So, how is everyone's garden season so far? I thought I would give a quick garden update and tell you what I've been doing for the last few weeks. Front border with an angel. See the air conditioner on the left? It was once covered by hollies, but I lost those in the ice storm. Eventually, the Hicks yew will cover, but it will take years. Front border on parade. This is still my favorite spot in the garden right now. 'Jane' deciduous magnolia. Although the weather has been unseasonably warm, we are closer to normal this week. Oklahoma is also supposed to receive some rain this afternoon which we truly need. Earlier this month, Oklahoma had fires just north of me and in the western part of the state. Ours were smaller than those in Texas, but still caused problems. Remember the Simpson wildfire that roared through my neighborhood...

There's a lot of advice online about spring garden preparations. One rule of thought is to do nothing until temperatures are consistently over 55 or to wait until after the last spring freeze--around April 20 in Oklahoma. One of my beautiful hellebores with old leaves. If I don't get out there now, I'll miss the show. Well, in Oklahoma, spring weather temperatures are rarely consistent, and I cannot wait to do my spring garden prep until after our last freeze date. I'll already be behind the eight ball as it were. I live in a prairie climate that is all over the place, especially in spring. Plus, our winters aren't what they used to be. It feels more like North Texas most of the time. I have plenty of spring garden prep to do. The shrubs on the right that are about to flower and leaf out are 'Ogon' spireas,...

Have you ever wanted to grow the sweetest cherry tomatoes? A photo of my granddaughter eating a tomato like an apple from 2022. She's grown a lot since then, but she still loves all kinds of tomatoes. Since my granddaughter loves all tomatoes and enjoys picking cherry tomatoes best I became excited about growing the sweetest cherry tomatoes I could find. Last winter, I also fell in love with Sugar Bombs, those extra sweet cherry tomatoes you can buy at certain times of the year in your local grocery store. Firefly cherry tomato in my garden. They are super sweet and easy to eat. Children will love them, but I'm not growing Firefly this year. Since I can't buy seeds for Sugar Bombs, I'm testing out several varieties to see which grow the sweetest cherry tomatoes. I enlisted the help of Carol Michel who is my co-host on our podcast,...

I see you laughing at this title, but a zinnia plan is what it will take to incorporate so many different varieties in my garden this year. I have 32 packets of seeds. Some hold zinnia blends, but still, you could ask... 'Benary's Giant Coral' zinnia from last summer. Although I didn't order it separately this year, I bet there will be some in the 'Benary's Giants' mix. Why so many zinnias? Last summer, I was overcome by the new varieties flower farmers are hybridizing. I already tried new zinnia colors last fall like these from Milk and Honey Acreage. Now, I've bought so many I need to implement a zinnia plan. The pastel zinnias I grew from Milk and Honey Acreage were a delight. I grew them in the kitchen border. They did have some mildew problems, but I didn't care. Will I incorporate all 32 packets of seeds...