I’ve always loved the beauty of blooms. When I’ve done the Authors in Bloom Blog Hop before, I’d post photos of my garden and blooms from the almond orchard where we lived in a hundred year old farm house. Since then we’ve moved into a house in the city.
So this year I have taken photos of the blooms of our very own trees that came with the house.
This one is from a lemon tree. The blooms have a sweet citrus-floral scent. The interesting thing about the lemon trees is that they produce two or more crops of lemons a year.
This lovely bright pink bloom is from the nectarine tree. Nectarines are my favorite fruit, so I’m thrilled that we get to eat from then fresh from our very own home grown trees. And they are good. I was privileged to pick them in the morning right after we just moved in and have had one or two for breakfast.
This one is from the peach tree. The blooms look very similar to the almond trees and that’s because they are related. Decades of cross breeding was done, so that the almond tree can produce nothing but the tasty almonds. The peach on the other hands was developed for the fruit.They are also related to the nectarine which is considered a fuzzless peach.
This is the almond bloom just so you can compare the peach with the almond bloom. Sorry for the extreme close up.
I did manage with help from my husband to plant a small flower garden at our new home. I’m also working on the vegetable garden in the back yard. Its still a work in progress.
My best advice on growing a flower or a vegetable garden or fruit trees is take in consideration the amount of sun exposure you have and the size of the spot you’re limited to, then ask your local garden supplier what you can plant in that spot. Chances are there is something you can grow there that will be amazing.
Here’s some great tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSPlSwbArD4
Good luck. 🙂
In my recent book, Windswept Shores Two, I have a garden mentioned.
Blurb: Megan and Seth are finally rescued off their little island, but things are far from idyllic as they’re treated to one nasty surprise after another, which puts all plans of a wonderful future in jeopardy.
Will they ever get back together again or see the life they envisioned?
Except:
Handing him the loofah and soap, Megan turned away. Seth soaped up and started washing her back in small circles. “You know I love ya?”
She nodded.
“Liz really did sneak into the room, and I really was asleep.” He hoped she understood. He wouldn’t have brought her halfway around the world to then sleep with his ex.
Megan stiffened. “She wants you back.”
“I reckon she does, but I don’t want her. I only want you.”
After she rinsed off, she grabbed the soap and loofah from him. She gestured for him to change places with her. “I’m not one to fight over a man.” Megan worked her way from the top of his shoulders all the way down to his butt. “I never fought with Jonathan’s mistress over him. I told him to stop seeing her, but of course he didn’t.”
“Megz, I—”
“But if Liz gives me any more trouble, she’ll wish she hadn’t messed with me.”
Seth gritted his teeth against Megan’s hard scrubbing. “I reckon she will. Blimey, I know I am, and I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“No, you just lay there, letting it happen!” The soap and loofah bounced off the shower wall.
Seth turned, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her against his chest. “I’m sorry Liz is giving you such a hard time. She’s a bit of bitch most days and a drama queen the rest. Why do you think I left?”
“Yeah, I kind of figured.” She sniffed and leaned her head against his chest.
“This is a right mess, eh?”
Megan sighed. “What are we going to do?”
“Once things get settled, I could get us a house, yeah? It’ll be a nice big mansion on a hill overlooking the ocean. In the master bath, the shower will look like your waterfall, and in the garden, we’ll have a pool and fix it so it looks like our old swimming lagoon. I’ll make us a pergola and more chairs, and you can weave the bottoms and backs. I’ll plant palm and banana trees. You can have a garden. We’ll pretend we’re still on our little island and make love all day long, eh?”
Megan looked up at him with sad sea-green eyes. “Seth, that sounds so lovely, but your father’s dying and your son misses you. You can’t leave. You’re needed here.”
He ran his hand down the side of his face. “Then what do we do, eh?”
“I don’t know.” She rested against him. “Just bide our time, I guess. But don’t blame me if you come home late one night and your ex is black and blue.”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Windswept Shores (One): http://www.amazon.com/Windswept-Shores-Survivors-Love-Story-ebook/dp/B00AS9NDNO/
Windswept Shores Two: http://www.amazon.com/Windswept-Shores-Two-survivors-story-ebook/dp/B01BPLNHTI/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
In the UK, Windswept Shores (One): http://www.amazon.co.uk/Windswept-Shores-Survivors-Love-Story-ebook/dp/B00AS9NDNO/
In the UK, Windswept Shores Two: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Windswept-Shores-Two-survivors-story/dp/1523945117/
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***Contest Time***
GRAND PRIZE: We are giving away a Kindle Fire or Nook (winner’s choice)
along with a 2nd prize of $25 gift card.
To win the grand prize, you must visit each and every author on the hop. Each site will post the links of participating authors but please feel free to visit www.diannevenetta.com to find the author link list at any point in time. Some authors might offer more than one entry to win.
How do I submit my grand prize entry?
Grand prize entrants will be entered via a rafflecopter giveaway widget, available on the initial and final landing page of this hop, located on BloominThyme. All entries (and actions) will be verified to deem winners.
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here to enter the grand prize contest.
(void were prohibited.)
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
For Janice Seagraves’s contest, in the comment section, simply state what you love about gardening. (A nice comment on my recent book release wouldn’t hurt either. *wink*)
My prize is this conk shell heart choker posted below.
