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.

Shadows on the Water

We have a small waterfall and pond in our courtyard, and late yesterday afternoon I noticed some interesting shadows being cast on the water by a Corkscrew Rush plant in the pond.

Corkscrew Rush is an ornamental perennial grass whose "leaves" are wound in tight, upright spirals reaching up to 24" tall.

It thrives in wet "boggy" areas in full sun, or standing water up to 4" deep. It is a perfect landscape plant for water features such as ponds or waterfalls, and can also be grown in containers.

Our plant is around three years old, and survived the unusually cold winter we had last year.

Now that I've probably told you way more than you want to know about Corkscrew Rush, I'd like to share some of the pictures I captured of the shadows it cast on the water yesterday.

The waterfall is always fun to photograph, and I especially like this picture of Harry, our Blue Heron.

There are three Little Gem Magnolias growing behind the waterfall, and this magnolia seed pod had fallen on the rocks at the top of the waterfall. You can click on the picture to get a closer view, if you'd like ...

Plants and grasses growing at water's edge around ponds and lakes are always pretty, but yesterday I discovered that sometimes the shadows they cast on the water are even more beautiful.