Last summer, while in Seattle, Bill, the kids and I visited Victoria on Vancouver Island and Butchart Gardens. I was told I should visit, so I did, and I dragged ASW and Bear along. Poor things. This may make me very unpopular, but while I walked Butchart, I kept thinking about how it reminded me of the Disney World prototype of gardening. A riot of color and themed rooms all kind of plopped down around a winding path filled with visitors from every country. I think gardening can truly bring divergent cultures of people together in a kind of harmony so it was fun to hear all the different languages. But, I wondered how the Butchart gardeners kept all those annuals, roses and shrubs at their peak throughout the tourist season. Plants are living organisms. Annuals especially grow, bloom and die without constant tending. They must have a dead-heading crew...

The beautiful, blue cover of Grow Cook Eat One of my very, dear friends has written a book full of insight and inspiration. Grow Cook Eat: A Food Lover's Guide to Vegetable Gardening, Including 50 Recipes, Plus Harvesting and Storage Tips, by Willi Galloway is a feast for the eyes. Willi has tapped into something I haven't seen in other gardening books lately. She points out that if we grow our own food, we can enjoy it at nearly every stage of its existence. The roots, shoots, seeds and leaves of vegetables and many herbs are delicious during myriad stages of growth. Willi teaches us how to grow them and then partake of them at their best. Not only can you eat sweet peas in the pod, you can also enjoy their blossoms and shoots in a salad with shaved Parmesan adorned with a lively, lemon vinaigrette. Salad with Parmesan...

Glass jar. I paid $5.95 at T.J. Maxx. Yesterday, I was at T.J. Maxx, and I found this lovely glass jar. Now, I could put M&M'S® in it, or dried cherries, or buttons, but . . . anymore, when I see a glass container, I want to layer soil, sand and pebbles to create a miniature world. Ever since I made some terrariums a couple of years ago, I can hardly stop myself. Although I have a few with open tops, it seems the closed environment works best for my laissez-faire, indoor plant care. To put it another way, I seldom water. I am a terrible indoor-plant mother. Just ask my unfortunate, interior, foliar inhabitants. On second thought, please don't. When I discovered terrariums, it was a perfect marriage. With a glass top, you often don't need to water for a year. Rex begonia in a biscuit jar from shhhh . ....

I didn't make it to the party on Garden Bloggers Bloom Day or Foliage Followup due to an overwhelming week, but I can now share what's going on in my garden. It's been a week full of wonders as our temperatures have fluctuated all seven days. Today is supposed to be warm after two cold days, and we don't have snow like Seattle. Thank goodness. Rain is forecast for later in the week. We shall see. It's been so warm and dry this winter I feel like I'm in south Texas, not Oklahoma. We need rain. Desperately. Plants are budded out and ready to bloom. Hamamelis and hellebores are poised and ready, even peeking out a bit. I keep hoping they will hold off, but you can't stop spring even if it is two months too early. "What happened to winter?" I ask the plants as I walk about the...