Dancing on the Wind

  I know that I am under doctor's orders to not venture too far from the house for a few more days unless I am accompanied by another person.  He said "normally" he would not have to restrict a patient but since I am prone to roam in the marsh and far down to the creek bed, he was limiting my hikes.  I am following what he said and I am diligently pestering Son to take hikes with me.  He usually obliges if he is not in the midst of some job that cannot be halted on a whim.  Today, the hikes were halted due to rain.  I have the Son, I have the will, I have rain...no hikes. 

  Along about mid-afternoon, I became insanely bored.  There was just a slight drizzle so I, as "Queen of the Small Gardens" made my escape!  I slipped out the french doors and quietly stepped under the awning.  A lot had changed in just a day.  I will say this about being housebound, I do notice minute changes in my outer realm.  I stand in awe of a simple bloom or a tiny caterpillar.  In a way, this is how it is supposed to be.  Folks, do not let it take some earth-shaking thing to make you appreciate what is around you.  Life is truly amazing.  

  The tall lilies were bobbing their heads in the breeze coming across the Bay.  Any storm out in the middle of the Gulf sends us the most delightful breezes!  Wow!  Those lilies were tall!  In fact, most were well over six feet, if not more!  Most were wavering in the wind but a few were tied with jasmine vines  so they stood rigid like some tall obelisks.  I watched for a few moments before yet another rain shower chased me back inside.  It mattered not.  I had ventured out and felt the salt air on my face, had raindrops in my hair and watched the lilies dance in the breeze.  What more could you ask?

Mutant Lilies!

  With all that this year has thrown at us, mutant lilies just add a bit more interest.  At least lilies are of the friendly sort and don't put us in quarantine or make us run out to buy tons of toilet tissue.  Lilies just sit there and look pretty and bring smiles to those of us who are fortunate enough to find them during our daily walks.  As (self-crowned) Queen of the Small Gardens, I have deemed this lily as "Find of the Day" and it shall be exalted as the Crown Jewel of the Small Gardens!  For as long as it blooms, the lily shall be honored with great oohs and ahhs by all who venture forth through the garden gate!  So be it!  The Queen has spoken!

  Yeah, I am still grounded.  And I am still bored.  Honestly, I thought by this time, I would be roaming the full Bayou again but that has been pushed back by at least another week.  Maybe more.  We shall see.  But!  But as long as the garden keeps providing such beauty for me to revel in, who cares?  I could dwell in the Small Gardens forever.  

  This particular lily is the same type as dozens of others that growing wild across the hillside.  They come up and grow where they will as I have no heart to mow them.  All of the others are of normal height (4 feet) and have normal numbers of blooms (5 to 8).  I believe this one is showing a bit of gratitude for my helping hand.  When Tropical Storm Cristobal blew through the area, it knocked the lily stalk to the ground.  It was wind battered and mud covered by the time I found it.  I propped it up against the gatepost and found twine to tie it. That post proved sturdy enough but not nearly tall enough as the lily got a growth spurt.  A long pipe secured to the post gave needed support.  The lily soon soared to over 8 feet tall!  Now it is blooming with much gusto. Thirteen blooms are open and at least fourteen more buds are ready.  The whole thing is about the size of a bushel basket!  A little help can go a long way, obviously.  Either that or the Bayou is being invaded by mutant lilies!

Not That Bad

  Springtime sees us being invaded by millions of tiny, black grasshoppers.  As they age, these things change into huge, three-inch-long, plant-munching, multi-colored menaces.  They eat everything in sight.  We have found that it is far easier to get rid of as many as possible when they are just hatching rather than wait until they are large enough to cause major damage.  Try as I might, I never get them all.  Of course, it is ridiculous to think that would be possible considering they are throughout the woods and on the neighbors' property, as well.  I do try to get rid of any adult grasshoppers that may evade my first attempts but a lot of them slip past unseen.  It is then that I get real aggravated at the critters...which is strange as I usually live by a "live and let live" mantra.  If these grasshoppers would keep themselves back in the woods, I would be ok with their presence but, no, they want to munch my garden plants, instead.  These are the dreaded Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers.  Ugh!

