Welcome!
I’m Dee Nash, a native Oklahoman, and I’ve gardened here since my teens. I know from personal experience how challenging our prairie climate can be.
But my blog isn’t just for Oklahomans. Gardening can be challenging in other climates too. So, I share how to garden wherever you grow.
Enjoy the garden you’ve always wanted!
Featured posts
A bowl of blooming amaryllises and more for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day
Hello friends! For you this month, I have…
Continue Reading A bowl of blooming amaryllises and more for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day
Letting the garden grow
As I’ve been garden coaching so many of…
The bones of the garden
The wind is blowing, and leaves are falling.…
Zinnia favorites
It’s probably no surprise I love zinnias. I…
Creating swathes of color
Let's chat about creating swathes of color. Yes, I'm spelling it in the English style as swathes because, as Anne of Green Gables says, an "e" adds just a little something. First things first, creating swathes of color isn't easy. Looking through 'Tamukeyama' Japanese maple, we can see color echoes in 'Orange Rocket' barberry, young crapemyrtle leaves, and 'Australia' cannas. Buy your plants in threes and fives So many gardeners have collections of one. One shrub here, one larkspur there, one peony here, and one rose there. The first way to create swathes of color is to buy and grow more than one plant. Three 'Royal Purple' smokebushes are the stars of this border. I cut them way down each spring to keep them full and lush. This photo is from summer 2021. If we're talking about a very special plant like 'Black Lace' elderberry, I can see buying just...
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Grow tomatoes and other vegetables in pots
One of the easiest ways to grow tomatoes and other vegetables is in pots. There's freedom from worrying about soil conditions, watering, etc., when you grow tomatoes this way. You can grow both pole (indeterminate) and bush (determinate) tomatoes in pots. 'Missouri Love Apple' is a potato-leafed, indeterminate tomato that I grew from seed. Which containers? Because I like using large containers to grow tomatoes, I chose fabric pots, including 20-gallon Smart Pots—made in Oklahoma—and 30-gallon Grassroots pots—constructed in California. This year, I also bought Vivosun. While you only need a five-gallon bucket or pot to grow a tomato, the larger pots make sense in my garden. I plant marigolds with tomatoes because they're cheerful flowers for pollinators. I also grow peppers, pentas, and Asian eggplants in my containers. When you grow tomatoes in pots and use larger ones, you have more freedom to add flowers and herbs. These 'Durango...
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Late April garden update
I've been getting a lot of requests from my garden-coaching clients and other friends for a late-April garden update. So, I thought I would brief everyone all at once about what is going on in my garden now. Common chives getting ready to bloom. Won't the bees be happy? Also, a new red fountain. The old one broke, and it just wasn't fixable. Seeds I've sown in the potager. My first garden update is in the potager. The seeds for cool-weather vegetables, including kale, bok choy, radishes, three kinds of lettuce, and 'Sugar Ann' sweet-podded peas are up and growing. I also grew nasturtiums and calendula in the greenhouse to grow them larger to place outside. They are all now transplanted outdoors. I love the variegated foliage of 'Alaska' nasturtiums. Black-seeded Simpsom lettuce and calendula surrounded by lavender. It must be heaven. Two nasturtium plants up and halfway died. There...
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Grow summer flowers from seed
One of the best ways to fill your garden with color is to grow summer flowers from seed. Growing flowers from seed is cheaper than buying plants, and you'll also find a greater variety of flowers if you grow them yourself. This is a long post so grab a cup of coffee and buckle your seatbelts. Repurposed containers for seed planting. These type of containers can be used for vegetables, along with perennial and annual flowers. Create a drift of flowers wherever you want. When I start annuals and perennials from seed, I can plant a drift of flowers wherever I want them, especially for those flowers I start indoors or in the greenhouse. This gives me greater freedom, and it's cheaper than buying transplants although I still buy transplants, especially perennials. You can grow many perennials from seed too, but it takes a bit longer. You might not get...
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