It isn't easy to grow lavender in Oklahoma, but it is well worth it. Drainage is the biggest issue. Lavender, like many Mediterranean herbs, wants sharp drainage. As the hosts on BBC's Gardeners' World are always so fond of stating, lavender likes a "gritty compost." Translated to American-speak, that means gritty potting soil. Here's looking at you honey bee! Growing lavender grows happiness If you can grow lavender in Oklahoma, your garden will be filled with pollinators like carpenter bees, honey bees, and small butterflies. Even when the lavender isn't blooming, if you run your hands across it, its intoxicating scent will waft over you. It's almost like having a spa day in the garden. For years, trying to grow lavender in Oklahoma successfully eluded me. It does not like our red clay or even our red sand. What plant does like red clay you ask? Maybe horrible bull thistle,...

Part of the back garden during the midseason daylily bloom. When the daylilies are finished, Phlox paniculata will start, and butterflies will be everywhere. Every year I think my garden won't have its usual daylily magic. Maybe it's too dry, too cold, too hot, but each year, come June, the daylilies spring into action sending up large scapes covered in buds. Hemerocallis 'Flying Nun' (Elliott-S. 2013) is a semi-evergreen, Unusual FormCrispate. UFs are called crispate when their petal or sepals pinch at the edges. Look at the petal on the left. Some people poo-poo growing daylilies, and I think that's because they are so easy to grow in a hot summer climate. Probably one of the easiest flowers ever. Gardeners are a competitive bunch, and some of us don't want to grow what's easy. H. 'Tomorrow is Another Day' (Reed 2012) is one of my favorite UF daylilies and is...

Did you miss me? I've missed you in more ways than you know. It's been a very long spring and we're heading into a long, hot summer. Get that drip irrigation out and going as soon as possible. Oklahoma summers can be merciless in your garden. Hemerocallis 'Easter Star' looks bigger in this closeup than it really is. I love the pattern on the petals. Does anyone even read blogs anymore? I know I've read more blog posts this spring. I found I needed longer pieces to reflect, but I've also felt like I have nothing new to write. This is my thirteenth year of garden blogging. Can you believe it? Hemerocallis 'Raspberry Goosebumps' daylily has nice teeth on its edges. I'm also on Instagram, but haven't felt like sharing much on social media either. I hope you understand. Maybe, like me, you also feel overwhelmed by the news. Hemerocallis...

Peas, peas and more peas are the stars of this vegetable garden report. Lettuce was the star last week, but, alas, the lettuce turned bitter in the summer sun. Lettuce has a very short garden life in an Oklahoma spring. If I kept better records, I would know which variety of sweet podded pea this is. Unfortunately, when I'm planting the cool weather crops in late February, I don't always write everything down. That's because Oklahoma springs don't often linger. Just as I wrote this sentence, the forecast changed. Welcome to a prairie climate! I harvested purple kale a couple of mornings ago and dislodged some cabbage worms before rinsing and putting it up in a bag to be eaten later this week as kale chips or sauteed with a lovely fried or poached egg on top. Kale is also good in soups, or you can massage it with dressing...