It's been awhile since I've written, but I've been deep in thought this Advent. Many changes are coming to our family. Over the last nine years, you've watched as our children grew from tots and teens to adulthood. In May, Megan is marrying Robert. Brennan will graduate from college the same month, and Claire will graduate from high school. Our oldest daughter, Ashley, is working hard, but she doesn't have any life changes to spring on me in May.--at least, I hope not. The whole family at Thanksgiving! Sorry we cut off part of Bill's head. The whole family, including my mother and sister, were together for Thanksgiving, and I hope for a repeat Christmas Eve. I know. It's hard for me to believe too. With so many changes comes reflection, and I'll be honest, I'm having a bit of a tough time. I've called my mother twice and cried....

A week ago, when I started this post, it was cold, bitterly so, after a very long and warm fall. Any tropical I didn't get moved into the greenhouse froze. Deciduous trees and shrubs started their leaf fall and began pulling in their sap to wait until spring to rise again. The asters, garden mums and other flowers are all finished too, but they had their moment of glory. Let's look back at their reign. Tagetes lucida, Mexican tarragon is truly a thug so plant it in an area where it has room to roam. It does bloom school bus yellow, but the smaller pollinators love it so much, and it's great for fall color. Plus, the leaves taste good, like tarragon. Summer in Oklahoma is hot and usually dry. The sun bakes the sky until it's only a soft and hazy blue. In fall, that same sky is the...

Ornamental grasses breathe life into your garden and knit your landscape together blade-by-blade. Let me count the ways. As the wind blows, grasses sway with feathery grace and swishing sound. They provide cover, summer through winter, for pollinators and the small creatures that make your garden sing. Often, they bloom in late summer and early fall when the rest of the garden is winding down. They offer elusive winter interest. Unless we get heavy snow, grasses stand straight and tall until spring. They look good during every season of the year except in early spring when you cut back most, but not all. Even then, they blend in with other plants until it's their turn to shine. Pink muhly grass is a garden superstar. Until September, it waits patiently looking like a small bluish grass. Then, Kapow! Everyone should grow this beauty if its hardy in your climate. I know it's...

Head with me to visit the Tulsa Botanic Garden, an Oklahoma jewel