Voodoo Lily Magic

Yes, it’s the time of year we practice voodoo around here!  Voodoo Lily magic that is!

It goes by a lot of names besides Voodoo Lily, such as Dragon Arum, Ragons, Snake Lily, Black Arum, Black Dragon, Dragonwort, and Stink Lily. It’s even got a special name in Greece, being the Drakondia, so-called because the long spadex inside the enormous maroon-lipped spathe reminds people of a dragon hiding.

If you’re not “into” plants, the spathe is the big petal-like part that most people would probably consider the “flower”.   The spadix is the spike part sticking out of it.

Besides the large purple spathe and spadix, there is one other notable thing about this plant.  It has a very unpleasant smell reminiscent of a carcass. That is because the pollinators of this species are flies (Lucilia and others).

Marvelous, a weird looking plant attracting flies.  A must for everyone’s garden.  (Okay, I’ll admit it.  I actually think this is a pretty cool plant.)

Anyway, this plant is native to the Balkans, extending as far as Greece, Crete and the Aegean Islands, and also to the south-western parts of Anatolia.  So how come it’s growing here?

Well, I did NOT plant it.  It just popped up on it’s own, and I have no idea how it was carried here.   This species was introduced to the United States, and is currently present in the states of Oregon, California and Tennessee as well as the commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Got that?  It’s here in Tennessee!  Ha!  I figured that out already, cause I can see it with my own two eyes!

There used to be a big colony of them before we dug the pond bigger.  A lot of them got buried then.  Nowadays, it’s more a problem of them getting accidentally mowed down before they get big enough to bloom.

But even with only one plant, there’s still some voodoo magic!

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Today’s Yard Blooms

We have all sorts of stuff blooming now.  It always makes me shake my head a little.  Growing up in West Virginia, we had more of a progression of blooming plants.  But here in the south, spring and summer stuff can get all jumbled up together.

For instance, right now we have these plants blooming around the house. . .

I brought starts of this plant from our previous home in Alabama.

I guess Alabama Crimson Tide Honeysuckle is appropriate considering The Farmer is a die-hard Alabama Tide football fan!

Along the same fence line, there are red roses blooming now.

These old-fashioned bush roses were already here when we moved here.  So were the bearded iris plants in a big circular flower bed around a huge oak tree in the front yard.

This clematis was also already planted.  It grows along a wall made of railroad ties, and up into a fig tree I planted there.

The Lenten Rose plant by our front porch is still blooming.

At the other end of the front porch, a small hosta plant is surrounded by ajuga in bloom.

In the same bed, there are three small azalea bushes in bloom.

Around in the back yard I have a variegated weigela bush.  It’s another plant I brought from our last house.  Most of the time I call it my Resurrection Bush, because The Farmer told me in no uncertain terms that it was nothing but a dead stick, and I was wasting my time planting it.

Every spring when it blooms I usually find myself making some comment to The Farmer about “all those pretty blooms on that dead plant.”  It’s a miracle!

There is also a blue clematis blooming in the rose garden.

And of course, last but not least in my book, there are also roses blooming.  This one is called a Butterfly Rose.

It’s also known as a China Rose.  I like it because of the various pastel colors it has on one bush.

There’s more things blooming, like the old-fashioned lilacs still have some blooms.  But what a mix!  I think of roses in the summer, and azaelas in the spring… but everything is all mixed together.  Sometimes I’m not sure I like this “all at once” style, but that’s the way it is.

So I just enjoy the blooms *whenever* I see them!

Blooming Lilacs

I’ve always liked lilac bushes.  Probably because my mom was crazy about them and had a bunch around the home place when I was growing up.  And then they’re a nice herald of spring, and they just smell so wonderful!

When we moved to this little farm, one of the first things I did was order a lilac that would survive southern summers.  I got the variety “Lavender Lady” from Wayside Gardens.  It’s grown so tall I now need a ladder to trim the top.

It’s surrounded by a pallet fence because certain goats and llamas seem to think it’s a very tasty plant!  (Same thing with the trumpet vine to the right.)

Here’s a close-up picture of one of the blooms:

I had to use the telephoto lens to get the picture because most of the blooms are at the top of the bush.

But that’s not the only lilac bush here!  A few years ago I got some starts off three bushes from the old home place.  One is the regular lilac color. . .

I can remember the one in our yard when I was growing up, and it was HUGE!  But then my mom decided to try some different colors, and also got a “red” lilac. . .

And my smallest lilac came from a little piece I got off the white lilac.

I was thrilled to see these transplanted lilacs blooming for the first time this year.

It’s a little touch of home from West Virginia.

It looks like spring!

We’ve got some lovely weather this week, and true to the south, it’s even going to be rather hot later on!  At least if the weatherman’s predictions are right!

There are still a lot of daffodils blooming in the flowerbeds. . .

And some of the other spring flowers are starting to poke through the earth.

There aren’t any blooms on the trillim yet, but they are popping up all over the woods.

There are also beds of Trout Lilies springing up. . .

But here again, it will be a little while before they are in bloom.

The dandelions are blooming here and there. . .

Some consider dandelions and wild violets to be weeds, but I rather like seeing them.

Even the honeybees are coming out to enjoy the sunshine and look for food.

The perennials are starting to poke through the ground too, like these hosta plants and live-forever.

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Whether it is good or bad, the pond is even showing green plant growth. . .

This is one of the best parts of the year.  Unfortunately, we don’t have what I’d call spring-like days – moderately warm – for long.  Nope, it gets hot all too quickly.

But for now, it looks like spring!

Driving and Daffodils

Our daffodils are finally blooming.  Spring is really coming!

As for the driving part of the title, we’re getting ready to head out the door and drive to Chattanooga. I’m going to catch a flight to Sanford (near Orlando) from there, and go visit the kids and attend a seminar.

Busy times! Fun times! Catch ya later times!