Gfpacificbee’s Insights & photography
This blog is for my insights on life, the Bible, hiking adventures with my grandson and whatever is important to me
Osteospermum
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Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit: Copyright ©️2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: Centennial Center; Cramerton, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Admire the Flowers and the beauty found in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Posting in Remembrance of Cee Neuner
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit: Copyright ©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a wonderful week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Rosemary, is one of several herbs grown in the Heritage Garden in The Farm at The Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, North Carolina. Its needle-like leaves are incredibly aromatic and have been a staple in Mediterranean cuisine for centuries. It is often used to flavour meats, vegetables, and bread. Cooking is not the only reason Rosemary is cherished, it is revered for its traditional medicinal properties. It is also occasionally associated with memory and remembrance.
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Also posting in remembrance of …
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: The Heritage Garden; The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a pleasant and funtastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
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Ragtag Daily Prompt (RDP): Saturday-Perennial
Photo Credit: Copyright ©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: The Heritage Garden; The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a terrific week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
The Garden at the Schiele Museum of Natural History is ever changing with the seasons and years. The Gardens are maintained by museum staff, Community Volunteers and Interns, and the volunteer efforts of the Master Gardener Group of Gaston County.
This season we have plenty of Cosmos sulphureus, aka Sulfur cosmos; Zinnia peruviana, aka the Peruvian zinnia; Ornamental peppers, and Ipomoea coccinea aka Red Morning Glory. They are beautiful flowers to enjoy and admire, but not as many florals as in previous years.
Walking towards The Farm from the parking lot we first spot these lovely Cosmos sulphureus …
Walking around inside The Farm’s enclosed area, after visiting the goats, we spot these lovely Zinnia peruviana flowers …
As we walk through the Garden area in The Farm we notice several Ornamental Pepper plants and then a few Red Morning Glories. The peppers are so pretty and colourful that you can’t help, but be drawn to their natural beauty. While the Red Morning Glories are so small you might miss them if you weren’t truly searching for the wonderful flowers within the garden.
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Carol’s Thursday Trios-2026.10.09
Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit: Copyright ©️Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: The Gardens; The Farm; Tge Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Admire the Flowers and the beauty found in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
A Gallery of Orange Flowers and other such orange seen around town.
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Weekly Prompts Colour Challenge-Orange
Photo Credit:©️2023-2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura IV Filter attachment; Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
God Bless. Stay Cool. Stay Hydrated. Have a funtastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
This week Terri, our host for The Flower Hour is focusing on Floral ABC’s concentrating on WXYZ. This is the last week for the Floral ABC’s as we’ve come to the conclusion of the alphabet. Let’s have some fun. Here are my WXYZ Florals for this week’s challenge. It wasn’t too hard to locate flowers beginning with W or Y and Z but X was impossible to locate, henceforth, I didn’t find any X flowers amongst my photo files.
Here’s looking at the W’s …
Skipping X …..
On to the Y’s …
Z’s call for Zinnias … A Gallery of …
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Terri’s The Flower Hour #50 – Floral ABC’s-WXYZ
Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
God Bless. Admire the Flowers and the beauty found in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
XingfuMama hosts the weekly challenge Whatsoever Is Lovely. The challenge is simple. Just reflect back over your week and see what is lovely, whether a thing or a moment, share in a post what is precious and lovely to you.
This week I am continuing with Whatsoever is Lovely to me; Beautiful Flowers & Butterflies #5. These images were taken on Coleman’s & my recent visit to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina. The first area we visited was the Butterfly Bungalow. We had not previously visited the Butterfly Bungalowsince the times we’ve visited Daniel Stowe Conservancy before were in the Springtime.
For this post I am focusing on the Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus), one of the many varieties of butterflies maintained within the Butterfly Bungalow at the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden.
The Spicebush Swallowtail (Papilio troilus) is a one of the most fascinating butterflies in eastern North America due to its specialized lifecycle, unique hosting plants, and their use of mimicry to survive.
The Papilio troilus, aka the Spicebush Swallowtail, or Green-clouded butterfly, is a common black Swallowtail butterfly only found in the Eastern United States and Southern Ontario, however, it can sometimes be seen in the American plains states, Cuba, Manitoba, and Colorado. .
It is normally found in deciduous woods, or woody swamps. There they can be seen flying low and fast through shaded areas.