  Back in the early part of the summer, I had to keep covering the lily bulbs because the adult grasshoppers were eating the new growth. Once they finished off the top of the plants, they started in on the bulbs even to the point of digging into the ground to get at them.  I put some bulbs in pots and covered them with another flower pot to keep the critters out.  This did well until I had to uncover the plants.  They were too tall to keep covered.  The lilies sent up tall shoots with buds and I was so excited!  These bright yellow blooms always brighten the fall gardens.

  This past weekend, I checked the bud.  Alas!  A grasshopper was munching away on the stalk!  In fact, it had nibbled its way from top to bottom eating just about half of the stalk.  The lily had bent over because it could not support the weight of its own buds.  Needless to say, the grasshopper had just eaten its last meal.  My lily was ruined, however.  Brokenhearted, I left the bud and went inside.  This morning as I watered the other plants, I noticed the lily.  Sheer determination let that lily bloom in all its glory!  Even though it was ravaged by the critter, bent over flat and seemingly did not have a chance in the world...it bloomed.  Seeing that bright yellow flower that bloomed against all odds gave me a weird sense of strength.  If the plant can survive and still provide a bit of beauty, I can lift my head a bit higher and smile a bit brighter.  Things are not that bad, after all.

Mother Nature's Pranks

  Every now and again, you just have to shake your head at Mother Nature.  She has decided to pound the nation with a blast of frigid air this weekend.  Yep, this cold has reached all the way down here to the Deep South.  The Bayou is a tad chilly, Folks!  It is early to have this cold of air here.  We are not used to freezing temperatures in November.  Our coldest times are usually in January and February. This wintry weather has put a kink in the "fall" gardening.  We did not have a fall.  We went directly from summer to winter!  Not good!   All of this fickle weather is confusing to plants as well.  My day was spent moving what plants I could into the greenhouse and tucking the rest snugly under blankets.  Hopefully, this will protect them enough. 

  While covering the plants, I came across one goofy thing that is far out of season.  A Guernsey Lily decided that it was summer.  The bulb was one that I had dug this spring and just never got around to replanting. The bare bulb sat dormant in a wooden box.  Today of all days, it bloomed.  Why?  Why now with the Arctic blast bearing down upon us? And how?  How with no soil around its roots did this thing ever even have enough energy to shoot out a bud?  Who knows but it is pretty.  

  Since the lily did its best to provide me with a bit of beauty, I thought it at least deserved to be planted.  I stuck it in an empty pot and poked a bit of soil around the bulb.  Now it sits snugly in the greenhouse with a variety of other plants.  Once I can get shelves built, these will be a bit better arranged.  At least for now, they won't freeze.  Mother Nature! Stop playing pranks on us!  It is too early for this!   Nah...actually, I sort of like it.

"A rose by any other name....."

I was out wandering around the garden the other day and a thought popped into my head about the names given to different flowers. Some have very forthright names that make a lot of sense..like Sunflower. It is quite easy to see just why this bloom is named after the sun...it is yellow, after all, and the blossom does "follow" the sun. During the day, the head of this flower will actually turn to face the sun. But then there are some that have weird names. Take the Toad Lily..it is a beautiful flower with a quite...well..not so beautiful name (unless you really like toads!). I guess it goes back to that Notable-Person-in-Charge-of-Naming-Plants, whoever that may be.

All this thinking soon led to a few more random thoughts and as I meandered through the gardens, I started pondering how some people are named after flowers! Mostly ladies have these names bestowed on them but still, there are a few guys that are named after plants. Basil comes to mind as a rather manly name but I also met a Sorrel, once. Daisy, Rose, Iris all seem to have been popular years ago and are now making a comeback in the baby-naming trends. Lily, Jasmine, Violet and Pansy have been always been used as names for little girls and now I hear that Calla, Dahlia, Camellia and Amaryllis are gaining popularity. One flower name that used to be quite the rage but that has fallen from grace is Petunia. (Ever since a certain cartoon pig was called by that handle, it would be a rare instance that anyone would tack that to their little girl!)

Those are all beautiful names and I truly would not mind being called by any of them had my parents felt the need to name me after a flower. At least, all of those are lovely and bring to mind a free-spirited, little sprite! Yes, I would have been A-OK with being dubbed a floral name as long as it was not something like...Toad Lily..or Spiderwort...or Scabiosa! Nope..that would not have been acceptable and might have called for a name-change!