One of the cheapest ways to garden in Oklahoma is to grow your own transplants from seed. Starting vegetable and flower seeds indoors isn't as hard as you might think, and broken down into steps, the process is even more straightforward. Pepper plants I transplanted into four-inch containers with a fine layer of grit. I dearly love grit because it helps the pots to retain moisture while keeping moisture away from plant stems. I buy chicken grit at the hardware store. Step One In the central part of Oklahoma, the transplant date for warm-weather crops is around April 20th. To know when to start tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, or any other seeds for that matter, check your seed packets and count back the days from the transplant date.  Don’t forget to label seeds before planting. You can’t tell one tomato, pepper, or eggplant from another otherwise. Step Two Use good-quality,...

The plantswoman who inspired me, my Grandma Nita. This week's Gardenangelists podcast is about garden inspiration and plantswomen. In the episode, Carol and I talk about dahlias and my gardening grandmother, Juanita. We also discuss Jennifer Jewell's fabulous book, The Earth in Her Hands: 75 Extraordinary Women Working in the World of Plants. We felt like her book was so powerful we devoted our entire episode to it and to two women we either know personally, Ms. Ira Wallace and a floral designer we admire, Ms. Sarah Raven. 'Juanita' dahlia at Little Cedar Garden, my garden. A few years ago, I was perusing the online catalog of Old House Gardens, and under dahlias for hot nights, it listed 'Juanita.' Well, I had to have it. My grandmother who first walked the garden path with me when I was so little I could look down and see those 1960s baby shoes,...

I have always loved heart-shaped plants, and what could be better for Valentine's Day? While I'm not one to snub red roses or flowers of any kind or color for that matter, I do love heart-shaped plants partly because plants are usually easy to grow and last longer. Carol Michel and I also talked about heart-shaped plants on the Gardenangelists podcast this week. First up is the number-one plant on Instagram, Hoya kerrii, which is actually a succulent cutting. This Costa Farms Live Hoya Heart in its "love" planter is super cute. You can also find the same Hoya Heart on this website. Your sweet little hoya will hopefully grow into a longer series of hearts, which might surprise you. The one I bought off of Etsy is variegated. You know how much I love my variegated plants! It took a long time to get here, but my hoya had...

It's happened. I have a bonafide red aglaonema addiction. It sounds like a nasty rash, but actually, it's an affliction of indoor plant happiness. My newest red aglaonema acquisition. I'm not positive, but I think it might be 'Pink Dalmatian.' Chinese evergreens Haven't heard of red aglaonemas? How about Chinese evergreens? For years, the large green and silver plants graced a lot of office buildings, sitting atop file cabinets and stuck in various fluorescent-bulb-lit corners. In fact, I saw two large ones gracing the altar at St. John the Baptist Church the other night. They were stalwart office dwellers and often boring, but boring no more. The red and pink newcomers are all the rage, and I need them all. OK, I tell myself, settle down. Maybe not all, but I own several now. Aglaonema 'Spring Snow,' that I bought at Calvert's Plant Interiors in Oklahoma City. Many colors from...