The Papilio troilus has two (2) subspecies, Papilio troilus troilus and Papilio troilus ilioneus. The Papilio troilus troilus is the one seen in this area and pictured in these images. Papilio troilus ilioneus is confined to the Southeastern coastal United States, mainly throughout Florida, along the coast of Georgia, and in places in Texas.
The primary host plants for the Spicebush Swallowtail are most commonly the Spicebush ((Lindera benzoin) or White Sassafras (Sassafras albidum). Despite their preference to primarily feed Lauraceae plants, they do feed on Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), especially here in the Butterfly Bungalow. Anise Hyssop is widely known as one of the ultimate “pollinator magnets” that is typically added to gardens.
The Spicebush Swallowtail love the Anise Hyssop for its perfect landing pads. The dense, structural spikes are composed of hundreds of tiny, nectar-rich tubular flowers. The Spicebush Swallowtail can easily grasp the stalks with their legs while their long proboscis probes from bloom to bloom. They also love the Anise Hyssop for its continuous energy. Anise Hyssop has an exceptionally long blooming window,The plant typically produces fresh flowers from June through September.
This blooming season of the Anise Hyssop provides a vital, reliable energy source for late-summer generations of butterflies preparing to reproduce or move through woodland edges.
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Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge-2026 Week #38
Terri’s The Flower Hour-2026.09.28
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens.
Location: Butterfly Bungalow; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Bely, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a lovely weekend filled with love, joy, and laughter. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Following along with Terri’s Autumn Floral theme, I took a Look Back into my archives for Autumnal Florals (not just Autumn colours, but taken in Autumn) taken in early Autumn. My selections were all taken at various times and locations during the month of October. I know it’s not October yet, however, it soon will be in only a few more days.
Taken October 3, 2023 …
… at The Garden in The Farm at The Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, North Carolina.
Taken October 6, 2025 …
… by the Bridge at Goat Island Park and Greenway in Cramerton, North Carolina.
Taken October 22, 2024 …
… near Lake Haigler along the Haigler Loop Trail at the Anne Springs Close Greenway’s Lake Haigler Entrance in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
Taken October 27, 2023 …
… by the Gibson House at the Stables Entrance of the Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
That’s all for now y’all.
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Terri’s The Flower Hour #49-Autumn Colors
Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit: Copyright ©️2023-2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
God Bless. Admire the Flowers and the beauty found in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
This week Terri, our host for The Flower Hour is focusing on Floral ABC’s concentrating on STUV. Let’s have some fun. Here are my STUV Florals for this week’s challenge. It wasn’t too hard to locate flowers beginning with S and T, but U was extremely difficult, henceforth, I didn’t find any amongst my photo files. V was hard to locate any type of flowers other than Violets.
Here’s looking at the S’s …
• Salvia farinacea
How about a look at the T’s …
Sorry, No U’s to be seen.
Skipping to V’s …
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Terri’s The Flower Hour #48 – Floral ABC’s-STUV
Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
God Bless. Admire the Flowers and the beauty found in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Click on image to enlarge.
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: The Garden; Unity Community; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a pleasant and funtastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
These sunflowers are not the type of flower you’d normally picture if someone said Sunflower, however, they are still beautiful in their own unique way.
The Mexican Sunflower is a plant in the Asteraceae family whose native origins range from Mexico to Central America.
They’re beloved by gardeners for their bright, fiery orange or red-orange petals and yellow centers, which resemble small sunflowers.
They thrive in full sun and warm weather, which is typical for Gastonia’s weather. They are attractive to pollinators such as butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds which absolutely adore them, making them a fantastic addition to any garden looking to support local wildlife.
The Tithonia rotundifolia, aka Mexican sunflower is not actually a true sunflower from the Helianthus family. However, their daisy-like blooms give off a similar sunny vibe. They are quite resilient and easy to grow. These flowers are surrounding my neighbours mailbox giving colour and beauty to the neighbourhood.
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Terri’s The Flower Hour #47-2026.09.11
Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit: Copyright ©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: Unity Community; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stop and smell the flowers. Admire them and the beauty found in nature. Have a fantastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Azaleas differ from other Rhododendrons by only having five (5) stamens per flower instead of the typical ten (10) or more on other Rhododendrons. They are popular ornamental plants, known for their showy blooms in a wide variety of colours.
