This is the view from my back deck. I'm elevated so I can see most of the back garden. I can also see some of the tiered garden border to my left. Seeing this reminds me I need to move those terra-cotta pots that held bulbs out of there and into the nearly empty greenhouse. Good morning everyone! It's that time again. Garden Bloggers Bloom Day is upon us. A special thank you to Carol Michel for hosting us yet again on her blog. Looking back over past bloom days, I see that I usually write about roses. Not this year. Spring has been so cool and dry that the roses are just beginning to show a little color. In fact, most of the garden is green. I water with drip line so my garden does have water. Still, I am a bit worried. If we go into summer with no measurable...

We've had a warm spring thus far--in the 80s most days. I refuse to turn on the air conditioner as long as I can delay the inevitable. This week was cool and breezy, and tomorrow the low is 40F, kinda hard on the tomatoes, peppers and eggplant I planted last week, but what are you gonna do? I could cover them, but I'm headed to Savannah, and I wouldn't have time to uncover. Then, they would roast in the 90s later this week. I'll take my chances. One view of the sleeping porch at Moss Mountain Farm. We've kept the windows open at night too. I have asthma and allergies, but with the help of Clarinex, I can enjoy the cool breezes. Even though the days are hot, the nights are mild and full of sound. Before I go to sleep, I count my lucky stars because the weather has been...

Cornus florida 'Cherokee Chief' blooming in front of my house. You can see the burned edges on the laurels in front of it. We had such a cold and unforgiving winter. Will it freeze tonight? In our house, we always say, "Is the Pope Catholic?" Yes, it's going to freeze. Before the projected cold front robbed my garden of its spring grandeur, I took some pictures in the snow. I want to share the heartbreak that is often a prairie spring. Yes, you read that right. Snow. Confounded snow is falling outside my door and now even collecting slightly on the ground. What started out as small flakes are now large, white and fluffy. I am not amused. The snow won't stick because it was 88F yesterday. The ground is very warm, and that's a good thing. Light snow falls on the back garden in April with a projected hard...

One of the two Pink Knockout roses at the end of the lane before pruning. See all of those dead canes? If I keep it, it will be half this size for summer. Not necessarily a bad thing. As I go about my spring chores in the garden, I've looked at my roses with much dismay. They aren't well. The damage is so bad I pondered whether they have Rose Rosette Disease although I haven't seen the characteristic foliage on any roses that remain in my garden. Remember, I shovel pruned those that were sick. So, let's assume that all of my roses don't have it. I don't know if I could take that. Dead and withered rose cane closeup. I have seen this all over the garden. Only a few roses escaped the carnage. What has caused this damage then? I know my soil is fine because all of...