There is an historic snowstorm barreling toward Oklahoma with blizzard conditions already reported in the western part of the state where my friend, Brit' Gal Sarah, blogs and gardens.  Often, the panhandle and surrounding area get much more extreme weather than we do in the central part of the state.  However, this storm is so large that we will not escape the snow, nor the freezing temperatures.  Some forecasters are kindly saying we'll have a low of 33F tonight.  Others are predicting 20F.  That's not a typo. I can barely write this, and you, my blogging friends and gardeners, will mourn with me I know. Meteorologists are often wrong, and as you all know, a degree or two, up or down, can make a huge difference.  Let's hope that this is one of those times.  Just in case we do get a late freeze of epic proportions, I've written about...

Dear Carol and Mary Ann, It was nice reading your letters last week and seeing that both of you are now, in spite of the weather, getting some garden projects done.  I'm surprised that Mary Ann seems to have the harshest climate when hers is a hardiness zone between mine and Carol's.  It must be that mountain range surrounding her property. I think I made some progress this week on the entire garden including the flowers and the vegetables.  Spring is such a blur with all the clearing, planting and feeding that I forget.  Bear and I sowed some seeds for beets, lettuce, snap peas and spinach.  She is a great help in the garden, making tags and sowing seeds while I pull more Bermuda grass and get the beds ready for her skillful hands. I still have one type of lettuce coming in the mail and another bag of...

This morning, a Twitter conversation I had with Margaret from A Way to Garden got me thinking.  She'd woken very early (3:50 a.m.) because work  streamed through her consciousness.  I wonder if that work entailed garden design ideas.  I have this same problem before bud break.  I'm so excited about all of the garden possibilities that (in my case) I lie awake at night.  When I finally do fall asleep, sugarplums don't dance through my head.  Plants and hardscape do. However, once things begin growing, and the actual labor starts, I have no trouble with sleep.  I nearly kill myself outside trying to get everything done at once.  I should take the advice from Dena, the Nashville Gardening Examiner and from Dan at Clearwater Landscapes.  Use the right tools and take it slow.  These days, I invest in great tools.  I did learn that lesson, but I just-can't-seem-to-slow-down. The sun...

Last week, Mary Ann in Idaho was still covered in snow, and Carol in Indiana felt like spring had switched into the "on" position.  I was babying my pepper, eggplant and tomato seedlings. For those of you just tuning in, this is our series of letters profiling our vegetable gardens (nearly 1,000 miles apart) in three different climate zones.  Please feel free to join in with your own garden group, and, if you do, tell us in a comment below. Dear Carol and Mary Ann, What a week Oklahoma had!  After our soaring temps came rain, sleet and even snow.  Above is the picture to prove it.  We get these freak March snowstorms occasionally.  Yesterday, the weather finally settled, and now, we're in a warm pattern.  It will make the seeds jump out of the soil I'm sure. The indoor babies are growing ever taller, and on warm days, like...