Paperwhites and amaryllis make great Christmas decor, and they go on after the holidays are over. I grow a variety of flower bulbs indoors, but my favorites in December and January are amaryllis (Hippeastrum sp.) and paperwhites (Narcissus tazetta.) After all, it's always been my contention on this blog that blooming plants beat the winter blues. Some bulbs, like hyacinths and tulips, need a cooling period before you can coax them into flower. The method is called forcing. Other bulbs like most paperwhites and amaryllis only require potting up and watering. For this post, I'm not going to discuss forcing. Maybe I'll do a separate post on it later. I've written about my process with hyacinths before. I made a little video for Instagram to show how to grow an amaryllis from a kit as shown above. Although I know it's a simple activity for experienced gardeners, I think it can...

Pink and white Hippeastrum (amaryllis) no name. In the last couple of weeks, Jack Frost visited Oklahoma so the garden moved indoors. I find that growing bulbs indoors helps me endure winter's darkest days. Although most of October and November were mild, we have many more cold days to come. Hyacinths cooling their heels in the garage refrigerator all in an effort to get that all important eight-week cooling period. Hyacinth bulbs are cooling their heels in the garage refrigerator. In Oklahoma's up-and-down climate, I must put the bulbs in the refrigerator most years to get that all-important, eight-week cold period. I see roots emerging from the bottoms of the bulbs so I know all is well. When I tried to force them in my kitchen broom closet last year--it is against an exterior wall and remains pretty cold, but not cold enough--I had some problems with rotting bulbs. When the...

Before settlers crossed the Mississippi River and literally ran for 160-acre plots in one of several Oklahoma land runs in the late 1800s, much of the territory's western half was covered in mixed prairie grasses.  In what became Oklahoma Territory, the Osage, Cheyenne, Arapaho, Kiowa, Comanche and Apache tribes hunted bison and other animals. Oklahoma's diverse landscape, including its glorious grasses, made such hunting possible because prairie and forest plants provided cover and forage for animals like bison, elk, bear, rabbits, squirrels, turkeys, and white-tailed deer. On the eastern side of Indian Territory, the land was wooded with blackjack oaks, eastern cottonwoods, post and pin oaks, and many other tree species. Being rocky and hard to develop, much of it is still very wooded today. 1892 Map of Oklahoma and Indian Territories courtesy of the Library of Congress. I live at the junction between the prairie and the forest in what is now...

So many butterflies, large and small, on my plants yesterday. This is 'Bluebird' smooth aster.  Another great plant group for the fall garden is the asters, and the best of these is 'Bluebird' smooth aster. I have many asters , and I've profiled them before, but Symphyotrichum laeve 'Bluebird' is my hands-down favorite and seems to be a favorite of bees, hoverflies, wasps, and butterflies too. Monarch on Symphyotrichum laeve 'Bluebird' smooth aster. This fantastic plant is such a beautiful clear blue, a color that is so hard to find in the fall garden. I have taken cuttings and moved them about, so I have a lot of it now. I think it is better than the shorter, but later-blooming 'October Skies,' shown below, which I also grow. Just remember to cut 'Bluebird' back one or two times before August. With all the rain we've had, I didn't cut mine back enough so I've...