Oh my goodness, the new zinnia varieties this year! Anyone who listens to my podcast, The Gardenangelists, with Carol Michel knows I love zinnias; this, my friends, is the year to grow them. Zinnias are one of ten easy flowers to grow in Oklahoma. A very yellow flower from last year's Queeny Lime Mix. Of course, that's just my opinion, but since you're here, you must like my opinions, so let's go! How about starting with Zinnia elegans varieties first because they're my favorites? 'Meteor Shower Mix' zinnias grow very tall. I'll plant these right in front of the sunflowers. Photo courtesy of Eden Brothers Seeds. I am growing a ridiculous number of tall, elegant zinnias this year. I'm starting my zinnia seeds indoors this spring. You can easily grow many summer flowers from seed. Normally, I just sow the seeds directly outside, but in the last couple of years,...

When I first saw Marianne Willburn's excellent post, A Defense of Hellebores, on Garden Rant, I thought, we're now defending hellebores? Surely not. Light yellow hellebores in the back garden with daffodils. Who wouldn't love these perennials, some of which flower in December, Christmas roses, H. niger, and others that continue on through much of spring, Lenten roses, H. x hybridus? A shade perennial that blooms in neglected, low-water areas--those shady spots where not much else will grow? A perennial deer don't really like to eat? One of my more recent single hellebores. I don't have the tag, and honestly, since hellebores are so promiscuous, it gets difficult to keep them all straight. Then, I started reading Marianne's post, and I guess she's right. We do need to defend hellebores. I thought about my garden coaching clients, who think hellebores are really expensive. Those who want year-round color from every...

Elephant ears make my summer garden shine, so I immediately said yes when Dutch Grown Bulbs asked me to collaborate with them on summer bulbs. 'Maui Gold' elephant ear with red begonias at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens Dr. John Cho elephant ear varieties As longtime readers know, I don't do that many collaborative posts, but I wanted to share the newer elephant ears now on the market, and this is a great opportunity to do so. Dutch Grown Bulbs has several unique elephant ear varieties created by Dr. John Cho of Hawaii, who has worked on his breeding program for a very long time. If you see elephant ears with some aspect from our 50th state in their names, you can reliably know it is part of Dr. Cho's breeding program. Dr. Cho chooses new plants that grow in large clumps and don't run like the large Colocasia esculenta, which...

Starting Seeds is easy with a seed-starting station. Seed-starting station Bill and I built for an article for Fiskars. I still use it even though I have a greenhouse. First, obtain the following items: A metal closet rack with one-inch adjustable shelves. Mine was five feet tall, but you can definitely go shorter. Four casters for mobility to catch the sunlight anywhere in your house. Four-foot light fixtures and full spectrum LED bulbs. My bulbs aren't LED because my seed-starting station is older, but I may replace them this year. Lighting fixtures should be grounded, attached to the metal frame, and plugged into a grounded fixture in the wall to prevent shock. Water and electricity could shock you senseless. Four heat mats. Again, plug these into a grounded fixture. Recycled seed trays or new ones. You can also use seed starting blockers to eliminate the need for seed trays. Seeds....