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!

Spring's Alarm Clock

What is it about the approaching arrival of Spring that makes us want to clean and organize and fluff and freshen and redecorate? I don't know about you, but it's as if I have an internal "Spring's coming!" alarm clock that, without fail, goes off this time of year inspiring me to do most, if not all, of those things. The weatherman says it's going to be partly cloudy today, with a high around 70, and I plan to release some of that energy and inspiration by spending the morning in our yard fluffing (pine straw), trimming (some of the smaller plants), picking up leaves in the flower beds, and planting Hollyhock seeds my mama gave me back in the Fall. I hope one day they will look like hers, which were grown from some seeds I gave her that were given to me by a sweet lady in Jefferson, Texas, whose beautiful Hollyhocks I admired. I love "pass-along" plants, don't you! Here are a few "before" pictures I captured of our courtyard and waterfall. As you can tell, all that ornamental grass definitely needs some attention. Poor Harry the Heron and the waterfall are almost hidden. And I was afraid to sit in the chair in this next picture all winter for fear the grass would cover me up, too! Hopefully, I won't be too tired from all my fluffin' and freshenin' to take some "after" pictures when I finish.

A Breath of Spring

This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.                                                                                                  — Psalms 118:24

I know we should be thankful for each and every day, and find beauty in whatever weather the Lord sends our way ... but around this time of year, I always seem to find myself feeling restless and longing for warmer days and something GREEN outside the windows.



I call this restlessness "Spring Fever," and Mark Twain must have felt it, too, because he described exactly how I've been feeling for the past couple of weeks. Mr. Twain opined:

“It's spring fever when you don't quite know what it is you want,
but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!”

Is that not profound!

I feel fortunate to live in Mississippi, where our winter landscapes and roads aren't covered with snow and slushy, dirty ice for weeks at a time. I can imagine how depressing that might be after a while, so I'm pretty sure that I'm not the only one suffering from this thing we call spring fever.

Today, I'd like to send a little "breath of Spring" your way by sharing some of my pictures from last Spring. It seems like just a few weeks ago that I took these pictures ... so, hopefully, we won't have long to wait and pine before this Spring will be here.

Bradford Pear Tree

Bradford Pear Blossom

Japanese Tulip Tree

Nothing says "Spring" like Tulips ...

And Azaleas

And Dogwood ...

And here in Mississippi, when we see the Redbud Trees blooming, we know Spring has arrived ...

Most of these pictures were made last March, so we still have a few weeks to wait for its arrival here in Vicksburg. For those of you who have to wait a little longer, take heart and remember ...

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.
                                                        — Hal Borland

Ramblin' Fever

For weeks, I've had all the symptoms of Spring Fever.

I've replaced all my winter decorating accessories with Spring decor.

I've replaced my "winter door wreath" with my "Spring Wreath."

We've had our landscape plants trimmed in anticipation of their new Spring growth.

We trimmed the Confederate Jasmine vines around our front doors, and I added my Azalea baskets.

I've been taking pictures of anything and everything that is heralding Spring's arrival ...

And last Friday, I witnessed the first bumblebees and baby chameleons of the season frolicking in our courtyard.

So now that Spring looks like it is officially here (even though we had snow flurries Sunday!), I've pretty much gotten over my case of Spring Fever.

Unfortunately, it seems that I've come down with another malady called Ramblin' Fever! I have all the symptoms -- restlessness, staring out the window at the spring rains and cold March winds whipping the newly-leafed trees, reading books about places I want to go see and capture with my camera, and longing for a bright 70-degree sunshiny day when I don't have anything on the calendar (or have a fresh spring cold, like this week).

I know it will all come together soon, but until then ... I will just curl up with my "places I want to see" books and daydream of the day when my camera and I can get "on the road again," and I can be free of this awful Ramblin' Fever.

New Life

At first glance, you would think it's still winter time here in Vicksburg. Winter's toll is evident everywhere you look ... in the drabness of faded brown grass, mostly leafless trees, and skies that are more often cloudy than clear.

But if you take the time to look closer, you will see Spring making its first appearance in the form of tiny new leaves on the trees, and green shoots of bulbs and flowers poking through the leaves.

The early-Spring flowering trees like Bradford Pears and Redbuds are budding out, and the Japanese Magnolias (Tulip Trees) are in full bloom now. New life is everywhere ... you just have to look a little closer to see it.

Even though yesterday was one of those cloudy days we've been having, I decided to get out and capture with my camera some of the new life heralding Spring's arrival in Vicksburg.

This is a photo I took on February 16th, of a Japanese Magnolia Tree just beginning to put out new buds.

And this is the way it looked yesterday ...

These are Bradford Pear buds. Wouldn't some of those branches make a beautiful Spring arrangement!

These pretty little blue flowers were in a church yard and caught my eye as I passed by. The faded flower in the picture is a camellia blossom, and I love the way it and the new blue blooms tell the story of the passing of Winter and the approach of Spring.

I spotted this little Hyacinth next door to the church. I need to go back next week to get a shot of the pink one, too!

And here are some pictures I took of the new life I found in our yard. I love the way my Carolina Jasmine vine winds around itself. Soon it will be a profusion of delicate yellow blossoms.

Our Lorapetalum plants are covered with tiny buds, too.

With each passing day, Spring is literally "bustin' out all over," and I can't wait to try to capture some of its "How Great Thou Art" glory with my camera.

Waiting for Spring

There are 28 more days until Spring's official arrival, and I can't wait until our yard is GREEN again ...

I hope to get outside some next week, weather permitting, and do some "spring cleaning" -- raking, pruning, "fluffing" the pine straw in the flowerbeds, and thinking about what kind of flowers I want to plant.

I've noticed that our Lady Banks roses on the back fence have new leaves coming out, and little sprouts of green Amaryllis leaves are poking through the pine straw. Spring is definitely "in the air," and I want to be ready for it when it arrives.