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...

With the cold weather behind us (at least for present), the entire garden responded with joy to last week's rain and snow.  Peach trees which were in bud are now flaunting their colors, and it appears I'll be, once again, fighting the deer for peaches this summer.  The apple trees remain wary; their branches still appear dead and lifeless. Beauty is popping up everywhere.  The Roman blue Hyacinths I planted last fall are blooming, and Scott  from Old House Gardens was right.  They are more airy than traditional Hyacinths.  Don't you love that blue perfection?  Now, we'll see if they truly multiply. The dwarf flowering almond I planted last year is blooming, but the cold snap we had killed off some of its rosey pink blooms.  While looking at it, I noticed that one of the clematis had heaved itself up out of the soil.  I smooshed it back in,...

Not really.  The plants need the rain for growing. It's been a wild week on the prairie.  We've had snow and sleet, freezing temperatures, and now, rain.  Most days, the sky has been covered in clouds, so Brit' Gal Sarah should feel right at home.  I long for those Oklahoma blue skies, but clouds mean higher nighttime temperatures, which help those tiny, new leaves to adjust. This morning, my deciduous magnolia looks a fright with her previously frozen, previously purple blooms hanging limp and brown.  I will go out later (once it warms a little) and clean them off her branches.  The rest of the plants though look pretty good considering.  I keep telling myself to be grateful for the moisture no matter what form it takes. Here's a collage to show a small sampling of what's going on in my garden, along with our ever changing weather. Don't forget,...

As way of explanation, Carol from May Dreams Gardens, Mary Ann from Idaho Gardener and I so loved the book, Dear Friend and Gardener, and since I thoroughly enjoyed The 3,000 Mile Garden: An Exchange of Letters Between Two Eccentric Gourmet Gardeners, we decided to create our own 1,000 mile Garden Project.  So, this gardening season, we'll be exchanging letters with each other about our vegetable gardens with today being our first letter.  We hope you'll enjoy our jaunt around three different hardiness zones. Dear Carol and Mary Ann, Spring has already sprung in my Oklahoma garden, so much so, that outdoors, perennial growth is about three weeks ahead of last year at this time.   This is a very dangerous time for weather in Oklahoma.  No, I'm talking about the tornadoes.   I'm speaking of Mr. Freeze.  Our last freeze date is actually April 20th, but tell that to the plants...