Fire and Water

This is what I saw outside my kitchen window at twilight yesterday ... The underwater lights had just come on in our waterfall, and I couldn't resist capturing the red blossoms of my Bougainvillea plant against the dark background of the Little Gem Magnolias and Azaleas behind the waterfall. I love the contrast between the flowers and the rocks and water, which were bathed in golden light and reminded me of fire. Best wishes to you for a weekend filled with unexpected pleasures like this one.

After the Rain

I was in my glory yesterday, after a rain shower moved through Vicksburg. The plants in our courtyard looked so lush and green, and the flowers were shimmering with raindrops. When it stopped raining, I couldn't wait to get outside with my cameras and capture some of the pictures I had been imagining from the windows all morning. The focal point of our courtyard is a waterfall, and that is where I began my photo shoot. The Bougainvillea blooms were especially pretty, adding a bold splash of color to the courtyard. I like the contrast between the bright red Bougainvillea and the lavender Lantana in the urn ... The bright yellow Lantana which I planted in early Spring, seems to have taken the message on my "Grow Dammit" sign seriously. I had to uncover the sign to get this picture. This single red Snapdragon is one of just a few "stragglers" that remain of the Snapdragons I planted in the Fall ... It stands regally above the other flowers, and I just couldn't bear to pull it up. My little geese, also known as "Maude and Claude," were huddled together in the pine straw underneath the Japanese Maple tree ... I keep hoping they will have some little ones, but, so far, I haven't even spotted a nest! Our Little Gem Magnolia trees, which are behind the waterfall, are loaded with buds now, and I can't wait for them to open. If you click on the pictures you can get a closer look at their "fuzzy" buds. For some reason, I didn't get many magnolia pictures last summer (most likely, because of the extremely hot weather) ... but I hope to make up for it this year. As I continued my walk, I crossed this bridge leading from the courtyard to the path that takes you to our backyard. Several things caught my attention along the path. First of all, the wood ferns are popping up everywhere ... And there were several roses blooming on the arbor ... I will never cease to be amazed at how raindrops defy the laws of gravity ... This rose, in particular, caught my eye. I love the contrast between what remains of its faded petals and the tightly wound new buds, which will probably begin to unfurl their petals later today. My cobalt gazing ball stands at the end of the path ... I love gazing balls and at the risk of being "tacky," would like to have several different colors ... perhaps ruby red, and purple and gold (we're LSU fans). I stopped at the end of the path, and stood for a moment enjoying the stillness and the lush greenness of everything around me. I love taking pictures right after it rains. There's no glare or shadows to worry about ... just raindrops and puddles, and me and my camera. And, as I said at the beginning of this story ... I was, indeed, in my glory.

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?