The queens of the garden, the roses for those of you who don't know, are most unhappy about the ill treatment they received in December, January and February. No offense to Shakespeare, but you might even call it the winter of their discontent. Even with the royal robes of leaf mold and pine bark, they shivered at the unseasonable -17F. Yes, you read that correctly. After the magnificent snowfall of February 9, 2011, Oklahoma faced temperatures which were not only unseasonable, but uncharitable too. The roses are not amused. Many of them died all the way back to where the snowfall collected on the ground. A few, like 'The Fairy' or 'Carefree Delight,' laughed at the cold, but none of the Knockouts® were happy. Most are now only eighteen inches tall. 'Cl. Pinkie' is in intensive care, but I did see a bit of new growth about a foot above...

Two friends, Rebecca Sweet and Susan Morrison, have teamed up to create a fun new gardening book, Garden Up!: Smart Vertical Gardening for Small and Large Spaces. Their publisher kindly sent me a review copy, but I would have bought the book anyway for the design concepts and beautiful photographs. From the cover you can see Garden Up! will be beautiful and engaging. Because I love climbing roses and the vines that twine, I am all about gardening vertically. Susan and Rebecca take this concept to a whole new level with vertical plantings, vines, living walls, and other methods to raise your garden awareness. I'm excited the first chapter was all about outdoor trellises and arbors. I have five arbors in my back garden, and I'm considering building another one to lead into the potager. If so, I'll need to get Bill on board. Perhaps, I should show him their...

Home. What memories does that word conjure up for you? For me, it's a garden full of earthly delights starting with bulbs and ground covers hugging the space beneath. Before the weather gets too hot, and the world is fresh and new. It's the scent of lilacs on such a spring day, or perhaps that of the stodgy hyacinth which smells so sweet. The musical backdrop is Irish or bluegrass ballads. Bill and I have been watching The Civil War PBS special by Ken Burns again, and I feel so much when I watch it. It was the first long running program we watched together because it premiered the year we married, 1989. Those letters from soldiers still make me cry, and sometimes, home is all about tears. Home should be a place from which fathers and mothers never leave, where children have love and enough good food to eat,...

Tulipa 'Lady Jane' where she's as cold as I. And, on a warmer day . . . . With hearts open wide.