These are the plants I love in the garden at the beginning of October. The weather is still hot, but changes are coming this week. Thank goodness. 'Oriole' zinnias with dark celosia in the cutting garden. New plants I love in the garden now. Last weekend, I went to the inaugural Native Plant Festival in Oklahoma City, and I bought a few new plants. I have so many natives now, but I keep sticking more in here and there. Here's what I bought: Salvia azurea, blue sage, growing wild next to the road. Zizia aurea, golden Alexander, is considered a keystone perennial. I'm planting it in partial shade near the little green she shed. Symphyotrichum pilosum, frost aster, because I can always use another aster. Ha! I'm putting it in the shade garden. Salvia azurea, blue sage, which I hope to make happy. I've wanted it for a long time....

Hello!! I'm here for Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day today! Not a day late. Not a day early, but on time. 'Tightwad Red' crapemyrtles really shine with Chinese maiden grass, Miscanthus sinensis 'Morning Light.' Unknown giant salvia which leaves similar to the S. farinacea group, 'Baby Joe' Joe pye weed, a shorter version of tall garden phlox and four o'clocks in the kitchen border. 'Truffula Pink' gomphrena is one of my favorite plants. I like it better than 'Fireworks.' I know. It never happens. I planted a lot of perennials this morning, and I met with four garden coaching clients this week, so let's get going before I'm too tired to post. Click on the photos in the galleries to make them larger if you'd like. On this Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, I'll feature some beauties and some sneaky plants I can't get rid of, like Verbesina alternifolia, no matter how...

Wave® Gardening asked me to write about my experience growing Wave® petunias this summer. My husband, Bill, loves petunias so I always incorporate several varieties in my containers and elsewhere in the garden.

Remember my cut flower garden plans last spring? I thought I would give you a cut flower garden update in the middle of the hottest week in Oklahoma this summer. My very hot but beautiful cut flower garden as I look north from the kitchen border. Gardening is hot sweaty work. Why? Because we all need to see that gardening isn't all rainbows, filmy dresses and unicorns. It is hot, sweaty, and quite dirty, and this time of year, the entire garden, including the cut flower beds, is full of disease and biting and stinging insects. The stinging ones usually won't hurt you unless you accidentally squish them. They're too busy trying to fill their tanks before fall. African blue basil is a pollinator magnet. I love the photo of this bee. Look at that fierce face. Pollinators like this bee love African blue basil. I planted these in my...