Red Dirt Ramblings®

Firmly rooted in the Oklahoma soil

A Book Tag

Oak leaf in sunlight
Oak leaf in sunlight

Good morning everyone!  Lorene Edwards Forkner, professional garden writer and owner of the Planted At Home blog tagged me for a book meme.  While I don’t normally do memes anymore because I really hate tagging others, I like this meme very much.  It reveals a lot about those who play.   In fact, after reviewing my Google Reader, I realized Susan from The Bicycle Garden also tagged me for the same meme.

Here are the rules:

Grab the nearest book at hand (no fair looking for something intellectual, just what’s within arm’s reach of your keyboard).  Turn to page 56, go to the 5th sentence and post your results – include the 2-3 sentences that follow to provide some sort of context.  Then turn around and “tag” 5 or so more blogging friends to do the same.

Now, how did she know I’d have a book near my computer?

Closest at hand was Managing the Wet Garden: Plants That Flourish in Problem Places by John Simmons.  It has been hanging out on my desk because its publisher, Timber Press, sent it to me to review.  When I first received it, I wondered why.  It was obviously about wet areas, and my land is anything but.   I think, perhaps, the good folks at Timber Press were thinking about those areas in Oklahoma with heavy clay.  After perusing its pages though, I’m glad they sent it.  It’s a fine, scholarly work on plants which thrive in difficult areas, and we all have those.  For those of us who live and garden in the central prairies, many of the wildflowers and grasses listed in the book will work.  However, watch out for those plants which need cool weather.  They will expire in the brutal furnace we call summer.

Now, for page 56:

    “The stately camassias can compete well with long grass but are particular as to the degree of wetness in the soil.  If too wet, they die out (and if too shady, they do not flower).  Camassia leichtlinii and its forms produce the most reliable flowering displays.”

This is not a book I would take to bed for nighttime reading.  However, it would be one of the first I would consult before purchasing a new plant I didn’t already know.

Thanks, again, both of you for tagging me.  I always think these are fun.  Now, for that pesky tagging part.  I’m going to wimp out and write that whoever stops by and wants to play, play on.  Just put your link in the comments section (or Commentluv will do it for you) and we’ll come visit you.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Benjamin

    I need this book like my clay soil needs less rain. I have a very small hill sloping down toward my house, and at the bottom I’ve got swamp milkweed, carex, louisiana iris, all kinds of stuff for that mucky place. But I need more. Merci.

    Benjamin´s last blog post..Cigar Supply is Running Very Low

    Benjamin, this would be the book for you I think. I’m glad I could help.~~Dee

  3. Willi

    Lovely photos and a good book recommendation. Here in Seattle I’m always looking for plants that will be happy near my downspouts!

    Willi´s last blog post..Innovative Raised Beds

    Willi, this book would be great for you.~~Dee

  4. Frances

    Hi Dee, I was ready for a fun read and was distracted by the sunrays illuminating the oak leaves, my favorite tree. I know OK has some cathedral like specimens. Wet spot? What is that? I planted camassias last fall and they never even came up, maybe next year or maybe they just dried out! Love your phrasing of a furnace blast of summer, I remember opening the car door and being hit in the face with that hot wind there.
    Frances

    Frances´s last blog post..Ornamental Edibles Or Pretty Tasty

    Hi Frances, we know all about “dry” don’t me. I’m dry right down to my skin, although I must say that the irrigation system has helped with the garden. 🙂 ~~Dee

  5. Brit' Gal Sarah

    Beautiful piccie Dee and a fun tag. My closest book as I read it was one on Landscape Photography and it was a little techy by following these rules.

    Hope all’s well, we are heading into OKC for a flying visit next Weds. But I am seriously considering another visit to Guthrie before Xmas to see all that goes on there

    Brit’ Gal Sarah´s last blog post..Finished Porch

    Oh, Sarah, the next time you come this way, please give me a shout. I’ll meet you or you can come by & see the winter garden. Guthrie is a beautiful town this time of year, although I don’t live in Guthrie proper.~~Dee

  6. Cinj

    I needed a good diversion so I decided to play too. What fun!

    Cinj´s last blog post..Book Tag Fun

    Cinj, it was fun, and I always think it’s good to have a break from the ordinary; like my life is every ordinary. 🙂 ~~Dee

  9. Anna

    I’m the one that tagged Susan and Lorene! I knew Susan but did not know Lorene. I just went searching for good blogs and there was Lorene! Took me forever to get back on my task cause she had such an interesting way of writing. I have never seen someone describe anything using that many interesting words.

    It would be hard to find a wet spot around here too. Someone needs to write a book on gardening in concrete clay.

    Dee, it doesn’t surprise me that you got picked as I see your name come up quite often. You do have a grand blog and excellent reputation.

    Anna´s last blog post..The Art of Sunflowers and Children

    Thanks, Anna, for starting the chain. You know I’m a big fan of your blog too.~~Dee

  13. Lisa at Greenbow

    I have done this meme before Dee. As I told EAL I think it is fun because I am a little nosy. I like to see what other people read and secondly I usually find some interesting reading.

    Hi Lisa, I’d done it before too, but a long time ago, and since I enjoy Lorene’s blog, I wanted to link to her too. Plus, I got my review of the book finished. Whew! A lot accomplished with such a small post.~~Dee

  15. CurtissAnn

    Stunning photo, honey-bunny. And nice way to do the meme. What does meme mean, anyway? I can never get myself together fast enough to do them.

    CurtissAnn´s last blog post..Hopeful Friday — Seeking Beauty

    Hi Rosebud, Meme is an acronym for Multitasking Extensible Messaging Environment. The acronym can also stand for other things. Here is a complicated definition which I barely understand. More simply, it’s a theme which can drive traffic to your blog, but I don’t do them for that reason. I just liked the theme of this one.~~Dee

  17. Rosemary

    Lovely photo, oaks are so beautiful every season.

    Hi Rosemary, thank you and thanks for coming over.~~Dee