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.

A Courtyard Makeover

It's that time of the year when the flowers we southerners planted in late spring and early summer have started to fade, wilt, and look bedraggled because of the extremely high temperatures and drought conditions we've been experiencing in the South.

Even though we had a nice rain here in Vicksburg a couple of days ago, it was "too little, too late" to revive my flowers in our courtyard. I felt sorry for them yesterday, and relieved them of their pain and suffering by pulling them up.

Of course, that left an empty flower bed and an urn that looked rather sad and forlorn, which prompted a quick trip to Home Depot.

I was delighted to see that they had just gotten in a shipment of beautiful Zinnias in bold yellows, pinks, and oranges, which would be perfect to add some color around the waterfall in our courtyard.

After I loaded a cart with a few of the Zinnias, I noticed a man pushing a rack of flowers that had just been taken off a nursery truck. There were several kinds of flowers on the rack, but the ones that attracted my attention were some pretty little blue flowers, and I couldn't resist getting a closer look.

I wasn't familiar with their name, Scaevola Bombay, but when I saw the tag describing them, I knew they were just what I was looking for.

I bought four plants for my urn and hope they will live up to their promise to survive under our Mississippi "extreme heat, humidity, and drought" garden conditions.

I planted the Zinnias around the waterfall, and love the bright colors.

I hope they look like this for the rest of the summer.

These Sunpatiens I planted in early summer get morning sun and have done beautifully.

It looks like my "Grow Dammit" sign worked with them. They have almost covered the bird bath!

This stone bridge leads to a stone path that connects the courtyard to the backyard. You can click on the picture if you'd like to get a closer look.

I will let you know how the Scaevola plants do. I know they are going to be challenged to survive our 100+ temperatures for the rest of this long, hot summer.

Best wishes to you for a happy weekend. We will be traveling to Shreveport, Louisiana, for a weekend getaway. It will be our last chance for a while because we will soon be welcoming our little grandson into the world. Thanks to many answered prayers, he and his mama are doing great!

And speaking of mamas — today is my mama's 85th birthday!

Happy birthday, Mama ... we love you,
and look forward to seeing you later today.

A Mississippi Courtyard and Waterfall: Outdoor Wednesday

I'd like to thank our gracious hostess Susan at A Southern Daydreamer, for taking the time to host our "Outdoor Wednesdays."

I always look forward to seeing what's going on in everyone's outdoors, especially now that Spring is here.

Speaking of Spring ... everything looks so lush and green right now that I thought I'd better get some photos of our courtyard and waterfall areas before the long, hot summer arrives (we've already had temperatures in the high 80's here in Vicksburg!).

I created a slideshow of my pictures, beginning at the front of our house outside the gate to the courtyard. Next, are views of the entire area, including the covered porch, patio area, side yard and path leading to the backyard, and the waterfall and pond, with connecting stream.

I hope you enjoy the slideshow. If you'd like to hear the music, turn your sound up before clicking on "Play."

I hope you have a happy outdoor Wednesday ... however and wherever you spend it!

A Blue Heron called Harry -- Blue Monday

I would like to thank Sally at Smiling Sally for taking the time to host our Blue Mondays.

Be sure and visit Sally and the other participants to see what they are sharing today.

I was playing around with my camera at dusk Sunday evening, and captured two rather whimsical (also known as out of focus) shots of our waterfall in our courtyard.

We have a metal sculpture of a blue heron we call "Harry," who lives in our pond, and I'd like to share these two pictures of Harry enjoying the early evening sights and sounds of the waterfall (you can click on the pictures to enlarge them, if you'd like) ...

Here are a few more pictures of Harry taken earlier in the day ...

And this last one is my lagniappe for "Blue Monday." I love the delicate little trailing blue flowers in this urn arrangement. They're called "Cabana Trailing Blue Bacopa" (I love my little "peace" sign, too) ...

I enjoy participating in Blue Monday, and look forward to seeing what everyone is sharing today. Thank you again, Sally, for being our hostess.