Rhetorical Questions

Rhetorical Questions

gardening Humor

I went to the local greenhouse to get some more containers of Geranium 'Rozanne', which I have somehow fallen in love with this spring.

I knew when I went to the greenhouse I was going to buy the plants, and I knew I was going to buy those plants from them because I already bought some from them earlier but needed more, and they were kind and gracious enough to add some to their latest

Sailing through the garden on the good ship 'Rain Again'

Sailing through the garden on the good ship 'Rain Again'

gardening Humor spring

Dear Olive,

Greetings from the good ship 'Rain Again'.

We've had quite the journey through Spring so far. We've sailed along with six or more inches of rain in the last ten days or so, depending on which rain gauge you believe. My garden is thoroughly and unequivocably saturated from it all.

The cruise director on the good ship 'Rain Again' has kept me busy, more or less, while we've been

It's been a glamorous week in the garden

It's been a glamorous week in the garden

gardening Humor

It's been a glamorous week in the garden.

I spent time nearly every day this past week digging out compost from my three compost bins on the east end of the Vegetable Garden Cathedral. Those bins are right where I plan to put a new flower border.

Why add a new flower border? Because the Cathedral needs more flowers. But rest assured and breathe easier because I have not given up on composting

Dirty Knees and All is Well

Dirty Knees and All is Well

bulbs gardening winter

A few days ago, the crocuses were covered with about an inch of snow and winter was decidedly present in the garden.

Today, the snow has mostly melted except in the coldest parts of the garden and the crocuses are coming up faster than I can count them.

Count them?  I did attempt a count last year, early on, and quit at about 300. I know I've planted well more than that–perhaps 3,000 over the

Getting ready for... February!

Getting ready for... February!

books gardening winter

Snowdrop bud

I've heard some rumblings from a few people concerned about me getting bored as we begin to walk through that big valley of winter called February.

No worries. I'm all set. Ready to go. I've got plans. I've got seed catalogs and books. I've got little snowdrops I check on daily when I am out filling up the bird feeders, which I do on a near daily basis.

I've got ideas

The Garden Muddles

The Garden Muddles

gardening

Yep, a flower blooms on Nov. 29th

One would assume after nearly 20 years of gardening in this place I call collectively May Dreams Gardens that I would have named every garden bed and border.

Don't assume such a thing. I have not done so, but came a little closer to naming all of them a few weeks ago when I finally decided on names for the plantings along the sides of my house.

Those

The simple joy of digging and planting

The simple joy of digging and planting

fall gardening

Cornus kousa 'Summer Fun'

I love digging in the garden.

With each shovelful of dirt, I feel like I'm entering a secret world of bacteria and fungi and worms and other critters than live amongst the roots and rocks that lie buried beneath the surface.

Did this secret underground world have any idea earlier today that it would be unearthed?

Today when I was digging, I found mostly roots

Camellias and Conversation

Camellias and Conversation

fall gardening

Camellia 'Snow Flurry'

I am convinced certain plants in my garden do all they can to avoid blooming on the 15th of the month when I host Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.

Perhaps they are shy? Don't like to be photographed and publicized? Or maybe they wanted a post of their own?

My camellia 'Snow Flurry' was in full bloom the day after bloom day. I had to show it in bud for bloom day. Then the

Echoes in the garden

Echoes in the garden

gardening

Echo of color

See the echo of color in the garden?

The orange mums with yellow centers echo the colors in the sculpture behind them. If anyone asks I definitely planned for that to happen once the mums started to bloom.

Like any good gardener, I take credit for everything good in my garden. I do not take credit, however, for weeds. Nor do I take blame. Dr. Hortfreud and I have been

I left my garden for a week

I left my garden for a week

gardening

I left my garden for a week, and when I got back, I went out at first light to see what happened while I was gone.

