Lately, the weather in Oklahoma has never been more beautiful, but my friends, don't be fooled by these fabulous temperatures and blue skies. It's a false spring. Viola x wittrockiana 'Delta Tapestry' because pansies and violas are great during false spring. False spring comes every year in February or March, and it flirts with gardeners like a sultry siren. It's not time to sprint through the tulips, trowel in hand, even if your little gardener's heart wants to start planting tomatoes and other tropical things. I know you want to get going, and it doesn't help when you go to the local box stores, and they've lined their shelves with sacrificial plants. They know we have spring fever, and are happy to oblige. Matrix Solar Flare pansies ready to go in the ground. False spring is time for pansies, violas and snapdragons. On the annual flower front, don't buy anything...

Gardening will break your heart, but each time, you fail, you learn something about yourself and the plants you're trying to nurture. Gardening is tough. I know these are hard words, but it's true. Everyone fails. Everyone makes mistakes. Even when you become an experienced plantswoman or plantsman, you will still fail. Get used to it. Our garden has had a light dusting of snow for several days ever since the temperatures plummeted. We expect a lot more snow this weekend. I'll take more pictures then. Remember, gardening will break your heart, but you and the garden will mend. Prairie climates are especially challenging. The weather, especially in prairie climates, is extremely changeable. You can't change the weather but just wait a minute (apologies to Mark Twain.) In fact, look at this weekend's forecast. Starting tonight and going through Monday, Oklahomans are supposed to get a "North Dakota snowstorm." I...

A quick post about my seed orders. I'm Dee, and I have a seed problem. Cosmos 'Rubenza' from Floret Seeds. Oklahoma Salmon zinnias with cosmos foliage. Cosmos planted en masse beneath taller plantings. Zinnia 'Queen Red Lime,' which is one of my favorites. Zinnia 'Queen Red Lime,' one of my favorites, has this crazy kind of Victorian coloration. It looks good with lots of fall-ish flowers. A tomato (left) and Black Seeded Simpson lettuce growing in the potager a few years ago. 'Black-seeded Simpson' lettuce with tatsoi blooming behind it. Ordering seeds for flowers and vegetables I'm sharing what I ordered for you and for me. This is what happens when a freak buys seeds. I've grown some of these seeds before, and I put photos of several plants in the gallery above. I know that it seems like a lot of seeds, but I have a very large garden....

Here's a hint: terra firma What lies underneath Oklahoma's flora and fauna is a complex network that we perhaps too simply call soil. Native Oklahoma red clay and sandstone beneath our leaf piles. Soil composition is more complicated than you think Soil composition isn't simple at all. According to the National Conversation Resource Service, soil is "The unconsolidated mineral or organic material on the immediate surface of the Earth that serves as a natural medium for the growth of land plants." This is the first part of the definition. The second part is more lengthy and you can read it on their website if you'd like. Does soil have a social life? Many soil scientists are starting to think so. I decided to write this post after reading "The Social Life of Forests" in the New York Times. Although the article focuses upon Suzanne Simard and her studies of the...