'Shindeshojo' japanese maple on the north side of the garage Next to roses, nothing is more beautiful than a well grown Acer palmatum. When their leaves unfurl, Japanese maples are beautiful in spring. Then, they bloom and produce seeds. Throughout our Oklahoma summers like many other plants and people for that matter, they hang on for dear life, but in fall, they dress in party frocks, with the green-leaved varieties turning yellow, orange or rust, while the red cultivars deepen. A few, like 'Sango kaku' also sport gorgeous winter bark. What else could you request from a small tree? The most popular post on my blog shows how to plant a Japanese maple. Because of search engines, it remains my highest ranking post even in its third year. The cultivar I planted that day was 'Tamukeyama,' and despite temperature extremes, it is still growing strong in the lower garden. A....

Since it's October 10, 2010, and I completely stole this idea from Carol of May Dreams Garden, here are ten things which show the seasons do change even when the weather seems to be stuck on 85F. 10. My Charlotte, who I've been watching spin her web and catch bugs for about a month looked sickly yesterday. This morning, she was gone. Sigh, but she left egg sacks on the gutter system. I, like Wilbur, will protect them for her. 9. The mornings are beginning later, for Brother Sun anyway. I'm still up at 6:00 a.m. Monday through Friday to get the kids to school. I only take Bear now though. The others drive themselves. St. Francis, who is said to have composed the Canticle of the Creatures, had his feast day October 4. 8. A pronounced nip in the morning air makes me grab a light sweater before my...

A bad case of Rose Rosette disease forming the familiar witch's broom. Sometimes, disaster strikes, and you don't always know until afterward. Last spring, I detected that the new foliage on some of my roses was very red and extremely ruffled. It was like nothing I'd ever seen. Rose Rosette disease on 'Zephirine Drouhin' I watched and wondered. When I saw the roses weren't coming out of their rouge-colored funk, through the power of the Internet, I did some research. I remembered an older post of Nan Ondra's on Gardening Gone Wild where she shared about her roses and rose rosette disease. What she wrote made my heart first shudder and then sink. Three of my roses looked very similar to hers. Both of the 'New Dawn' climbers had it bad. One 'Zephirine Drouhin' did also. Later, this summer, I saw horrid foliage on 'Old Blush.' The canes are thick...