Since the weather is singing a wintry tune, it's time for greenhouse musings and a moo poo tea giveaway. First, the musings. Bill and I weren't ready for the sudden cold snap when it came. Although we have propane heat with an electric backup, we forgot to check the propane before the "polar vortex"--what a silly phrase--came down from the north country. We ran out in the large cylinders, but did have the one attached to the grill. Before we discovered the problem, the small electric heater did keep the greenhouse at 47F degrees and the plants from freezing. Not bad when the outdoor temperature is 23F. That's why we have backup heat. The cuttings one week ago. After sterilizing the pots with a bleach solution, I reuse them for cuttings and seed starting. The cuttings shown above were from about a week ago. They were tiny, but they're already growing fast....

November 5, and it is well with my garden. Gradually, flowers are slowing down, but roses were still blooming in the blustery day that preceded yesterday's rain. 'Carefree Beauty' seems to have come out of her slump of two months and is blooming freely now. She grows near two roses that died of Rose Rosette Disease so I expect her to come down with it. I will enjoy her as long as I can. I did take some cuttings of 'Carefree Beauty' last year, and one is growing in the bed facing the street. So far, the street bed, as I'm now calling it, hasn't seen any RRD. 'Belinda's Dream' is also looking mighty fine. Rosa 'Carefree Beauty' strutting her stuff with maiden hair grass. My garden's daily story is being told more now in berries, stems and leaves than in flowers. This is as it should be. Rosehips on Rosa 'Baseye's Blueberry' are a...

Next to colorful annuals, tropical plants are a hot summer garden's best friend. In Oklahoma and much of the middle South, tropical plants are grown successfully as annuals. Yes, in a mid-south climate, they die at winter's end, but that's okay. If you take cuttings, you can keep your favorites going year after year. Many of my best plant combos and those in other gardens I've seen involve tropicals in some fashion. A tropical, native plant paradise of variegated tapioca, Salvia greggii 'Pink Preference' and Melinis nerviglumis 'Pink Crystals' or 'Savannah' depending upon where it's purchased. What price are you willing to play for beauty all summer even when the weather is scorching hot? My garden would be very boring without annuals and tropicals, and you know how much I hate a boring landscape. In 2011, the only border that looked good that dreadful summer was the one by the garage planted with...

If perennials are the little black dresses of the garden world, then annuals are gardening's flashy accessories. They bring color to our lives. They brighten up shady spots. They bloom their entire seasons, cool or warm, with very little help from us. Please don't leave annuals out of your planting design. They are full of color your eyes can't get enough of. Weedy-looking, but excellent orange cosmos growing in partial shade. When I garden coach, clients always say they want an "easy" garden, and the next word out of their mouths is "perennials." I'm not anti-perennial, but they are a lot of work if you want to keep them blooming and tidy. My garden is full of long-blooming perennials like daylilies, shasta daisies, mums and asters, but I can't be without annuals either. I also wouldn't be without plants grown in my part of the country as annuals even if they are perennial somewhere...