One Year Ago…

My in-laws always had their grandkids sitting their table.  My father-in-law couldn't smile or speak anymore, but he was able to communicate through his iPad

This week is off to a busy start.  My husband and kids went on a camping trip, leaving me alone for 24 hours.

I had great plans for what I would do while they were gone. 

I would work on writing blogs….

Work in the garden….

Plant seedlings indoors for a instructional video coming up….

Work on our taxes….

AND get a Redbox movie to end the day.

Well, I did achieve writing a blog and I did get our taxes done, but that was about it.  My oldest daughter asked me to watch my granddaughter for a few hours, which I was happy to do.  However, she had just returned from the doctor after getting her shots, so she was not too happy.  So I just held and cuddled her.

Then my daughter brought lunch over and we visited for awhile.  So I got started on my taxes a bit late.  I do like using tax software, but I don’t like having to get all my receipts together.

I ended the evening eating dinner at 8:00 and watching TV.

As I sat in my very quite house, I remembered where I was one year ago to the day.

We were on a cruise of the Caribbean with in-laws.  They had treated us all to the cruise, which was to be a great time to build memories while we still had my father-in-law with us.  

My in-laws always had their grandkids sitting their table.  My father-in-law couldn't smile or speak anymore, but he was able to communicate through his iPad.

My in-laws always had their grandkids sitting their table.  My father-in-law couldn’t smile or speak anymore, but he was able to communicate through his iPad.

We had a fabulous time.

Our first visit was to St. Maarten.  I had my camera with me and along with taking photos of the family, I also took pictures of the tropical plants.

I didn't know my husband was taking a picture

I didn’t know my husband was taking a picture 😉

At first, I was shocked at how blue the water was.  (I am from Southern California, where the ocean is gray blue).

St Maarten

St Maarten

The plants were very colorful and I recognized some….

Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea

Vinca

Vinca

There were other plants that I had no idea what they were….

This plant is rather unusual

This plant is rather unusual.

St Maarten
St Maarten
St Maarten
St Maarten

St Maarten

You know, it didn’t matter that I didn’t know what all the plants where.

It was enough to know that they were beautiful….

A Wonderful Memory…..

Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."
4 replies
  1. Laura
    Laura says:

    It grows here. Baker's carries it sometimes. Queen butterflies use it as a host plant. It is in the milkweed line.

    I was very surprised that I was able to identify something. I'm a terrible gardener — but I try!

  2. Ellen
    Ellen says:

    Under the Vinca , the leaves and flowers look like they belong to Asclepias Gigantis (Giant Milkweed), but Gigantis doesn't have what looks like fruit. Queens and Monarchs use it as a host plant . So perhaps it is what the 1st commenter stated.
    The plant underneath this is Ixora,

    Both plants are plentiful in South Florida which is where I live.

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