Their colours range from vibrant pink to white, purple, and red. I normally see the pink and red varieties in the gardens around town. They are always available to be seen in the Garden in The Farm at The Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, North Carolina.
Click on image to enlarge.
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: The Garden; The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a pleasant and funtastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Liriope muscari is a species of flowering plant from the region of Easr Asia. It is also known as Big Blue Lilyturf, Lilyturf, Border Grass, and Monkey Grass.
Lilyturf is highly valued for its beautiful striped leaves and its purple flower spikes. It is an evergreen perennial, meaning its foliage stays green year round. Gardeners tend to favourite as a border plant, ground cover (as it usually used here), or as a means to help prevent erosion. It spreads nicely and creates a dense mat.
Liriope muscari usually blooms in late summer to early Autumn/Fall. Coleman first notice the purple spike flowers a little over a week ago and insisted I take pictures with my phone. As the days progressed more and more of the lilac-purple flower spikes began popping up bringing colour to the garden.
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Carol’s Thursday Trios -2026.09.04
Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit: Copyright ©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
God Bless. Stop and smell the flowers. Admire them and the beauty found in nature. Have a fantastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
This week Terri is focusing on Floral ABC’s concentrating on PQR. Let’s have some fun. Here are my PQR Florals for this week’s challenge.
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Terri’s The Flower Hour #46 – Floral ABC’s-PQR
Also posting in remembrance of …
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
God Bless. Admire the Flowers and the beauty found in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Click on image to enlarge.
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: Front Garden; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a pleasant and funtastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Following Terri’s and Brian’s lead on Sunflowers, I went in search of Sunflowers amongst my archives. I found some common sunflowers and some uncommon ones as well.
Here are my entries …
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Cee’s Flower of the Day
Bren’s Floral Friday
Photo Credit:©️2022-2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
God Bless. Admire the Flowers and the beauty found in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Looking across the road I spotted a few plants near Coleman’s bus stop. Below are the flowers I noticed …
And just a few steps away in front of a small apartment complex I found this yellow flowers.
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Also posting in remembrance of …
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
God Bless. Admire the Flowers and the beauty found in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Click on Image to enlarge.
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️Trisha L. Wilson … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Plus
Location: Off I-15/Hwy 50; Emery, Utah, USA
God Bless. Stay Strong, Spread Cheer, Love, and Happiness. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
The Garden Roses on the Shrub in the front yard are lingering on in this extremely hit and humid summer climate.
Only a few like these are still fighting to keep blooming.
Loveliest of lovely things are they on earth that soonest pass away. The rose that lives its little hour is prized beyond the sculptured flower.
–©️William C. Bryant
We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses. -Abraham Lincoln
“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.” ~ Luther Burbank
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Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: Unity Community; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stop and smell the flowers. Admire them and the beauty found in nature. Have a fantastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
This week Terri is focusing on Floral ABC’s concentrating on MNO. Let’s have some fun. Here are my MNO Florals for this week’s challenge.
Plant M:
Plant N:
Plant O:
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Terri’s The Flower Hour #44 – Floral ABC’s
Key:
Also posting in remembrance of …
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
God Bless. Admire the Flowers and the beauty found in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
It has been extremely hot and humid in our area causing havoc on gardens and flowers to wither and fade away. Currently, There are not many left in bloom. However, I did manage to find a few.
These are from The Garden in The Farm at The Schiele Museum of Natural History …
A Pair of Yellow Zinnias …
A Look at a Couple of Rhododendron indicum, aka Azalea indica L. …
Rhododendron indicum, aka Southern Indian azalea, has showy, vibrant funnel-shaped red, scarlet, or pink flowers that bloom in mid to late spring and occasionally again in the fall. ]These are both from the same Rhododendron (Azalea) Shrub.]
Now before we leave let’s take a look at an array of Sulfur cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus) …
That’s all I have for y’all today. Till next time, have a fabulously fun and productive weekend filled with love, laughter, and happiness.
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Terri’s The #Flower Hour #43-The Randoms
Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: The Garden; The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stop and smell the flowers. Admire them and the beauty found in nature. Have a fantastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Isaiah 40:8: “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.” KJV
“For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:” I Peter 1:24 KJV
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Terri’s The #Flower Hour #43-Your Choice
Also posting in remembrance of …
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
God Bless. Admire the Flowers and the beauty found in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Click on image to enlarge.
