A few years ago, three probably, I began adding red roses to the spring symphony. I also added several yellow. I like red and yellow in the garden, and honestly, in roses, these two colors have become my favorites in our sunlight--with the exception of Pink Knockout®. I do love that hot pink of single Pink Knockout®, but I felt like the garden needed more depth of color, and red roses provide it. Rosa 'Cramoisi Superieur' which has taken a slow road to China in growth. This is its third summer.   Until recently, you hardly find decent yellow roses in the marketplace which could withstand Oklahoma's fickle forecast, but, lately, there's been a change in the wind. I have an older shrub from 1984 named 'April Moon' by Dr. Griffith Buck, one of my favorite hybridizers. It makes me sad I never met Dr. Buck. I would have loved...

I travel to other gardens every time I get the chance, and there's a method to my madness. At the first Garden2Blog, I came back with the inspiration to paint one of the arbors. Last spring, I noted Allen's tuteurs in the borders were a lovely, soft green so this year, when faced with my tired and rusty arbor, I grabbed the spray paint and did something similar, yet different. Different garden structure, different plants, but still inspired by Moss Mountain Farm. This year, I was wowed by Allen's rose garden, and I hope to see it when the allee of  trees matures. It won't be long before it is fully established, and it is already beautiful due to its great bone structure. I was also inspired by how Allen and his staff designed the long borders differently this year, and how they used Proven Winners® plants. On the second...

P. Allen Smith's new rose garden at Moss Mountain Farm. Last week, when I was at the second annual Garden2Blog, I asked Allen if he's seen any Rose Rosette Disease in Little Rock. He knew immediately what I was talking about, and he said he hadn't seen "witch's broom," the more common name for what is currently being classified as a rose virus. As we sat in Allen's new and exquisite rose garden, I thought . . . No, I hoped RRD wouldn't touch his peaceful valley dedicated to Lady Elizabeth Ashbrook, his friend and mentor. One of the reasons I attended Garden2Blog this year was to see the new rose garden at Moss Mountain Farm. Bloggers saw plans last spring, but now the garden is a reality. I love to see things come to fruition. Rose bed at Moss Mountain Farm. It's a new garden, but one day, those...

One of my fellow Proven Winners Garden Gurus, Niki Jabbour has written the most fab book, The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener: How to Grow Your Own Food 365 Days a Year, No Matter Where You Live. If you want to extend your season and grow more food, I can heartily recommend Niki's book. She shares her best secrets for extending the harvest, overwintering and starting the growing season early. Although Niki gardens in Nova Scotia, CA (Zone 5 a) which is a much colder climate than ours, I still found many of her ideas to be useful in Zone 7 and 8 Oklahoma. I'm also excited to announce that Proven Winners is hosting a grand giveaway featuring The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener, along with a box of  Proven Winners plants. These are 2013 cultivars and can't be purchased yet, so if you win, you'll be the first one on your block to grow...