The Wisteria is in full bloom in the woods all around us. Here’s a picture from my neighborhood, and there is another tree I can see from my house that has Wisteria wound around it. Beloved Neighbor says it is fragarent, and it is, for me, up close. My nose doesn’t always smell as powerfully as it used to smell.
Beloved neighbor and I walked the Fort Palmetto Trail yesterday. It is 1.5 miles total, going and coming, and is so interesting, as it winds around a site that fronts the marsh and Dewees Sound (between the coast and Isle of Palms barrier island) and has Civil War levees where troops were stationed to prevent US Federal troops from invading and catching the Confederates by surprise. The soldiers built extensive levees through this lowland stretch of the coast.
These waters behind the string of barrier islands were also used by Confederate privateers to sneak needed goods into the Confederate states. If you have ever read Gone With the Wind, you know that Rhett Butler’s family was from Charleston and during the war, he was a privateer, which is where he made some, at least, of his money.
This site also goes back to very early Indian presence–perhaps as early as 1000 AD. It isn’t good for farming, but was used for timber harvest and, likely, access to the water beyond.
Here’s a link to this fun trail, which ends with an observation tower one can climb to see the marsh and sound, the Isle of Palms Connector bridge, and Isle of Palms barrier island.
https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/south-carolina/fort-palmetto-park-trail
And, here’s a close up picture of blooming Wisteria I took along the trail, where the vines had overgrown plants along the trail.
The tree leaves are out, and there is new leaf growth in many plants, like my roses. The azaeleas are also now blooming, or about to bloom, as are the early spring blooming trees like the redbuds and the Tulip Magnolias. Along the edges of the sidewalk where I frequently walk my daily mile, all kinds of wild flowers are blooming. This one is called “Innocence,” according to my plant identification app (Rubiaceae, or Houstonia procumbent).
The grass is trying to green up, and mine got mowed this week. But we are also very, very dry, and there are now fire warnings for our area. We are all hoping that our rain issue does not get solved with…the dreaded “H” work (hurricane).
Spring continues to tease us as the temps are still going into cool territory on a regular basis. We are all moving between turning on the heat or the air conditioning, sometimes in the same day.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Louisa Enright's Blog 
The wisteria is so beautiful! Everything is blooming here in Florida, especially the oak and everything is covered in yellow pollen. Sure wrecks havoc on the allergies! We need rain here also – need to wash away the pollen and get the grass green again after the brutal frosts we had. Hoping many of my plants will recover. My hibiscus sadly didn’t make it. Enjoy spring!!!
The yellow pollen is here as well. When it is done for this year, I’ll clean up the screened porch more seriously. I lost my hibiscus too. But I spent last summer fighting with the mealy bugs it imported. I’m not sure I’ll get another one for the big pot on the porch. It is cold and very windy here again today, so I’m waiting to buy more plants.