Yesterday on my trip to Baton Rouge, there wasn’t much of a view during the drive down. It will still darkish from springing forward an hour in the wee hours Sunday morning; and to be honest, I was a little caught up in the final episode of season 1 of Serial. But on the drive back to town, the sights of spring were everywhere. I went towards campus before leaving Baton Rouge to pick up a little lunch, and the azaleas blooming were so perfect. As I made my way around St. Francisville, it was amazing to see just how far ahead an hour south of Natchez can actually be. Most of the bushes are completely open already and some have actually started to tinker out. What I did notice is how each patch of azaleas is treated different. Some yards have precisely manicured hedges of the same color bush all throughout the yard. Others let them grow wild almost around the bases of huge Live Oaks. My favorite are the houses that treat an azalea hedge as a 6-foot fence of sorts around the property so you only get a glimpse when passing by. I actually pulled into Afton Villa Gardens to take a few pictures of the driveway. It looked like something straight from an episode of The Joy of Painting with a bunch of happy little trees, bushes, and sky.
When I bought my house, I added a row of azaleas to the front of my house; and last year when I chopped down my 100-foot pines, I added a few at the foot of my driveway. I plan to add more this year and really make a mound of blooms in the future. Even though it’s a tad cooler this week, it helps liven up the senses when so much color is surrounding you.
Writer's Block 