It's no secret I enjoy Amanda's work. She is my colleague and friend, and we both write columns as Proven Winners Garden Gurus. I've been a fan of her blog since she started it. She makes me laugh regularly there and on Facebook where she shows the irreverent side of motherhood, and her husband's quips about life. In all this funny business, though, there is also a tender place, and I see that too. Amanda is a Master Gardener and landscape designer in the Chicago area. Kiss My Aster: A Graphic Guide to Creating a Fantastic Yard Totally Tailored to You is her second book after co-authoring Grocery Gardening, and it might surprise you. It is a graphic guide. In other words, like a graphic novel, it uses Amanda's drawings to tell the story. It is fun. However, because I am Amanda's friend and coworker, I didn't think I could give an unbiased review so...

The pansies and violas all look a bit tattered after the small snow we had a couple of days ago. Although this Garden Bloggers Bloom Day is not as blooming good as last February, we need this cold snap to delay bulbs and fruit trees from flower. Apple and peach blossoms haven't broken yet, and I'd rather they wait. I don't want ornamental fruit trees. I enjoyed dripping peaches and crisp apples last summer and fall. If they bloom this early, we are almost assured of getting several more freezes. Keep your fingers crossed. Next week, with all of its highs in the 60s looks like fun, but believe me, it's not good for our plants. We need the garden to wait. Bulb foliage is way up, and the pansies and violas are already singing a sweet February tune. My hellebores entrance me. I know I say this every year,...

A pair of Northern Cardinals rest on the rose arbor. I caught these two Northern Cardinals, male and female, posing two days ago. They make beautiful "love birds" on a cold and snowy day. For more information about the Northern Cardinal, check out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's wonderful website. There is everything from spring behavior to nesting and feeding sites. By the way, the Audubon Society and the Cornell Lab sponsor a backyard bird count each year in February. In winter, I often find ten or twelve Cardinals sitting on the arbor near my bronze, five-tier No-No feeder. Over a year ago, the makers of the No-No feeders sent me one for review, and I wrote about it on a Lowe's post some time ago. Cardinals do love black oil sunflower seed. However, we use a feed similar to this Songbird and Cardinal Preferred Blend Bird Food because it attracts many...

Basil and chard I saw planted for fall in an AZ garden. Hi Winter Weary Gardeners! I've been perusing search terms on my blog stats for the past week, and it seems like you're interested in three things: 1. Best vegetables to grow in Oklahoma. 2. Will anything grow in Oklahoma? I had to laugh. That's a great question. I like to think so, but 2011 and 2012 were enough to try a gardener's soul. 3. Do David Austin roses grow in Oklahoma and the hot and humid south? This is a compilation of several questions all revolving around David Austin roses. I've grown them for many years, and they like the east side of my house best so far. I do live out in the country so when it's cold here, it's really cold with only trees to block the wind. A couple of years ago, I tested three new cultivars in my garden, and here are...