Fabulous!!! I can smell the gardenia!!!

Thanks. Yes, the gardenias smell divine

These are beautiful photos--thank you for sharing them. What is the lovely purple-blooming tree in the 3rd pic in the original post?

All lovely!

That looks like a ginormous chaste tree (vitex) - is it?

And what is the very pretty plant in the 2nd to last photo?

Beautiful!

My goodness how lush everything is.

Feathers, carolb nailed it — vitex.

carol, that’s a variety of azelea that’s less common down here in these parts.

jojo, sciencechick, feathers, carol, zalco, thank you!

So beautiful!! I admire you gardeners. I'm lucky to keep a few perennials and annual pots going.

Swoon is right! So beautifully tended, too. I’m most curious about that blooming ”fern”??? And I’m most envious of those gardenias .Sigh.

STUNNING!!! A beautiful paradise . Where are you located? Your roses are divine! c

So many gorgeous blooms! Everything is so lush and lovely!

The title of this thread fits it well, Happy and beautiful!

Beautiful! You are in the south too - correct? If you are like us here in TN, everything is so lush and green. We had a wet late winter/early spring and it has really benefited our trees and plants. Hoping it will keep us out of a deficit this summer.

Lovely!! i can smell the gardenia from here

Wow, gorgeous!

Is that a rose in a pot Nuts?! My Iceberg that I'd had in a pot for two years died. I want to try again but haven't found the right rose or the time or the courage . . . meanwhile I'm using the pot this spring to grow more veggies . . . I posted on the rose forum about it and found out that its not as easy as it sounds now that our climate is so spotty--below zero one week and then up into the 40 and 50's the next . . . I'm trying to figure out a system where I can constantly adjust the temps around the pot . . . probably not a problem in your zone if you can grow gardenias.

Just beautiful! I love seeing all this and I love gardenias

thanks everyone. Yes, I’m in the south, the deep south. Louisiana.

Plants are a spiritual connection, as are animals, right?

Martinca, if you’re referring to the orange blooms, it’s rattlebox, sesbania punicea.

Pink, roses usually do better in the ground. The only reason that one is in a pot is that it was a miniature rose (the grocery store variety) that someone gave me as a gift. I put it in a pot to see if it will take. And also because a small plant like that will be lost in the jungle of a garden i have. you may want to try putting yours in the ground.

Well in LA your roses won't have to struggle with the temps dipping both below and above freezing constantly. It's the constant fluctuation that does them in. They can't go in and out of dormancy a bunch of times . . . Sadly I am all out of sun space with roses. That's why I'm resorting to pots on solid surfaces now. I have 33 trees on my property, many large old mature ones so shade gardening for the most part is my life, plus planters and postage sized sunny spots. I have a miniature rose garden in the ground, in one of those postage sized spots. Here's my baby dragon sleeping amongst the baby roses.

Louisiana, I grew up in New Orleans we still have family in the area, Covington and LaPlace. I met DH who also grew up there while I was at Loyola and he was working at Tulane Med School.

My Dad grew beautiful roses at our home in NOLA.

Your gardens are so beautiful. @nutsaboutplants

Oh what a pretty spot the dragon chose! I understand about the shade and the repeated temp changes. But you still grow pretty rosesones. That’s amazing.

Trail, glad to know you’re from La and still connected to it. Hope we can connect when you are down here next time. Wr can plan ahead of your visit!

It is all beautiful, Nuts! So many gorgeous and healthy plants loaded with blooms or in full leaf, i am envious! i know how much work goes into creating and maintaining gardens like you have…. a tip of my panama gardening hat to you 👍

Such lovely plantings!

We are just about to plant a vitex tree (in place of an orange tree we lost in the February freeze). What is the beautiful pink bush/tree in the photo just above your vitex photo?

Thank you!

SO pretty!!!! Thank you so much for sharing!

Nutsaboutplants, thanks for posting your beautiful gardens. Everything looks so gorgeous this year. I am also in the south and agree it has been a good year for almost every blooming thing so far this year.

Bestyears, i think you’ll like the vitex tree. The leaves have a very mild scent unless I’m imagining it. the bloom period is close to 3 months. The rest of the time, it’s just a tree, but has a nice growth habit and interesting leaves.

The flowering thing before the vitex pic is cleorodendrum bungei aka mexican hydrangea or cashmere bouquet. It spreads through a shallow tap root. I leave it in areas that would otherwise need weeding. I’d rather have this than weeds, though this plant can be aggressive.

Thank you pudge, outside, bestyears and fun2behere.