There comes a time in every gardener's life when she realizes she can't grow it all. Gardeners by their very nature fall in love with most plants, especially new ones, and cottage gardeners like me? We have no self-control. Acer palmatum 'Shindeshojo' and a peak at the garage border. That's probably how cottage gardening started. The lady of the manor had more than enough plants, and her gardener took home some cuttings to grow in his own vegetable patch. I like to think so anyway. Phlox divaricata and Chinese fringe flower in a shady bed. With all the bountiful goodness out there, how does one balance their love of all things green and growing with the physical limitations of time and space? Further, how does the gardener make editing decisions in a garden that's matured into middle age? These questions buzzed about my mind yesterday as I cut back ornamental grasses and perennials for the...

It's January. Time for the annual seed catalog roundup, but I don't want to do one, so I'm not going to. I'm working on several new speaking engagements for spring and summer, and my head is full of other information. I've done seed catalogs before. From those posts, you can see which companies I favor. Here's information on when to start seeds with a calculator too, and here's how to start seeds indoors. Seed catalogs are crack for the winter weary gardener. Now, that we're done with my normal seediness, let's do ten tips to get started gardening. Hell, I don't know where to start some years. In winter, I walk out in the garden and just stare at it for awhile. It's as if it takes the spring breeze to blow all the cobwebs from my winter brain. Once I begin removing the insulating cover of dead foliage from emerging plants though,...

The only things blooming at RDR in January are those in my indoor garden: amaryllis, hyacinths, daffodils and lily of the valley, to name a few. This living menagerie is enough to get me through winter. As I wrote last week, blooming plants beat the winter blues. I started forcing hyacinths and milder scented paperwhites in September and October, the date dependent upon whether I wanted them for Christmas flowers or after. I try to time them for a continuous indoor garden from November through March. I also scour local nurseries and stores for other blooms too. The photo, above, although not blooming, is one of my favorites because there is so much promise of good things to come. Hyacinths are starting to peek out from behind their leaves. Some won't bloom all the way in spite of my chilling period. The hyacinths are just starting to peek out from behind their leaves with...

I don't know how you feel about winter, but if you've read RDR in the last eight years, you know it's not my favorite season. That's an understatement. Oklahoma skies are gray and bleak throughout January and February, which can give a red dirt girl the winter blues. I see more rain and snow forecast for today and tomorrow. Whoopee. I'm glad we're getting rain, and I know the garden needs its rest, but those gray skies can sure bring me down. Budding hyacinths and paperwhites grace one window. Here's the good news. We're seventeen days past the winter solstice, so our days are already growing longer. The bad news? January and February in Oklahoma aren't much fun, and we only have St. Valentine's Day to distract us. I have some ideas to help gardeners get through the rest of winter. A silver pot of lily of the valley. Let's take exquisite care of ourselves. Don't forget...