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...

It's that time of year when gardeners start to dream through seed catalogs and troll websites, buying and later organizing new seeds. All this shopping is like being a little kid at a dessert buffet. Once the packages start to arrive, I'll need to organize my bounty. New Year dreaming. Each year, I write about buying new seeds. Will you grow some ephemeral spring beauties like I did last year, or will you attempt to wrest organic summer squash from the squash bugs yet again? Just a few of my new seeds. Too many new seeds? It's fun to go back and see what new seeds I bought in each new year. Shall I again share what I've bought so far this year, along with what's been sent to me to trial? Can a gardener have too many new seeds? Where do I buy my new seeds? I'm often asked...

In December, we planted two trees of hope where the horse barn stood before March 2023's wildfire. Since we don't have horses anymore, we decided to plant two maple trees in this spot where we can see them from inside the house and outside too. We chose red maples because red is not a color we have much of in the fall. 'Autumn Blaze' and 'October Glory' the two red maples we planted where the barn once stood. Oklahoma's fall is primarily yellows and oranges with a touch of red from sumac shrubs. Also, our prairie grasses give us a range of colors. Still, we don't really have brightly-colored maple trees, even Oklahoma's native Caddo sugar maple, where I live, unless you plant it, of course. First, we placed the trees where they should go. We decided to plant them where the horse barn once stood as a symbol of...

In late October, I was diagnosed with Alpha-gal syndrome which is an allergy to mammalian products. I can't eat any meat products including dairy. I also removed gelatin and glycerin unless they come from fish or vegan sources. Vegan products can't have carrageenan. It sounds simple, but it isn't. There are so many things made with meat products, and there is no label requirement to inform people that the gelatin or glycerin is from mammals. For example, did you know that many brands of toilet paper have lanolin in them? I didn't. Since my diagnosis, I'm been on a crash course of learning about Alpha-gal syndrome. I feel like I'm getting a handle on things, but I still show some symptoms. This is the walkway in part of one of my shade gardens. Big beautiful trees mean ticks are abundant. I still love this view. What does Alpha-gal syndrome have...