What does a red-dirt-garden girl do in winter, or even late fall while her garden gently sleeps? I can't speak for anyone else in red-dirt land, but I plant amaryllis and paperwhite bulbs. It's raining outside this afternoon so I couldn't plant all the tulips I purchased a few months ago. This gorgeous display came from Whole Foods on sale after Christmas in 2017. I don't know the variety but who cares? Yeah, that's my excuse. I need to dip my tulip bulbs in Plantskydd Deer Repellent, but I'm also afraid our blasted hound dog will smell the repellent and dig up my tulips. Eaten by voles, or dug up by a precocious hound? Tough choice. 'Evergreen' amaryllis and paperwhites coming up behind them from last year. Last week, I planted the amaryllis I ordered. Funny thing . . . I forgot which company I'd ordered them from, so they...

Bill and I traveled all summer. I'm not gonna lie. It was tons of fun, but after getting back from our road trip to Yellowstone National Park last month, I am tired and will be staying home for a while. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Yes, I took this photo with my iPhone 10. I wanted to share our Yellowstone road trip experiences so this will be a travel post instead of a gardening one. I hope it's more interesting and helpful than Uncle __________ sharing his vacation slides one-by-one. If not, just run away. I won't even know. The Wonderful World of Disney Like so many other children of the 60s and 70s, every Sunday night I would watch The Wonderful World of Disney. I can't tell you how many times they profiled Old Faithful and Yellowstone National Park on that program. It's difficult to explain how magical...

Gray Hairstreak butterfly with open wings. Gray Hairstreak butterfly nectaring. Wherever you live in Oklahoma, take time for butterfly watching this fall. I haven't seen such a nice variety of butterflies in my garden for a long time. Because of a massive pollinator planting effort throughout the state, I'm also seeing numerous butterflies in medians, shopping centers, city gardens, etc. All I can say is "Huzzah!" Photo of radar showing a cold front passing through a few days ago. It also shows a line of insects being pushed south. Photo taken by Scott Peake and shared publicly on Facebook. It's a marvel to watch butterflies like Monarchs, and they will be gone to Texas before we know it. We've had a gorgeous week for Monarch butterfly sightings. They flew in on a cold front a few days ago, and some have encamped, building up their strength for the next surge...

Buy bulbs now for spring flowers, but wait to plant them. In Oklahoma, I wait until around Thanksgiving or maybe even a little afterward to plant my bulbs. Pink tulips and white daffodils in the front border. Yes, we live in a log home. In fact, I pick the coldest day I can find and shiver as I plant. Suffering is essential to bulb success. Just kidding. If I plant bulbs when soil temperatures are between 55° and 60°F, I know the bulbs will put down roots and not use a lot of their energy growing above ground. Root growth is why you continue to water in winter when air temperatures are above 40°F. This is also true for shrubs and trees. Keep them watered about once a week when temperatures are above 40°F. Pink tulips and white daffodils from 2015. I'd almost given up on tulips because of voles....