Macro Monday – 2026 May 11

Bigleaf Hydrangea

Bigleaf Hydrangea
(Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Parzifal’)

Click on image to enlarge.

Macro Monday (MM)

Terri’s The Flower Hour-2026.05.11

Dawn’s Spring Festival 2026 – Week 8

Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)

Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved. 

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: 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.

Floral Friday/The #Flower Hour/Spring Festival — 2026 May 08

Happy Mother’s Day!

Roses to brighten your
Mother’s Day Weekend

Terri’s The #Flower Hour #29

Dawn’s Spring Festival 2026 – Week #8

Also posting in remembrance of … 

Bren’s Floral Friday 

Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)

Cee’s FOTD 

Photo Credit:©️2021 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved. 

Camera: Apple iPhone 11 Pro Max

Location: Lake Wylie, South Carolina, USA

God Bless. Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mothers, and men don’t forget to honor the women in your life. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

The #Flower Hour #29— 2026 May 05

“¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo!”

Spiraea japonica ‘Walbuma

Aka Magic Carpet Spirea, it is a compact deciduous shrub grown in a landscape near the tennis courts at T. Jeffers Center.

It is cherished for its vibrant yellow-gold foliage, intense pink summer (even though it is only spring here) flowers and red fall colour.

Click on each image to enlarge. 

Terri’s The #Flower Hour #29-2026.05.05

Dawn’s Spring Festival 2026-Week 7

Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)

Cee’s Flower of the Day

Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: Near Tennis Courts; T. Jeffers Center and Park; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Admire the Flowers 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.

Floral Friday/The #Flower Hour/Spring Festival — 2026 May 01

Happy May Day!

Click on each image to enlarge. 

Terri’s The #Flower Hour #28

Dawn’s Spring Festival 2026-Week 7

Carol’s Thursday Trios-2026 May 01

Also posting in remembrance of … 

Bren’s Floral Friday 

Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)

Cee’s 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. Have a funtastic weekend. Enjoy the Spring Florals. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

The #Flower Hour #28— 2026 April 28

Hymenocallis coronaria

These images are from last year. This year’s Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies are not in full bloom yet. The Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies bloom each year along the Catawba River and can be viewed from Landsford Canal State Park. The best time of year to view the Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies is from May through mid-June. To view them from land, you may choose to hike the 1.5 mile, round-trip down either the Nature Trail or the Canal Trail to the overlook. There is another option to view the Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies, that option would be to kayak the Catawba River and wind your way through the Rocky Shoals Spider Lilies where you’ll have an upclose view.

Aka Cahaba lily, Shoal lily,
or Shoals Spider-lily

The latest report on the Lily Watch is that the green leaves are reaching full growth and the Rocky Shoals in the river are looking lush. There are a view early bloomers out in the Catawba River with more flowers coming into full bloom soon. This year the rainfall has been insufficient, however, the plants still are looking healthy and are expected to reach peak bloom around the middle or end of May.

Click on each image to enlarge. 

Terri’s The #Flower Hour #26-2026.04.28

Macro Monday (MM)

Dawn’s Spring Festival 2026-Week 6

Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)

Cee’s Flower of the Day

Location: Landsford Canal State Park; Catawba, South Carolina, USA 

God Bless. Admire the Flowers 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.

Floral Friday/The #Flower Hour/Spring Festival — 2026 April 24

Bee Calendula officinalis

Calendula officinalis,
Aka Pot Marigold
Is a Feast for a Common
Eastern Bumblebee

Click on each image to enlarge. 

Terri’s The #Flower Hour #27

Dawn’s Spring Festival 2026-Week 6

Also posting in remembrance of … 

Bren’s Floral Friday 

Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)

Cee’s FOTD 

Photo Credit:©️2023 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved. 

Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T3i with Canon EF-S55-250mm lens

Location: The Farm; The Schiele Museum of Natural History; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Have a funtastic weekend. Enjoy the Spring Florals. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

2026 CosPhoChal: Green Gardens Spring New Life

Dale, the host of the Cosmic Photo Challenge has asked the question “How does your garden grow?”. We haven’t lived in our current location long enough to plant a garden, but nonetheless, a small garden does exist on the property. I have shown a few pictures in other challenges, however, I show other pictures not previously posted.

These are some of the Eastern Skunk Cabbage growing in the garden …

The next set is from our neighbours garden …

Click on each image to enlarge.

Cosmic Photo Challenge (#CosPhoChal)

Dawn’s Spring Festival 2026

Cee’s FOTD

Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved. 

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max 

Location: Home Gardens; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA 

God Bless. May you be blessed with new adventures, new friendships, and an abundance of happiness. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Floral Friday/The #Flower Hour/Spring Festival — 2026 April 17

Symplocarpus foetidus

The Symplocarpus foetidus, aka Eastern skunk cabbage, is growing in a small garden of our rental home. When I first saw the plants in the small garden I wasn’t sure what type of plant they were.

Aka Eastern Skunk Cabbage

The Eastern Skunk Cabbage is a native North American wildflower. It is known for being among the first plants to emerge in late winter.

Close-up view

It is a low-growing plant that grows in wetlands (Why here, I’m not sure. We definitely don’t live in a wetland area. We did have snow and ice storms this winter though.) and moist hill slopes (the area it’s planted in is more or less flat) of eastern North America.

A single unopened plant

We moved here evidently after the plants had already bloomed. When in blooming season, the plant produces a foul-smelling, maroon-and-green mottled spathe (hood) that covers its flowers, attracting pollinators like flies and beetles with its heat and odour. Its foul-smelling odour is the main reason it is called “Skunk Cabbage.”

Once the Eastern Skunk Cabbage flowers, then large, cabbage-like leaves unfurl, and the plant is toxic if ingested raw, causing burning and swelling.

Click on each image to enlarge. 

Terri’s The #Flower Hour #26

Dawn’s Spring Festival 2026-Week 5

Also posting in remembrance of … 

Bren’s Floral Friday 

Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)

Cee’s FOTD 

Photo Credit:©️2026 Deb L. Waters … All Rights Reserved. 

Camera: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max

Location: Backyard Garden; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Have a funtastic weekend. Enjoy the Spring Florals. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Floral Friday/The #Flower Hour/Spring Festival — 2026 April 10

This is an excellent week for combining The Flower Hour, Spring Festival 2026 Week 4, while remembering Bren’s Floral Friday and Cee’s Flower of the Day challenges. As stated in my CWWC/CFFC post Coleman and I hiked the Lake Crawford Trail at Kings Mountain State Park. The trail was displaying an impressive array showing colourful signs of Spring.

Here are a few pics of Spring signs we saw on our Hike …

Click on each image to enlarge.

Terri’s The #Flower Hour #25

Dawn’s Spring Festival 2026-Week 4

Also posting in remembrance of … 

Bren’s Floral Friday 

Cee’s Flower of the Day (FOTD)

Cee’s 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: Lake Crawford Trail; Kings Mountain State Park; Blacksburg, South Carolina, USA

God Bless. Have a funtastic weekend. Enjoy the Spring Florals. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.

Floral Friday/The #Flower Hour/Spring Festival — 2026 April 03

Cornus florida

On our walk this afternoon Coleman and I saw several flowering trees on our way to the T Jeffers Center. One stood out on the corner across from T. Jeffers Park.

Aka Flowering Dogwood
Aka American dogwood

Click on each image to enlarge.

Terri’s The #Flower Hour #24

Dawn’s Spring Festival 2026-Week 3

Becca’s Sunday Trees – 631

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: Near T. Jeffers Center; Gastonia, North Carolina, USA

God Bless. Stop and admire Nature’s Beauty. Take a walk Enjoy the Outdoors. Thank you for visiting and sharing your time and thoughts with us. I appreciate y’all very much.