A cold front, dumping tons of snow onto Colorado, and with snow also predicted in the Oklahoma panhandle, is making its way further south. After a summer that felt more like a brutal dictatorship, instigated by Mr. Sun, the roses are finally blooming once again and filling the garden with their unique fragrance. While I've filled bare spots in the garden with bulbs, pansies, kale and cabbage, I've felt the tug of rosy prickles, as if the roses are asking for attention. Why wouldn't they? Only roses have their signature scent, and each rose in my garden smells differently. Some have a classic rose fragrance, while others are scented of strawberries and even tea. Beneath their royal feet, I've planted tiny bulbs which I hope will please them come spring. I've longed to dip my nose into their blooms all year, and believe me, I've spent the last few weeks...

The other day I was driving through Edmond, a suburb of Oklahoma City. With kids, I'm always driving here, there and everywhere. I passed Ace Hardware on Broadway and 15th, and I casually glanced over. Out front, I caught a glimpse of bulb boxes on display. I didn't have much hope there would be anything worth buying this late in the season, but what the heck, I thought as I pulled into the parking lot. Surprise, surprise, there were all kinds of wonderful bulbs you usually don't see in retail stands in Oklahoma. Not only that, but a sign showed they were half price. I stocked up and decided to do the lower garden in a mix of these. Instead of the scatter method, I dug big holes and dropped the larger tulips and daffodils within. I tucked them in with a bit of soil and then added the smaller...

See these boxes and bags? They must be planted. All eleventy thousand of my bulbs have arrived except for a late order from Brent & Becky's. I hope it's a beautiful day because I'm going out to plant. How do I do it? Easy peasy. Take your sweet time and don't hurry your sweet self. If it takes a day or more, don't worry, but make sure you tag or mark the spot where you've planted something so you don't dig it up on day two. I know this from experience. Just remember to plant the little darlings in a natural way--unless you're into the Holland bulb field look--all nice, straight rows. Place them pointy side up and three times as deep as the size of bulb. In some spots this fall I'm using the scatter method popularized by Jacqueline van der Kloet, a Dutch garden designer. I saw a segment...

About this time each year we watch Monarch butterflies float about our gardens and reflect on their silent beauty. They are in the midst of their migration down Mexico way, and they are very, very hungry. We congratulate ourselves for providing plenty of nectar plants like asters, Joe-Pye weed and goldenrods, but have we considered their offspring? Although fall is when Monarchs show their full-grown faces in my part of the world, we should also be thinking of them in spring and plant various milkweeds for egg laying. You see, being queenly butterflies, little Monarch princes and princesses want to feast upon only one type of food, milkweeds, and this food source is disappearing throughout the United States due to land cultivation and changing times. Monarch larvae, like all members of the family Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies in the subfamily, Danainae, eat only milkweeds. So, what does that mean to gardeners...