The "Water Garden"

  Stormy days on the Bayou are some of my favorite times.  There is just something about a good storm that revitalizes the body and mind.  I need that often especially here lately.  With the heavy rains came high winds.  Those winds pushed the tides far up into the yard and pushed it even further back into the Bayou, itself.  Far back in bowels of the Bayou where the creek empties, there is one spot that draws me.  The swamp almost calls to me to visit, occasionally.  On those times, I slip on my leather moccasins and make the hike.  I tred gingerly so as to avoid any cottonmouths or snapping turtles that lurk there.  All of that just to view one certain spot.  Here, the ferns grow to great heights and arrowhead plants flourish alongside of the white spider lilies.  One gets the feeling that this spot is almost magical!  I fully expect to find some will-o'-the-wisps with their tiny, flickering lanterns during one visit.  The place is wonderfully mystical!

  Just a couple of days ago, that urge to check the spider lilies overcame me and I crept deep into the creek to the spot.  Nothing was blooming...no lilies, no wild irises, not even the duck potatoes.  Still I was mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the greenness that surrounded me.  Then, fast forward to today.  During a break in the rains with the winds pounding the Little Bayou House, I headed out the back door.  The swamp called....I answered.  

  The place was completely different.  No, the flowers were not blooming but a tranformation had taken place.  Now, my little wild garden spot had been flooded.  The ferns and lilies were all engulfed with the brackish waters that came flooding southward down the creek from the heavy rains and the salty water being pushed northward by the high tide and harsh winds.  What a difference!  Instead of faeries flitting about trying to entice me further into the swamp, I fully expected to find that cottonmouth underfoot!  Then, the rains started once again and I had to scurry back up the hillside from the creek, through the woods and back to the safety of the Little Bayou House!

The Unreachable Garden!

Here it is already turning a bit cooler and I have a beautiful garden in bloom! A wide expanse of lovely white lilies is in full bloom and I know that the aroma must be wonderful! There is only one problem...I cannot walk in this garden to observe its beauty. It is quite unreachable at the moment. Actually, the only time that I can visit this portion of the property is in the dead of winter when it is barren. At that time, there is nary a bloom..no sweet aroma..nothing. You see, this garden is in the far back of the Bayou..back "where the snakes crawl and alligators creep" and lets just say that I have enough savvy to know not to tread there!

I am talking about the beautiful Swamp Lilies aka Spider Lilies that only bloom in the boggy confines of the deepest part of the Bayou. The fact that these lilies bloom just out of reach makes the allure that much stronger. I long to go pick armloads of them so I can fill vases after vase in the Little Bayou House. The sweet, almost Jasmine-like scent would then fill each room like no other air freshener could! Their bright white petals with red stamens would brighten every corner! It would be like I lived in a flower shop!

These wild lilies grow from very large bulbs that for part of the year are actually underwater. Most of the summer, the high tide fills the back of the Bayou..during the late fall, the North winds keep the tides from being near so high and this allows the lilies to push their stems through the mud. The buds quickly develop until in just a few days they are swollen enough to burst open. There are usually around five blooms per stalk so from a distance the entire thing appears to be white. I love my little "Secret, unreachable garden!" As much as I like to share the beauty of the Bayou, it is sort of nice to think that this garden is blooming just for me! Perhaps, though, I will try to dig up a few bulbs this winter just to see if they will grow in the structured gardens in the yard. If not..I will continue to enjoy them just where they are!