In 2000, visions of blossoms danced in my head, and I planted two climbing 'Joseph's Coat' roses on the East side of my house. The border in this photo didn't exist. Like everything else, it evolved over time. Instead, imagine three tiers of rotting railroad ties that we eventually replaced with a stamped concrete wall and formed concrete steps. At the end of the stone path, is an iron bench painted in a rust color. As a focal point, it blends in too much with the landscape, but that's because I wanted it to be a kind of secret spot to linger where the children couldn't find me. I take my iced tea and a book out there and hide in the shrubs. Why 'Joseph's Coat?' I've always been attracted to bright yellows, pinks and reds. In that respect, I think Christopher Lloyd and I would agree. However, after reading...

I am nearly finished with the December/January selection for the Garden Bloggers Book Club. This was my first time to participate, and I was excited because I love good books. A good book about gardening is even better. However, about twenty pages into Dear Friend and Gardener, by Beth Chatto and Christopher Lloyd, I thought, I'll never get through this. Being experts in their fields, Chatto and Lloyd mostly used Latin names for plants they discussed, instead of common names. For me, this was a hindrance to reading their letters. When I write articles or post on my blog, I use both Latin and common names, although I know that Latin is more specific. Instead of putting the book back on the shelf, I decided this was an opportunity to learn. With my laptop in one hand, and the book in the other, I spent the first half of it...

My friend, Mary Ann, suggested I write more about the origins of my garden. My first thought was "Oh, no, I want it to be perfect and in bloom, and I don't have any good pictures of it like that." I wonder why. Could it be that gardens like everything else in life are never perfect? I revised my thinking. Ego aside, if I wanted to show structure, winter would be best. My first country garden (in 1990) was a rectangle. It looked like everyone else's garden space, efficiency with no style. Note: a rectangle isn't very efficient anyway. Vegetables grown in straight rows don't produce as much bounty. Then I subscribed to Kitchen Gardener magazine. From the first issue, I felt like I'd finally met "my people." People who grew beans up poles, and tried interesting vegetable varieties like Lemon cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes like 'Cherokee Purple' or 'Arkansas...

We had a scrumptious feast a week ago Friday. It's taken me this long to gather my information. Thanks to Kacee for having the dinner at her house and for helping me remember wine details. I'm sharing this with you for two reasons: The meal was entirely gluten free and for me, dairy free; and It was prepared with lots of fantastic fruits and vegetables, many of which were grown locally. Locavores rejoice!! Last March, at the Birth Choice of Oklahoma auction, five couples pooled their resources and purchased a dinner to be prepared by Father Shane Tharp, the pastor of St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, located in Prague, Oklahoma. Believe it or not, Prague is pronounced with a long "a." I don't know why. It's just an Oklahoma quirk. I was really looking forward to this meal because we've known Fr. Shane for a long time. He attended the same...