Debbie’s One Word Sunday-Reality
Photo Credit: ©️2014 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 5
Location: Piccolo’s Italian Restaurant; Lenoir, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Enjoy nature’s beauty. Have a wonderful week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.
Good Day everyone! This week Terri with Second Wind Leisure Perspectives has given us the prompt of #Yellow Hues for the Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge . She is featuring the Ochre and Saffron yellows, but is allowing any shades of #Yellow.
Let’s take a look at what #Yellow’s I have found …
First, here are some water reflections with #Yellow …
And a few tress with yellow leaves reflected in Lake Haigler at Anne Springs Close Greenway in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
Moving right along in nature we spot a solitary yellow tree and a few yellow Bromeliad Guzmania.
Now we’ll take a last look at yellow with images of yellow vehicles …
At last, but not least, Coleman wearing a yellow shirt …
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Photo Credit:©️1980-2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
God Bless. Admire the beautiful Flowers. Enjoy Nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.
The border of are front yard is landscaped with these plants which to me are filler borders used by landscapers to dress up a yard. I never knew they actually flowered until Coleman discovered the tiny macro flowers started to bloom on a few of the plants.
Coleman is holding the leaves back to ensure that I could accurately photograph them. He always points out new blooms to me asking me to take a picture. If he hadn’t shown it to me I probably never would’ve noticed them.
Click on image to enlarge.
Debbie’s Six Word Saturday-2026.08.08
Terri’s The #Flower Hour-2026.08.08
Cee’s Flower of the Day
Bren’s Floral Friday
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: Unity Community; Gastonia. North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Take time to admire the little things in life. Admire the beautiful flowers and how they bloom. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
This week Terri is focusing on Floral ABC’s concentrating on JKL. Let’s have some fun. Here are my JKL Florals for this week’s challenge.
Plant J:
Plant K:
Plant L:
Click on images to enlarge.
Terri’s The Flower Hour #42 – Floral ABC’s
Also posting in remembrance of …
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
God Bless. Admire the Flowers and the beauty found in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
The Oxeye Daisy are beautiful to look win a field. They are good for more than looking at as they are edible. When you harvest them make sure they are perfect looking, not wilted or brown. If you’re not using them the same day you harvest them you may choose to keep thin a vase for a few days.
The spoon-shaped basal leaves can be added to salads and dishes just as you would add a herb (best done in Spring). Moving on to Summer, the white flower heads can be used in salads and if you like they can be added to spring rolls. No need to cook the Oxeye Daisies, as the entire plant’s edible and can be eaten raw. For those adventurous food connoisseurs, the large flowers make an excellent garnish. Anyone adventurous enough to try eating any part of all of the Oxeye Daisy plant? I’ve not yet been adventurous enough to eat flowers in my food I prepare, but who knows maybe I’d like it and just don’t know it.
Click on each image to enlarge.
Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens
Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Daniel Stowe Conservancy; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stop and smell the flowers. Admire them and the beauty found in nature. Have a fantastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
This week Terri from Second Wind Leisure is giving us a theme of Plants/Flowers in Planters. Most of my recent flower shots have not been located in planters, therefore, I went searching through my archives to locate a few images that should fit the challenge.
Here are my entries …
Click on images to enlarge.
Terri’s The #Flower Hour #41-Plants/Flowers in Planters
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
God Bless. Admire the Flowers and the beauty found in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Click on image to enlarge.
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250 mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Take time to enjoy nature. Admire the beautiful flowers and plants. Have a funtastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
This week Terri is focusing on Floral ABC’s concentrating on GHI. Let’s have some fun. Here are my GHI Florals for this week’s challenge.
Click on images to enlarge.
Terri’s The Flower Hour #40 – Floral ABC’s
Key:
Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
God Bless. Admire the Flowers and the beauty found in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
XingfuMama hosts the weekly challenge Whatsoever Is Lovely. The challenge is simple. Just reflect back over your week and see what is lovely, whether a thing or a moment, share in a post what is precious and lovely to you.
This week I am continuing with Whatsoever is Lovely to me; Beautiful Flowers & Butterflies #2. These images were taken on Coleman’s & my recent visit to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina. The first area we visited was the Butterfly Bungalow. We had not previously visited the Butterfly Bungalow since the times we’ve visited Daniel Stowe Conservancy before were in the Springtime.
