First Rose of Summer

LIVIN' EASY IS A FLORIBUNDA THAT IS ALWAYS AMONG THE FIRST TO BLOOM IN SPRING AND THE LAST TO STOP BLOOMING IN FALL. SHE IS QUITE THE THORNY LADY, BUT SHE MAKES UP FOR THAT BY BEING FAIRLY RESISTANT TO ALL THOSE ANNOYING ROSE PROBLEMS. THIS ROSE HAS BEEN MY GARDEN FOR A GOOD TEN YEARS!

Banksia Rose

Both White and Yellow Banksia Roses bloom on the same bush! Because of someone's long ago goof, we can enjoy both flowers at once.

Phinizy Swamp Nature Park

Red Wing Blackbird

Bird man?

Enjoying an Easter Egg Hunt with our grandchildren at The Church at Sandhurst in Florence, SC, I spotted this birdnest in the low branches of a crepe myrtle. The nest looked like a bird had made it, but there was a pliable branch woven around the nest and branches that appeared to be holding it in place. Could any kind of Coastal Plain bird have made such an intricate arrangement? Was somebody giving the bird a hand? Was it an elaborately conceived Sunday School lesson?