Dear Carol and Mary Ann, I'm a bit late with my letter this evening.  We had an Easter soiree with thirty members of our family at my house today.  Also, thunderstorms flashing with lightning blasted through the state last night, and my Internet connection was down all day.  I just fixed it. Rain, glorious rain fell nearly all day today.  Although it spoiled the outdoor egg hunt, no one here was sad.  We hunted  in the basement and the living room instead.  Thursday night, Oklahoma had historic fires all over the state, and 190 homes and businesses were destroyed.  The rain stamped out any remaining hot spots.   I discovered today from my niece that Tony's Tree Farm (the landscaper who helped me with my front yard) burned to the ground.  I can't tell you how sad this makes me. I should go out and check the rain guage, but 'er,...

Today, my garden is a test garden.  Every since last week's late freeze, our temps have been up and down with no moisture except what little irrigation I've provided. These conditions created an interesting environment.  This is observation only, and I'm no scientist.  However, every morning since the freeze, I've walked the garden and watched for burned foliage to determine: Which roses best weathered Mr. Freeze? (In fact, two freezes about two weeks apart.) Which have the least damaged foliage? Which were nipped in the bud so to speak, and Which suffered nearly total and complete setbacks? Drumroll please. Under the category of "Best weathered" we have: 'Altissimo,' a modern climber 'Applejack,' a Griffith Buck shrub rose 'Cl. Pinkie,' a China 'Betty Prior,' an old Floribunda from 1935 'Baronne Prevost,’ a Hybrid Perpetual 'Baseye's Bluberry,' a shrub rose 'Carefree Wonder,' a shrub rose 'Cecile Bruner,' a Polyantha ‘Cliffs of Dover,'...

Mr. Freeze came and went and with him also went most of the leaves on my Japanese maples.  Even covered, at 25F, it was just too cold for them.  Perhaps, if this happens next year, I'll string Christmas lights under the sheets and save the foliage.  It's a thought. I could focus on this, but instead, I think we'll look at what is beautiful and what was saved. I covered most of the Heucheras, but even those I didn't cover did well.   When the landscaper redid the front garden, he left me most of his containers.  I used the three and five gallon pots to great effect, covering the most delicate of flowers.  The black pots were fantastic insulators.  Too bad there weren't pots big enough for the maples.  The visualization of that just makes me laugh. Most of the tulips survived.  Some were a little worse for wear, but...

Dear Ones, As I write this, the wind is howling around the corner of my oh, so, cozy kitchen, rattling the windowpanes.  After an 80F degree day yesterday, last night, another nasty Canadian cold front snuck across the Oklahoma border.  The forecasters are again talking about snow for the northwest part of the state.  I do love the Canadians, but I find their weather abhorrent, especially in April.  That's why I live in Oklahoma where it's usually warm, sometimes even during winter. It's Palm Sunday, and all through Mass, I dreamed of warmer climes than mine.  Tonight's low is supposed to be 31F.  Not so bad really when you consider Tuesday's projected low of 24F.  HH is busy working at the Diva's ancient school today (rebuilding the main staircase), so guess who got to help me cover plants? Even though they griped and complained throughout, those three were troopers in...