Azaleas mean spring

Spring flowers make us know that spring is really really here.  And yesterday was a red letter day in my garden. Or maybe I should say a white calla day.  The flower Katherine Hepburn called "The flower suitable for any occasion" produced the first of many I will see as spring arrives. Even through the hot New Orleans summer, the calla soldiers on.  I have mine in semi-shade which seems to be where they do best.  I often use them as aquatic plants, but again, put them in the shade. They do not do at all well in the sun.  I find that most broadleaf plants like a bit of shade to do their best.
And the plant for which the Gulf Coast area is famous, the azalea: It pays its rent in the spring.  Imagine gardens filled with these and you know why the shrub makes us smile.

I took these photos yesterday morning, March 8th, 2012.  Amazing, aren't they?

Spring arrives like a lion

As spring is arriving like Secretariat in the final stretch, I wonder about having a spring veggie garden this year.  I hope to at least plant some tomatoes, green beans, squash and eggplants.  I have to harvest the onions that have been growing all winter to free up that space. My garden beds are all raised so the crawfish will not build their chimneys right up through them. When the ground is wet, the crawfish need to breathe, so build their chimneys up to 6" about the ground. Makes the egrets and herons happy, but me, not so much.
It's definitely time to plant. Used to be the time to plant was after March 15th when the last danger of frost had passed, but even our USDA zone has changed.  It used to be 8b, now it's 9a. That's a big change.

Time to stop rambling and start my day in the fields.  Or dream about moving to the top of Dodd Mountain in Mountain View AR. Dodd Mountain is about elevation 1200 feet. Doncha know the air is thin up there :lol:

I really have no excuse for neglecting this blog for so long.  We are in the midst of leaving this house near New Orleans and living full time in Mountain View, Arkansas as we both retire.  The house there is smaller and easier to take care of.  And it has a pond. A natural one where turtles live, deer and other critters drink out of. Occasionally a cow wanders in for a taste as well. It's free range country and our 6.5 acres is open to all.  I love it.  It will be difficult to leave our house of 6 years after Katrina and my home of 40 years, but I love Arkansas and the lovely small townness of Mountain View.
The pond here will not stay. I originally built it as a temporary pond. It's a huge blue pot sitting in a round Rubbermaid horse trough.  I will make the trip with me one of these times when I drive up there. I will have photos when it gets set up.
Have a wonderful time getting your pond up and ready for spring. This is such an exciting time of year.

I think the time has come to get off my lazy butt and start to post in this blog. Things sure have changed on Blogger since I made my last half hearted attempt.
And things in my life have changed as well. First of all I have written a book.
You can find it on Amazon here:
A Practical Guide to Building and Caring for a Pond

Or you can find it on my website at
pondlady.com

I think it's a great book (of course). It's downloadable so I could keep the price down. The best part is that it's mapped out, so you can click on any subject and get the answer without paging through the whole book.

I will try to keep up with this blog better and we can watch spring arrive together.

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Got the green pond blues?
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Swimming pool to pond conversion:
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See the Ozark Folk Center Fall Herb Harvest Extravaganza Dinner menu:
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Is the pond pump too powerful?
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Another pond success:
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