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...

Good morning everyone. I see you're searching for how to grow an Oklahoma summer vegetable garden. Good for you! Garden on my friends! This is my vegetable harvest from my raised beds in 2017. But, wait. We have an entire week of stupid, low, morning temperatures, and you need consistent overnight lows in the 50s before you start sowing seeds or planting transplants to grow an Oklahoma summer vegetable garden. I wrote a little bit about this in my spring garden update. I'm trying to save you some angst. Wait on transplants until after your last average freeze date, but also watch the weather. Last year, on the Gardenangelists podcast, Carol Michel from May Dreams Gardens and I did an entire episode on how to grow a basic summer vegetable garden. We record our podcasts weekly, and we always talk about flowers, veggies, and all the best dirt. You can...

Right outside my kitchen door is this border next to the garage. Japanese maples like Emperor II make it so very pretty in spring. It's time for a spring garden update. Everything in the perennial garden is leafed out and ready to be frozen next week if temperatures go below 32°F. Last week, the forecasters were saying 28°. I just walked around my house and like Scarlett O'Hara, I paraphrased, "Fiddle-dee-dee, I'll worry about that tomorrow. After all, tomorrow is another day."  In front of the house, everything is leafed out and going strong. I've learned not to let early, mid, and late freezes bother me much. I control what I can and let go of what I can't. Shrug. What else can you do? I will be sad if all of my Japanese maples freeze, but now the forecasters are saying 32° will be the lowest. I'm hoping they're...

'Jane' magnolia and part of the fescue lawnette. This area gets a lot of shade in summer from the tree line that starts in the center of the property. A couple of weeks ago, I got my 10,000 steps seeding and feeding the fescue lawn. The lawnette always looks pretty pitiful this time of year. How did I get 10,000 steps? I mixed Milorganite and grass seed in the walk-behind seed spreader and worked the lawnette in a crosshatch style. I walked one direction back and forth, and then I did the same in the other direction.  It's boring, but necessary work so let's look at The Rising Sun™ redbud against the Oklahoma sky instead. See, doesn't that feel better? The Rising Sun™ redbud against the Oklahoma Sky. You can use whatever grass fertilizer you like. I don't suggest weed-n-feed because it will kill all the lovely little flowering weeds...