Yard and Garden Flowers in Louisiana

My kind of flower is one that grows from year to year with little care on my part. I am thrilled to walk into my front yard and backyard to see what is blooming and growing. Don’t get me wrong, I plant many flowers and garden vegetables, too, and I spend alot of time taking care of my yard. And I enjoy all the results of the hard work in my yard and garden immensely. On several occasions this spring, I took a walk through my front and back yards, photographing some of the vegetables, flowers, plants and even trees. Here’s what I saw. We opened out back door this morning to see that our Magnolia tree was blooming. It makes a beautiful large white blossom which lasts for only one day. So we will savor the moment today.

Next  is a persimmon tree with plump, green persimmons. These fruit ripen in the fall and become pungent, orange persimmons. Many of the fruit drop off from the tree before they are ripe in the summer, but I am optimistic that we will still have plenty for both us and the squirrels.

In the back of the yard I have four blueberry bushes. This year, I shared the fruit with the birds.

I planted some milkweed plants last summer and these perennials are blooming now. According to our garden center, milkweed is the only plant that monarch butterflies will lay eggs on. These butterflies usually show up in August, so it is too soon to see if this is sure.

Here’s the plant.

I planted several varieties of zinnias this year. They are easy to grow, love the heat and I love the flowers. So do the hummingbirds and butterflies.

Here is one of my summer vegetable gardens.

I’m growing eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes in my garden. The eggplants are starting to blossom and grow. These look like “fairies” to me with dainty blue blossoms.

The cucumbers have small, yellow blossoms, they trellis across the fence.

I am fortunate to have a large crop of zucchini and peppers.

The zucchini plants have a much larger yellow blossom and one zucchini plant produces about a dozen zucchinis!

The zucchini vegetable forms on the end of the blossom.

I always to try to plant something new in my vegetable garden each year. This year I am trying to grow gypsy peppers. These peppers have a thinner skin than bell peppers. Because of the thin skin, these peppers probably they can’t be transported commercially which is why they are relatively unknown. The gypsy peppers are a sweet pepper, not hot at all. I am looking forward to preparing them in some tasty recipe.

Another pepper that I’m also growing is poblano peppers. These are very meaty, have a distinct flavor and are great for stuffing with cheese or a meat filling.

After many  years of attempting to grow tomatoes, I’m finally getting things partially figured out. I plant them in pots in very well drained soil which I fertilize every month. I place the pots in full sunlight and water them every day. In the heat — the tomatoes wilt the next day after a rain. I picked this heirloom tomato — Black Prince — and also a Celebrity tomato. Heirloom tomatoes are not hybrid ones—they are open pollinated and remain the same every year. Black Prince variety actually originated in Siberia and does well in cooler weather. It survives in our early summers. I love tomatoes and hope to harvest a few more.

I have several flower and plant beds next to the front of our house in my yard. 

Although you primarily notice the bushes from the street, scattered around in the beds are various flowers. These small roses grace my front walkway.  We enjoy their blossoms all summer long.

By the front door is a beautiful Agapanthus orientalis  which is also know as Lily of the Nile. The flower grows on a long stem sort of like an Easter Lilly. This one blooms for several weeks in the spring. The flower is light blue and with many individual blossoms

The Gardemia bushes produce a very aromatic flower which blooms in the spring. I love the fragrance of the flower.

The caladiums like shade and do very well in the front of the house.

Gaillardia or Blanket Flowers are a perennial. They are drought resistant and love hot sun. The blooms for last several months. What a welcome treat to come home with these flowers.

Up close, the Blanket Flowers have bright orange and yellow blossoms. The are named after colorful Indian blankets with often the same color theme.

And a walking Iris has almost a small cream colored blossom and appears to have a smile on its face.

I have several planters close to my garage. It is sunny and hot. Amazingly, the chrysanthemums from last fall bloomed again this spring.

And the petunias are still blooming, too!

Welcome to my yard. My back yard has a “natural” element, too. The vines quickly get out of control. But they have beauty, too. The wild life and birds love them. And so, I have something for everyone. I enjoy this time of year. Not to hot to get outside and enjoy my yard.