The best time of the year to visit the Butterfly Bungalow is during the Summer. Why do you think Summer is the best time to visit. Let me tell you. It is the best and only season to visit the Butterfly Bungalow due to the fact that it is a seasonal attraction that only operates from late May through early September, the warmest months of the year.
For this post I am focusing on the Monarch Butterfly. The Monarch Butterflies eagerly feast on Buddleja davidii (Butterfly Bush) because it functions as an elite nectar source. The nectar of Buddleja davidii is rich in sucrose, glucose, and fructose which offers a dense spike of immediate energy. The blooms of Buddleja davidii emit a powerful sweet, honey-like aroma that attracts Monarchs from a distance.
Below are Monarch Butterfly photos I took on our visit …
These pictured here are maintained in the controlled environment of the Butterfly Bungalow inside the Gardens of Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina.
Click on images to enlarge.
Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge-2026 Week 28
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens.
Location: Butterfly Bungalow; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Bely, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a lovely weekend filled with love, joy, and laughter. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
While these may look like real, they are not. These “Cattleya Orchid” are glass blown orchids created by master glassblower Jason Gamrath. He specifically tailored this highly intricate large scale Cattleya Orchid glass statue for Daniel Stowe Conservancy (formerly known as Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden). His Cattleya sculpture was designed to display all progressive phases of the flower’s life. This statue was originally apart of a Grandiflora Exhibition. Jason created the Cattleya Orchid glass statue by using highly intense, collaborative modelling and glass-blowing process.
Even though Jason calls the sculpture “Cattleya Orchid” according to the Daniel Stowe Conservancy website call these flowers Glass Daffodils. However, in its description it calls the statue an orchid piece stating that Jason’s purpose was to allow people to “observe with the same eyes through which ‘he’ humbly and graciously experiences our natural world” (Quote by Jason Gamrath).
Click on each image to enlarge.
Carol’s Thursday Trios-2026.07.17
Also posting in Remembrance of:
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: William H. Williamson, III Orchid Conservatory; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Get Outdoors. Take a Walk/Hike. Enjoy Nature’s Beauty. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Good Day everyone! This week Terri with Second Wind Leisure Perspectives has given us the prompt of Groups of Three (3) or More. I have selected Groups of Three or More in The Gardens at Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. Having selected floral Groups of Three (3) or More I am linking this post with Terri’s The #Flower Hour.
Click on rack image to enlarge.
Terri’s Sunday Stills-Groups of 3 or More
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm and Altura UV Filter Attachment.
Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Admire the beautiful Flowers. Enjoy Nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with me. I appreciate y’all very much.
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel 2000D with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Take time to enjoy the flowers. Get Outdoors and commune with nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Debbie with Travel with Intent has selected the word Bicoloured for this week’s One Word Sunday theme. When I first saw the term Bicoloured, I thought of duotoned images not two distinct colours or shades. Hence the last images has both Bicoloured and Duotoned.
Floral Examples …
One …
Two …
Duotoned vs. Bicoloured …
Click on images to enlarge.
Debbie’s One Word Sunday (#OWS)-Bicoloured
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Cameras: 1-2) Canon EOS Rebel 2000D with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment; 3-4) Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Belmont, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Admire the Flowers. Be observant of the amazingly beautiful colours found in nature. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
XingfuMama hosts the weekly challenge Whatsoever Is Lovely. The challenge is simple. Just reflect back over your week and see what is lovely, whether a thing or a moment, share in a post what is precious and lovely to you.
Summertime in the Carolinas is extremely hot and humid, too hot to want to walk around outside. However, it is the best time of year to view and watch the amazing fluttering of beautiful Butterflies. What better way to observe them than in an enclosed Butterfly Bungalow.
That’s exactly what Coleman and I did on Wednesday. It was wonderful and oh so lovely to watch the Butterflies flittering around. They move so fast it was difficult to keep up with them to photograph them.
Here’s a few Butterflies flitting to and fro enjoying the nectar of their favourite flowers.
This week’s featured Butterfly is the Heliconius charithonia, also known as Zebra Longwing or Zebra heliconian. It is distinctively known for its long, black wings with pale yellow stripes. Their wing pattern serves as a warning to potential predators that their toxicity.
