I thought I was buying the native Calycanthus floridus when I purchased this online, but according to several sources, I have 'Aphrodite' sweetshrub, or Carolina allspice. I'm okay with that. In this age of hyper-technology and a corresponding increase in nature blindness, why do gardens matter? This is the question I've pondered all spring as I work in my own garden. The garden seems to be the only thing that soothes my soul this spring, and yet, in my career, I, like many of you, work on a computer writing and then sharing on social media. Still, I'll be the first to tell you social media doesn't satisfy the longing of one's heart. Instead, being away from the computer, outside tending to plants, animals, and my new honeybees are what fill me. Why do gardens matter? We know they matter to the pollinators and other creatures who visit them. In...

On our last day in Austin, we visited several wonderful gardens. but the first stop for my bus was Lucinda Hutson's garden, forever recognizable by her purple house. Bill and I visited Lucinda in 2014, but I wasn't able to write a post about her lovely casita then--I was overwhelmed promoting my book--so I'm going to rectify that now. As always, click on the photos in the gallery to make them larger and get the full effect. Believe me, for Lucinda's garden, you want the full effect. Lucinda is a treasure and one of my favorite people. She is a lifestyle writer, cookbook author, and speaker. If you love tequila, you should buy her newest book, ¡Viva Tequila!: Cocktails, Cooking, and Other Agave Adventures published by the University of Texas Press. The bloggers had the opportunity to buy the books at the Garden Bloggers Fling closing party and also, to...

If ever you're in Austin, you simply must visit the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. This homage to Texas wildflowers was our first stop on Garden Bloggers' Fling this year. I also visited the center in 2014 and 2008, the year of the first Fling. Since this was our 10th anniversary of the Garden Bloggers Fling, it only seemed right to write about one of my favorite places again. A blue agave stands in the center of a bed in the courtyard at Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. A large gust front was bearing down on Austin as I quickly worked through the garden. I kept one hand on my camera and the other on a weather app with radar on my iPhone. In spring, people in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas rely on weather radar to make outdoor plans, and even then, we are sometimes taken by surprise. Most of my...

Below is my daughter, Megan's, eulogy for her baby, Harper Gianna Secrest, who was born on April 20, 2018, at 4:24 a.m., and passed away at 4:25 a.m. Robert and Megan wanted to preserve Harper's eulogy from the funeral here. I've closed the comments, but we appreciate everyone's prayers and kindness toward our family during this difficult and beautiful time. The first time I spoke with Robert on the phone before we had ever met in person, I remember him asking me about my "intentions" for a relationship which I thought odd, but when he said, "I'm doing this to get married and have children," my heart was equal parts nervous and happy. I quipped back, "Well, I won't marry someone who isn't Catholic!" Robert became Catholic in 2015, and I fell in love with him that year as well. When we were preparing for the sacrament of marriage, I remember Father...