GYB party. I know the name of that plant, it is very common in Portugal and in the Mediterrean are. It is usually white (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cistus_ladanifer) but they can be pink too (http://www.biodiversidadvirtual.org/herbarium/Cistus-ladanifer-x-Cistus-creticus.-img159112.html) Have a great day. Ana

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  29. Happy Valentine's Day!
    I am so enjoying your gorgeous flower fantasy here, dear Carol! :)
    We are surrounded by snow, but these colors have energized me...how fantastic...

    And thank you so much for your visit to my place...
    Who needs tv when you have all of THAT BEAUTY!! :)))
    Enjoy the weekend!
    Hugs to you,
    - Irina

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  30. I have to ask, where are you? Looks sub tropical but northern hemisphere... Eleanor x

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  31. Oh, how I envy your climate! No garden full of blooms here. Mother Nature left a few pansy, but most things look pretty bleak. Your containers looks so cheerful, Carol. Thanks for sharing.
    Glad Steve is doing well and feeling like getting out for a walk. That's a good sign!
    Happy Valentine's Day!

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  32. I would love to just that, your garden must be looking very pretty at the moment.

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  33. Lovely, as always! I know that I am always going to get a dose of happiness and cheer at your place. Happy V-Day!

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  34. Looks like you had a blast prettying up your back yard! It looks so lovely!! I enjoyed the walk, too!
    Have a lovely weekend!!
    Hugs,
    Becky

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  35. OMGoodness: I LOVE you garden and those surf boards on the fence, I need to go shopping!!! We don't have much in the way of beautiful flowers in AZ, too hot, but totally enjoyed viewing your photos!!!!

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  36. Carol..when am I coming over to see your garden in person?! ;) xoxo Jen

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  37. Oh Carol, I loved this little peek of Spring! We are still far from flowers here in the PNW but we are a balmy mid-50s and I'll take it!

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  38. What a tantalizing glimpse of spring that was. You live with so much beautiful colour - envious here, with all our green, green and more green.

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  39. What a tantalizing glimpse of spring that was. You live with so much beautiful colour - envious here, with all our green, green and more green.

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  40. That is February in California! You did fabulous work filling all of those containers! It is all very beautiful.

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  41. You are so lucky! With all the storms we've had lately, my garden looks like a jungle and I can't do anything about it as it rains every single day! I enjoyed your blooms over my breakfast as well!

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  42. Oh my, wow! I want to live where you live! What a colorful and beautiful post! I loved all of your awesome flower containers, that striped bucket holding yellow primrose hanging from an old easel, love it!
    Have a great day! Looking out your door is awesome!

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  43. What kind of tree is that with the yellow flowers? It's so unusual looking...the blooms almost look like primroses!

    You are so lucky to be planting containers right now. Have y'all had any rain? I read where California was suffering under drought conditions, and we've had the wettest, rainiest, coldest, snowiest winter *ever*

    Lulu is so naughty, but it's a good thing not to tempt her with plants at her level, LOL!

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  44. February in CT is very, very different than yours. We had 14" of snow Wednesday into Thursday and we expect another storm tonight. Your blog has given me hope that yes Spring is going to come hopefully soon. We may hit 48 degrees on Wednesday - flip flop weather. Please keep posting flowers. I hope the surgery went well.

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  45. Fantastic pictures! I'm trying to grow one of those 'lantern' shrubs. It's called albutilon and also known as... Chinese Lantern!

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  46. Oh what a tease you are! Your pictures are always so beautiful and the flowers you planted in all their fun containers are so inpsiring....Makes me want spring today!! I love the Chinese lantern shrubs. When our youngest daughter was going to college in upstate New York they rented a little house that had a whole row of these shrubs along their fence.....so pretty.

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  47. I'm visiting from Sunlit Sunday and love all the colourful plants and pots you've decorated with. You wouldn't know it was February with all the these gorgeous flowers.

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  48. Oh my goodness, this was absolute heaven. We are in the midst of winter here and seeking out colour every day. Deb

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  49. Like me, you think outside the pot when it comes to planting. I'm visiting from Sunlit Sunday

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  50. I had to return to this post for a second look. The colour!

    Karen

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  51. Your new flowers are wonderful. But I'm overwhelmed by envy when I look at that picture with the windows thrown open. Arggggggggggggggggh. As I write this the 6 inches of ice frozen on the edge of my roof and gutters is leaking through the wall of my bathroom into the framework of the window and dripping at a rapid pace into the room.

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  52. what a cheerful and delightful post!!!! cathy

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  53. Oh my! Wish I could just snap my fingers and be there! ♥

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  54. I'm just amazed, this tree of lanterns is beautiful. February is dark, cold and ground covered snow, windy and nights below freezing. I am so waiting until I can make such a display in containers, I love it, beautiful

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  55. Gosh I just love your sense of color....you and I are kindred spirits of color. The more and merrier I say. So glad to hear Steve is feeling good enough to take a walk. Opening the windows for fresh air if I did that here in IL I will instantly be frozen or buried in the falling snow. 63" so far and it's snowing again, so no opening windows around here anytime soon. Love you garden's colors. I don't ever think of February as being warm, but Valentine's day did have a bit of warmth to it! I hope Steve continues to feel better each new day!

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  56. Loving all of those beautiful flowers! Wish I could live in a warmer climate during the winter to be able to see them in February too.

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  57. Your flowers are amazing! Those flowers must have delightful scent!!
    I also like those various flower pots.

    I am visiting through" Sunlit Sunday" from Japan.

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  58. What a lovely burst of colour this post is. Makes me long for spring and summer. Glad you had such a great day planting flowers.

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  59. Look at all those colors!! Our February is rather white!! I am ready for some garden color! I love all your unique pots and the ladder!

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  60. Your garden is looking lovely, I hope Steve is feeling good after his shoulder surgery.

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  61. That's a lovely collection of flowers - bright and so cheerful. Pleased to hear Steve is making a good recovery from his operation. Sarah x

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  62. Absolutely beautiful! I love your use of color throughout your home and outside. Lots of interesting containers for the flowers gives me new ideas. Be so happy when we can plant flowers here & avoid a freeze.

    xo
    Pat

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  63. You are so lucky! You have all those flowers to look at and play with. We are still covered with snow. More cold weather is coming!!! Have fun.

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