A triumvirate of croci Today was a quiet home day as are most Wednesdays. I stay away from the computer and just do those things which keeps the RDR humming. I fold the every present laundry. I shop for groceries. I love shopping for groceries especially at Homeland. Now, those who live nearby will be laughing. Homeland isn't the cheapest store, and it isn't the biggest (I like small), but it has things I can't find anywhere else like really fresh produce and unusual things (for Oklahoma anyway) like leeks. I wish I could grow leeks. I watch Jamie Oliver whip them up into the most faboo things, but alas, I have never grown leeks well. Maybe if I started them in fall? By Wednesday, I'm ready for a bit of home keeping. I've usually sent off a post to Lowe's or Fiskars, or an article to Oklahoma Gardener, and...

You've read the stories of people who decided to drop out of the corporate buzzsaw. Cheering these slow-life pioneers from the sidelines, you may think, I'd like to do that too, but I can't because . . . . So, what happens when the cheering stops, and the new life begins? In 2007, about the same time I started RDR, I heard from a friend that Martha Stewart's one-time, girl-of-all-trades, Margaret Roach, had chucked it all and gone to live in the woods. Not only that, she was blogging about it and with grace. I visited, enjoyed her writing and commented never expecting to hear back from her. I mean, after all, she was the former Editorial Director of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. I was surprised when she came by and left a comment or two on my blog when the occasion merited it. On Twitter, she also gave me...

Doesn't that picture just draw you in? Our second review of the week is Erica Glasener's , Proven Plants Southern Gardens. If you live in the south, and yes, much of Oklahoma is considered the middle or central south, this is a good book. It is especially good if you're a transplant. Erica, who was the host of A Gardener's Diary for fourteen years on HGTV (goodness, I hate writing that acronym), lives in Atlanta, Georgia, and is an expert in southern gardening. I got to know Erica when we were in Raleigh for GWA in 2009. I found her passion for southern gardening to be refreshing. We talked roses, and discovered we love many of the same varieties. Proven Plants Southern Gardens begins with a brief explanation of the basics, soil, exposure, and planning before you dig that hole (something I could definitely heed). Erica is a big proponent...

So, the bubble of spring weather we had over the weekend burst in the 30s yesterday. As you run from your car to the indoors, I bet you're barely giving the garden a glance. Are you feeling sad? Don't be, it is February, the cruelest of months. And, it is nearly finished. Hip, hip, hooray!! It's nearly March, and you know what that means, right? It's book season which is always something to celebrate. I'm pulling out the party hats with a week-long celebration of garden book reviews and maybe even a giveaway. So, let's get the party started with The Edible Front Yard: The Mow-Less, Grow-More Plan for a Beautiful, Bountiful Garden, by Ivette Soler, otherwise known online as The Germinatrix. First, I'm green with jealousy. Ivette lives in California, and she gets to garden nearly year-round as do so many of my other gardening friends. I'm a California,...