If you live outside of the USA or Canada, and win the prize, a gift certificate to Amazon for the equivalent to five (5) dollars in USA currency will be substituted.
Tour ends April 16th at 11:59pm EST. My winner will be announced by April 18th.
Void were prohibited.
Janice Seagraves, Author 
What I love about gardening is that it gets me out of the house so I actually get some sun for a change.
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That and walking get me out of the house too.
Thank you for posting.
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I love gardening with my family. We usually plant a large vegetable garden. Happy spring.
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It’s Awesome to share the fruits of your labors with the family. And nothing tastes better than produce you grow yourself.
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I am not big on gardening, but my son loves to grown flowers in pots in his room.
videoclimber AT yahoo DOT com
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Aw, that’s sweet.
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What I enjoy about gardening is watching everything I planted grow. watching life grow is such a rewarding feeling!
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Isn’t life in the garden amazing?
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I didn’t know that about almonds & peaches, Janice. Fascinating. We had all kinds of fruit in my garden (blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, figs, plums, apples, cherries, peach and more)–the peach lost out to an overzealous backhoe. Alas.
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oh, dear. At least you still have the rest. Mu husband just bought me blue berries to grow in my garden.
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Congratulations on your new book release! 🙂 Beautiful pictures! I have a peach (or nectarine, not sure, it never gets fruit) and a couple almonds and they do bloom nicely. I love when the pussywillows burst into bloom, too. They are usually first.
What I love about gardening is simply watching things grow. Harvesting vegetables to eat is pretty good, too! 🙂 (Saves money!) cchant86 @ yahoo.com
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Thank you, Catherine.
Too bad about the lack of fruiting, but at least you get to enjoy the blooms.
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I love actually eating the RIPE vegetables which have some flavor.
Anne
acm05atjuno.com
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That is the best part about growing a garden. Nothing tastes better than a home grown tomato.
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How beautiful my home looks after I put a garden around it. I like the extra color. Grats on your recent book release!
kissedbymidnight AT gmail.com
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Thank you, Amber.
I like my home with a garden around it too. 🙂
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I love flowers but sadly I have no talent growing anything. Thanks for the pics rand advice. Congrats on the new release.
Carol L
Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com
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Thank you, Carol.
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I like gardening in that I can have sone fresh vegetables like radishes, green peppers, and green onions on hand.
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Me too. Thank you for commenting.
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I like having a nice place to relax 🙂 It is the one place I can go to get away for every day stress 🙂
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So do I. Can’t bet a lovely cultivated backyard to relax in.
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I garden because I love all the different plants. Plus it lets me grow different varieties of fruits and veggies that you can’t find in the store.
sienkiel1821 at yahoo dot com
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That is always a great reason to garden. 🙂
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I love gardening being outside planting and caring for the garden and best of all the result beautiful flowers. jean60212@gmail.com
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jean60212@gmail.com
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I am not very successful as a gardener but I appreciate all the tips I’ve gotten on this hop. jeanna_massman at hotmail dot com
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What I love about gardening is the fresh vegetables and flowers, but I don’t have a garden at the moment.
(mybeach52 at yahoo dot com)
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What I love about gardening is the flowers and fresh vegetables, but I don’t have a garden right now.
(mybeach52 at yahoo dot com)
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What I love about gardens are the flowers and fresh vegetables.
(mybeach52 at yahoo dot com)
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I am not much of a gardener since I live in a condo with a small patio…no yard. I do have a few plants on pots…but one I would eat.
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Hi Jackie,
That is still gardening if in a limited way. You can also grow a patio tomato plant in a pot.
Janice~
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I love that I get to eat and share the bounty of all of our hard work in the garden. I also really enjoy seeing the birds and the bees (literally) benefit from the plants and flowers we grow. blueberrycrisp@gmail dot com
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Me too. And my wonderful hubby just bought me blueberry bushes. 🙂
Janice~
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the flowers
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
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Oh, I love growing pretty flowers too. 🙂
Janice~
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I like literally enjoying the fruits of my labors.
rsbrandt44 (at) hotmail (dot) com
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That is the best part of gardening. 🙂
Janice~
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Beautiful photos! I love gardening because I enjoy looking at the flowers, and eating the fresh veggies!
sprocket 215 @ g mail . com
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Thank you, Deborah.
Me too. Thank you for the comment.
Janice~
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Poor Megan, looks like she’s going to have to teach Liz a lesson, once and for all, so she’ll move on! Congrats on the release! I love seeing things grow and become something else…I am always fascinated to watch something go from a seed to a flower or a vegetable (although I am terribly impatient, lol). Thanks for the giveaway.
elewkf1 at yahoo dot com
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Hi Elf,
You’ll have to read it to find out. 🙂 Thank you for the comment.
Just water your garden and try not to think about it too much and before you know it, its grown up and making fruit or veggies.
Janice~
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Wow such pretty trees. Congrats on your release. Thanks for sharing amybowens34(at)yahoo(dot)com
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Thank you. I can’t take any credit for them, since they were already here when we bought the house.
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Hello Janice, Windswept Shores sounds great! I love eating the vegetables I grow in my garden. Thank you Linda Romer isisthe12th(at)gmail(dot)com
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I love getting outside and playing in the dirt!
Thanks for the amazing giveaway!
elizabeth(at)bookattict(dot)com
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Me too. Must be a hold over from when we’re kids.
Thank you for leaving a comment.
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