One thing which is unique to the Zebra Longwing is that the adult butterflies feed on both nectar and pollen. The pollen enables them synthesize cyanogenic glycosides which makes their bodies toxic to predators.
The Zebra Longwing Butterflies may be spotted in South America, Central America, the West Indies, and the Southeastern United States. Adults will migrate into the Carolinas during the warmer summer months. These pictured here are maintained in the controlled environment of the Butterfly Bungalow inside the Gardens of Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina.
Click on images to enlarge.
Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge-2026 Week 27
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens.
Location: Butterfly Bungalow; Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden; Bely, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a lovely weekend filled with love, joy, and laughter. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Floral Trios
Click on each image to enlarge.
Carol’s Thursday Trios-2026.07.10
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location:
God Bless. Get Outdoors. Take a Walk/Hike. Enjoy Nature’s Beauty. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Floral D:
Floral E:
Floral F:
Click on image to enlarge.
Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2023-2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
God Bless. Stop and smell the flowers. Admire them and the beauty found in nature. Have a fantastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Click on image to enlarge.
Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2022 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S18-55mm lens
Location: Anne Springs Close Greenway; Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stop and smell the flowers. Admire them and the beauty found in nature. Have a fantastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
RED …
WHITE …
BLUE …
Happy Birthday America!
Click on each image to enlarge.
Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2023-2025 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens; Apple iPhone 13 Pro; Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
God Bless. Stop and smell the flowers. Admire them and the beauty found in nature. Have a fantastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Click on each image to enlarge.
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250 mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a terrific week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Trio of
Hosta ‘Fragrant Bouquet’
As the months pass by it seems like there’s another plant deciding to bloom sharing its exquisitely alluring beauty for all to see and admire.
This variegated foliage plant, I had thought was just an ornamental landscaping element (to me) surprisingly blossomed recently. Coleman said to me, “Take a picture.” So I complied with his request and am sharing a couple with y’all.
The Hosta ‘Fragrant Bouquet’ also referred to as Plantain Lily is a fast growing perennial with variegated foliage and is highly aromatic with its summer blooms. It forms a lush, open mound of heart-shaped, apple-green leaves highlighted by creamy-yellow margins.
It has large trumpet-shaped flowers that range in colour from near-white to pale lilac. The sweet fragrance is said to attract hummingbirds and butterflies, however, I have not seen evidence of that on this plant.
It is planted next to a hydrangea bush and almost covering it completely as if hidden from view until it began to increase in growth and its blossoms became evident in the summer breeze.
Carol’s Thursday Trios-2026.06.26
Also posting in remembrance of …
Bren’s Floral Friday
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Fusion
Location: Unity Community; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Stop and smell the flowers. Admire them and the beauty found in nature. Have a fantastic week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Click on image to enlarge.
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max
Location: Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Take time to Enjoy Nature’s Beauty. Smell the amazing fragrance of flowers. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Click on each image to enlarge.
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250 mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: The Nature Trail; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a terrific week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
The Mexican Fire Bush (Hamelia patens) is grown as an annual in Gastonia, North Carolina. It is a vibrant, fast-growing tropical shrub known for its fiery orange-red tubular flowers. It is highly prized for attracting pollinators like hummingbirds and butterflies. It typically grows 2 to 4 feet tall in a single season. Sinc North Carolina winters are too cold for it to remain evergreen, the plant will experience dieback, but it serves as an exceptional summer filler for local gardens.
The gardens at The Schiele Museum of Natural History are supported and maintained by the Master Gardener Group of Gaston County. This is not your traditional private garden club, but instead it is an organization that is a specialized volunteer network extension of the NC State Extension Master Gardener Program. The certified Extension Master Gardener Volunteers manage and improve the specialized flora spaces at The Schiele Museum which include The Farm and Along the entrance and nature trail. The Garden in the Farm at The Schiele Museum showcases Piedmont-native agricultural crops and plant varieties.
Click on image to enlarge.
Remembering ….
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Bren’s Floral Friday
Photo Credit: ©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter Attachment.
Location: Entrance Gardens; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Take Care. Help those in need. Spread Love and Kindness all around you. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Welcome back to another Which Way Challenge (CWWC). I trust everyone has had a good week and able to spend some time to take a walk or hike in the vast outdoors. This week’s theme for the Which Way Challenge is CWWC: Any Which Way in Your Neighbourhood 06.19.2026]. The Which Way can be Any Which Way you choose in your own neighbourhood as long as the Which Way is clearly discernible. As always signs are always welcome.
