Visions of Spring

Those are snapdragons in my header picture.  I planted them on March 7, 2012, and I am so ready to start digging in the dirt again. Unfortunately, Mother Nature seems to have other ideas about when Spring will make an appearance this year here in central Mississippi.  Two days ago, the low temperature was 18 degrees, and the forecast for the next few days is daytime temperatures in the 60s, with lows hovering in the 50s ... better than 18, yes ... but still not favorable for planting Spring flowers. The growers were hit hard this winter, and the local nurseries are suffering too.  Their stock is way down and the plants they have on hand were bitten back by the extremely cold temperatures. Even Home Depot doesn't have anything, except for some straggly Pansies and a few Cyclamens. I guess I'll just have to be patient for a little longer ... but in the meantime, I'd like to reminisce of springtimes past by sharing pictures of some of the flowers I planted. Lavender Lantana, May 2013  Sunpatiens, May 2011 Home Depot Mix, April 2009 Purple Verbena, March 2008 Red Verbena, April 2007 We have a new landscaping project in progress which I hope to share soon.  We've done the ground work and are now (not-so)-patiently waiting for the nursery to get some new plants in.  After looking at these pictures, I've gotten some ideas on flowers I'd like to use in the new planting areas.  I especially like the purple verbena cascading over the rocks along the stream in our courtyard. I hope Mother Nature is being more cooperative where you live ... and I wish you a March filled with many happy hours spent digging in the dirt, with visions of Spring flowers dancing through your head!

Lagniappe Outside My Window

I glanced out one of the windows of our front doors yesterday morning and saw a picture just begging to be captured. Of course, there was no way I could ignore the beck and call of a picture, so I grabbed my camera and headed outside. This is what I saw ... The sun was filtering through the "Black Magic Elephant Ears" (Colocasia esculenta 'Taro') growing in our pond, and the contrast between the leaves and bright coral Snapdragons was striking! The leaves in this picture remind me of giant butterflies ... I'm so glad I looked out the window when I did ... otherwise, I would have missed this beautiful morning lagniappe God sent my way.

Winter Flowers

We had an unseasonably warm and humid Thanksgiving Day in Vicksburg yesterday, with the high temperature for the day hovering near 80 degrees.

With rain and cooler temperatures forecast for last night and today, I decided to get a few pictures of some of the flowers blooming in our courtyard before they were battered by the rain.

Christmas Camellia
These pretty red camellias, with bright yellow
centers, bloom until around the end of December.

This colorful "Speedy Sonnet Bronze" Snapdragon should bloom throughout our Mississippi winter months.

Isn't it lovely!

Camellia Sasanqua

These Sasanquas will bloom well into winter, too.

This is a picture I took about a month ago of a blue Pansy that is growing in an urn in our courtyard.

As you can see in this next picture (taken last February after a rare Vicksburg snowfall), Pansies also withstand winter temperatures and should bloom until Spring.

I hope you have some flowers or plants that brighten your winter months. I'm looking forward to enjoying the ones I've shared today.

Winter Color: Pansies and Snapdragons

I took advantage of a gorgeous day yesterday and worked in our courtyard flower beds. The Lantana I planted back in the summer had become leggy, with sparse blooms, and it was time to replace it with some color for the coming winter months.


Here in Mississippi, that means either pansies or snapdragons, our tried and true cold-resistant flowers. I decided to use both.


I love diggin' in the dirt, and spent the afternoon doing just that. First, I pulled up the Lantana and cut the tops off and stuck the root balls in a plastic bag to take to our land and plant the next time we go. Hopefully, they will come back in the Spring.

The flower beds were still wet from recent rains and were easy to work up, although messy. It doesn't take me long to get grubby when I'm working in the yard, but it seems like the grubbier I get, the more fun I have.

Have you ever noticed when you're planting flowers that no matter how hard you try to avoid planting them in "rows," that they always seem to end up that way?


I love the colorful pink and yellow snapdragons, and like the way the blue pansy border complements them.

I had a few snapdragons left over and planted them in the urn by the waterfall, and planted the left over pansies in another urn (shown above).


I also planted a different color snapdragons in another flower bed, but forgot to take pictures of them. I'll try to capture them after they grow some.

After I finished planting the flowers, I cleaned up all the mess and "watered them in." Then I added my favorite gardening sign:


Here are some closeup shots I captured of the snapdragons and pansies:



Later in the afternoon, I was sitting on the patio with my husband (admiring my work), when I noticed a magnolia bud on one of the Little Gem Magnolias planted behind the waterfall. The late afternoon sun was shining on it, almost as if to say, "Look, look! Here's your lagniappe for today!"


I hope to capture it when it opens, because it will probably be the last magnolia of the season.

What kind of flowers do you plant to add color for the winter months where you live?