Welcome!
I’m Dee Nash, a native Oklahoman, and I’ve gardened here since my teens. I know from personal experience how challenging our prairie climate can be.
But my blog isn’t just for Oklahomans. Gardening can be challenging in other climates too. So, I share how to garden wherever you grow.
Enjoy the garden you’ve always wanted!
Featured posts
A bowl of blooming amaryllises and more for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day
Hello friends! For you this month, I have…
Continue Reading A bowl of blooming amaryllises and more for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day
Letting the garden grow
As I’ve been garden coaching so many of…
The bones of the garden
The wind is blowing, and leaves are falling.…
Zinnia favorites
It’s probably no surprise I love zinnias. I…
Long spring, hot summer
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...
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Vegetable garden report
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...
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A very rosy spring
'Old Blush' rose wtih 'Karl Rosenfield' peony. This is the last of three 'Old Blush' roses I had. It didn't get RRD, and it is thriving this year. We're having a very rosy spring at Little Cedar Garden this year. In fact, as I walk down the pebbled paths in the back garden I'm struck by the scent and beauty. It's enough to take your breath away. Walking the path and seeing Rosa 'Desdemona' almost takes my breath away. A few years ago, if you lived in Oklahoma or Texas, I would have cautioned you not to plant roses. I had nearly sworn off new roses myself. Rose Rosette Disease was stomping all over my garden along with most of Oklahoma and Texas, and it made me sad. So very sad. Rosa 'The Poet's Wife' has never looked so good. Honestly, my struggles with RRV remind me of what Covid-19...
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Vegetable garden late April
We are in the last week of April, and the vegetable garden is doing just fine thank you. In fact, it's doing a little too fine. The potager is doing so well this year that I need more room. Not a bad problem to have. The spring crops are mostly up and thriving. 'Black-seeded Simpson' lettuce, 'Grazion' pelleted lettuce from Johnny's Selected Seeds, a couple of mesclun seed mixes, beautiful Purple Moon kale from Renee's Garden Seeds, tiny onions from seed instead of sets this year (I didn't even start them indoors like I should have), and mache are growing with abandon. Here's my problem. I decided a couple of years ago I wanted to border the entire potager with lavender once I saw it performed so well in these raised, concrete-bordered beds and was beloved by my honey bees and the bumbles. I grow several varieties, and each one...
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