For further information regarding the Which Way Challenge (CWWC) feel free to check out the home page here.
Here are my entries …
Click on each image to enlarge.
Thank you to those who have participated and supported the Which Ways Challenge. I appreciate y’all sharing your Which Ways with us.
For an idea of other’s Which Ways from this past week’s challenge, be sure to click on the following links below.
Brian’s Yellow in (yellow out)
Marina from In Primo Piano’s yellow
Cath’s Which Way… {Spotto for Walking}
Rich from Serendipity’s The Yellow Trail
Dawn’s Down a Country Road
Dan’s The Crayola Box of 8 – Green — CFFC
Deb’s Which Way Challenge-Any Which Way in Your Neighbourhood [06.19.2026]
The Flower Hour #35: Floral ABCs (Not) 2026.06.19)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Location: Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Get Outdoors. Have an Adventure. Enjoy the Beauty all around you. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us.
***Note: Next Week’s theme will be CWWC: Any Which Way with Blue Along a Trail, Pathway, or Walkway [06.26.2026]
Click on each image to enlarge.
Click on image to enlarge.
Terri’s The Flower Hour-2026.06.15
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250 mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: The Garden; The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Have a terrific week. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
Welcome back to another Which Way Challenge (CWWC). I trust everyone has had a good week and able to spend some time to take a walk or hike in the vast outdoors. This week’s theme for the Which Way Challenge is CWWC: Any Which Way with Yellow along a Trail, Path, or Road. The Which Way can be any Trail, Path or Road as long as the Which Way is clearly discernible. As always signs are always welcome.
For this week’s Which Way Challenge I am linking with Dan’s Fun Foto Challenge (CFFC) – The Crayola Box of 8 Yellow. Please feel free to connect with his post by clicking here.
For further information regarding the Which Way Challenge (CWWC) feel free to check out the home page here.
And as a Bonus I’m adding a few Yellow Flowers … For Cee’s Flower of the Day, Bren’s Floral Friday, & Terri’s The #Flower Hour.
Click on each image to enlarge.
Thank you to those who have participated and supported the Which Ways Challenge. I appreciate y’all sharing your Which Ways with us.
For an idea of other’s Which Ways from this past week’s challenge, be sure to click on the following links below.
Brian’s On the road
Dawn’s Which Way: Bent Tree in GW National Forest in Summer
Geriatri’x’ Fotogallery’s At The Sea
Deb’s Which Way Challenge (CWWC) 2026: Any Which Way with Yellow along a Trail, Path, or Road
Cosmic Photo Challenge (#CosPhoChal)-What’s Flowering Where You Are?
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Bren’s Floral Friday
God Bless. Get Outdoors. Take a Walk/Hike. Enjoy Nature’s Beauty. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
*** Note Next Week’s theme: CWWC: Any Which Way in Your Neighbourhood
The Fragaria virginiana, is also known Scarlett Strawberry and Wild Strawberry. It is a flowering perennial that produces edible fruit. It spreads by runners making it an easy choice for use as groundcover. It can also be used as erosion control holding soil on slopes.
Wild Strawberries are native to North America, from Newfoundland and Alberta in Canada , south down Georgia, Tennessee, and Oklahoma as well as the states in between like North and South Carolina. The plant produces small white flowers in the Spring with tiny, highly flavorful red berries following in late spring and early summer. They are primarily pollinated by a diverse mix of native bees, hoverflies, and small butterflies.
These Scarlett Strawberries (Fragaria virginiana) are grown in the garden in The Farm at The Schiele Museum of Natural History in Gastonia, North Carolina. The Garden also contains several bee hives providing the bees which pollinate many of the flowers grown here.
Terri’s The #Flower Hour #34-2026.06.09
Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)
Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.
Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T7 (2000D) with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens and Altura UV Filter attachment.
Location: The Garden; The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA
God Bless. Take time to Enjoy Nature’s Beauty. Smell the amazing fragrance of flowers. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.
![Which Way Challenge (CWWC): Any Which Way in Your Neighbourhood [06.19.2026]](https://gfpacificbeeintrospection.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/image-1-1.jpg?w=489)
