As I woke this morning, I heard the unmistakable sound of raindrops hitting the skylight above my bed. I sat up and glanced outside. It was still dark. I couldn't see, but I still breathed a sigh of sweet relief. Rain was falling on Oklahoma's dry and dusty plains. The prognosticators predicted rain all week, but it's August 1 and high summer. Not a time for 68° and cloudy skies, let alone, sweet, sweet rain. It rained all morning, and while I forgot to look at my rain gauge when I went outdoors and took pictures, I saw evidence of a slow and gentle outpouring everywhere. The phlox bowed their heavy heads in thankfulness for rain falling from the sky. Phlox paniculata 'Bright Eyes' and Plectranthus scutellarioides 'Peter's Wonder' coleus. In Oklahoma, we never take rain for granted. Never. My part of the state had received no measurable rain since...

Bella Italia means beautiful Italy You know how much I loved Italy when we went on a pilgrimage to Assisi and Rome last March. Well, now it's your turn to take a garden trip to Italy and see the sights. A stairway herb garden in Assisi. A garden trip you'll never forget. A few days ago, I sat down with my friend Julia Laughlin, co-host of the Garden Party on KTOK, horticulturist, and gardener extraordinaire, to chat about her garden trip to Italy in 2018. The trip is from Wednesday, May 30, 2018, to Sunday, June 10, 2018.   Ah, late spring in Italy visiting gardens. Could life be any better? A courtyard in Civita di Bagnoregio, the disappearing city on the hill. I don't think so. Bill and I traveled with Julia to England--remember the Chelsea Flower Show and London, Wisley and Sissinghurst? Those wonderful locations were just part of our...

Tomato season is in high gear at Little Cedar. You know we're calling our property Little Cedar, right? That's because my sister-in-law, Maria, said our garden reminded her of Big Cedar Lodge when she visited us in spring, and she dubbed our garden "Little Cedar." We loved the name so much it stuck. In fact, Bill had a sign made for my little she shed out back. We go to Big Cedar almost every year so this name means a lot to us. 'Honey Drop' tomato from Hudson Valley Seed Co. is the best and sweetest cherry tomato I've ever eaten. I started this one from seed and have been eating them for a month. These are much sweeter than my former favorite, 'Sungold.' But, back to tomato season in my Oklahoma hills, and what a tomato season it is. 'Whopper' tomatoes in the green. Good eating coming soon. I...

Hillwood, Marjorie Merriweather Post's estate, in Washington, D.C. opened its doors for the Garden Bloggers' flingers on our first morning of tours. Hillwood reminded me of numerous other estate gardens I've visited over the years. It's kept in about the same condition and style as it was when Post still lived there from the mid-1950s to 1973. Post wanted her last home to be a museum, and, after some wrangling, it eventually happened. Post was an heiress, socialite, and philanthropist who inherited the Postum cereal fortune from her father. She began running the company at the age of twenty-seven after her father's death. Post collected Russian and French art, jewelry, and furniture. You can view some of her jewelry, including a pair of Marie Antoinette's earrings, at the Smithsonian. She is also known for overseeing construction of Mar-a-Lago, now owned by President Donald Trump. Her Imperial Russian collection, established while her third husband,...