Kelly, a frequent commenter, wrote: "I shouldn’t wish my life away but I can hardly wait for spring!" Like a smooth stone in the pocket of my favorite gardening jacket, I carried her heartfelt expression with me all week as I went about my everyday chores of home and hearth. After much reflection, I don't believe gardeners wish their lives away.  Instead, they manage their time during winter like a mini-gardening sabbatical with photos of gardens past, books, blogs, magazines and catalogs, while they wait for spring. In our dreams, spring is a magical place, a fabled Shangri-La,  where breezes are ever gentle, and no mistakes have yet been made.  Tempted by seed and plant catalogs, their photos and descriptions transport us from an icy landscape to a place where sweet peas bloom, and lettuce never bolts before we tire of it. This year, the weather throughout much of North...

Thanks for writing! A reader, Molly, wrote me the sweetest email, and because I thought her questions reflected others I'd received, I thought I'd answer them here.  Her email is below: Good day. I'm moving to Blanchard, OK this spring and need a crash course in red dirt gardening! I'm an avid gardener currently living in SE Minnesota, home to beautiful black soil. I've gardened in Omaha, NE and Des Moines, IA too, over the past 20 years. I've always worked with zones 4-5, so am used to being very limited in my choices. I need to become informed about soil prep and plant selection asap, as I chomp at the bit to get to my new place and start to work there. The place we are buying is outside Blanchard. It is a dream place of 5 acres on a rolling hill and with many oak trees. The soil...

Icy lamb's ear Tired of hearing about cold and snow?  Me too. Instead, let us speak of times past, particularly of summer, when the garden posed for one giant beauty shot, and my 'Carefree Beauty' rose was at her peak. Imagine. Through the arbor gate You step outside, the screen door slapping at your heels, and a wall of heat hits you like a thunderclap.  Stop for a moment, gather your thoughts, and gaze upon the garden in all its summer glory.  Watch as dragonflies dance in the sky to a song only they can hear. Suddenly, standing tall behind the split-rail fence, a pink rose catches your eye and in the early morning haze, it, like the summer heat, takes your breath away.  Stately canes are covered in blossoms, the blooms a clear, pure pink un-muddied by blue undertones. Rosa 'Carefree Beauty'  Pay no attention to the red hoe...

We get a winter like this.  Blame it on El Nino or whatever you like, but in Oklahoma (and I hear parts of Texas), it is snowing again.  We're not supposed to get as much accumulation for which I am glad.  I've been out in my four-wheel-drive Expedition (owned for just this purpose), bumping over and avoiding giant ice slicks in the parking lots at several stores.  I carry kitty litter in my car for those "just-in-case moments," and I've helped two different drivers get unstuck much to the delight of my teen passengers.  Teenagers note:  parents do get their revenge one way or another. I, and many other citizens, managed to buy out most of the grocery store this afternoon because I'm hoping my BFF and her family will still visit New Year's Eve.  By the by, on December 31st, the second full moon of the month, known as...