Rain seems to have happened.  Four inches of it, if you want to believe this rain gauge. I think it shows more rain than we actually got, or the other rain gauge I have shows less. I'm not sure which is right, so I generally average them.  I know that's probably not the right

Mercy Pulling Time

Mercy Pulling Time

gardening

When you "sedum" bees on the barely opening sedum flowers, you know it's time*.  Let's not put it off.  Don't wait. You know it's over.

Yes, it is time for mercy pulling in the garden, as in "For mercy's sake, that flower did not perform well, pull it out and move along."

I would rather look at bare ground than flowers that are begging to be mercifully pulled out of their misery and moved on

Waiting and watching for a perfect spot?

Waiting and watching for a perfect spot?

gardening

Are you waiting and watching for a perfect spot to plant in?

If you are, I regret to inform you, but feel it is my civic and gardenly duty to inform you, that the perfect spot is a myth, a holy grail that cannot be created, conjured, or composted into existence.

Yes, dear reader, you are quite right that we can come close to perfect soil by making sure to add plenty of compost, by correcting

A garden is a story told by plants

A garden is a story told by plants

gardening

Lilies in Plopper's Field

A garden is a story told by plants.

When the time is right, the plants tell the stories, stories of the past and the present, stories of conquests and defeats, stories of friends and enemies.

The only way to hear these stories is to go out to the garden, look around, and let the plants, in their own time, tell their tales.

I've heard many stories in my own garden

Ladies and gentlemen, grab your pruners

Ladies and gentlemen, grab your pruners

gardening

Not far from here, but far enough from here, there's a race taking place in Indianapolis.

It's the Indy 500 race, of course, and it always takes place on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.

No matter where you are in the city, you can't help but see signs of this big sporting event.  Everywhere you go, there are black and white checkered race flags,  banners proclaiming "Welcome Race Fans",

A lifetime supply of plant labels

A lifetime supply of plant labels

gardening

Whole lotta pink columbine

Dreams do come true.

Way back on Easter, as I was lowering the blinds on the back door, the string holding them together on one side broke.  Not wanting to have that particular door without blinds, I decided to move the blinds from the same size door in the sunroom to the back door until I had time to buy a replacement blind.

Then the string on the sunroom door

How to lure enchantment to your garden

How to lure enchantment to your garden

gardening Humor

Clematis integrifolia

Do you know what your garden sounds like?

You might think it sounds like birds singing and bees buzzing. And you might be right if your garden is ordinary and by ordinary, I mean lacking in enchantment.

But if your garden has that element of enchantment that many gardeners seek, it may sound like the soft ringing that can be heard if you listen intently to bell-shaped

Mrs. Belmont's Farm for Women

Mrs. Belmont's Farm for Women

gardening

"Within three days last week no less then 210 girls made up their minds they wanted to be farmers.  The 210 came from many different social classes, but for the most part they were women of education."  ~The New York Times,  March 5, 1911

I've fallen down a rather deep rabbit hole and then took another plunge into the history of Mrs. Belmonts' Farm for Woman, also known as the Brookholt School

Lessons from Flowers: Don't be afraid to be different

Lessons from Flowers: Don't be afraid to be different

gardening Humor

Every time I step out into my garden, it teaches me a lesson.

Today's lesson from the flowers is don't be afraid to be different.

Different is the new black!

Different is the new green!

So what if none of the other neighbors grow vegetables? If you want to plant a big ol' vegetable garden and grow enough zucchini for yourself and the entire block, by all means, do it.

You might be

Time for some change?

Time for some change?

gardening

Is it time for some change in your garden?

I think it is time for some change in my garden.

More details in the weeks ahead...

In the meantime, look at all the change I've already found in my garden!





 

Ideas grow in the winter garden

Ideas grow in the winter garden

gardening Humor

An idea growing in my garden

Every winter, I plant seeds for ideas to harvest and use in the garden.

Ideas are pretty easy to grow.

They don't seem to mind the cold temperatures. In fact, sometimes they grow best on the coldest days while I'm inside reading a good gardening book or two or three.

And if it snows and I can't go anywhere? That's when I usually see a lot of growth on the