Welcome to my blog

Seriously, I can't dig one more hole - and why the heck did I order so many bulbs? Clearly, my enthusiasm got the best of me and now I've run out of places to plant them. 

If you're strapped for time, space and energy, why not pot up leftover bulbs, tuck them away in a protected spot to force and bring inside later? It's worth doing just to get a sneak preview of spring!

Here's how to do it.

.

I'm not complaining about all the hot, dry sunny days we had this summer, but dragging hoses around to wilting plants is not my idea of a good time. On the other hand, I gained a new appreciation for several shrubs that remained unfazed by drought. Check out three stalwart beauties that can take just about anything you throw at them.

Don't you hate weeding areas where growing anything is a struggle and it doesn't look much better when you're done? I call this 'stupid weeding' and I'm on a mission to reduce it in all my gardens. At the end of the day, it's really all about the best plant choices. Learn more about 5 beautiful and useful perennials that will save you work.

What do you do when your favorite plant dies? Cultivate a sense of humor and don't give up. Here's what I did when my cherished redbud bit the dust.

Every garden comes with it's own set of challenges, success comes about when you figure out how to make it work in spite of them. Find out how one determined gardener turned an inhospitable site into a shady paradise.

 Don't you wish you could bottle up all the smells of summer? Fragrance is memorable. Scents define the personality of the garden and etch their way into your memory bank. The aroma of petunias and nicotiana still take me straight back to childhood days in my grandmothers garden. Inspired by these memories,I've developed a mix of aromatic plants worth trying. 

If there was ever a time to grow your own food, this is it. Maybe you have a small garden or no place to put one. How can you get more out of the space you have? Find out how to use every available inch.

Patience and faith are being sorely tried these days, and no one knows when life is going to return to normal. As with gardening, we just have to hang on, wait for the plants to grow and have faith that they'll survive. Delving through old photographs of my front garden brought this home to me. Each image was a reminder of  the joys and frustration I felt while I was going through the process of creating it. Anyone who has ever started a garden or hopes to have one knows what I'm talking about. This is my story.

Right now, we need our gardens more than ever. There's nothing more hopeful than planting, and  part of the fun is trying something new. Want to indulge in a little plant porn? Here are 10 annuals to inspire you.

I'm grateful for public gardens wherever I go, but my recent trip to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) Vietnam to visit grandchildren left me doubly appreciative of what they provide.  In a city where even crossing the streeet is a hair raising experience, the tree-lined public parks provide shelter from the heat and respite from the daily hubbub. Need a little tropical eye candy? Read on. 

I'm always reading rave reviews about how easy amaryllis are to grow. Hah! What they don't tell you is that you must have the patience of a saint to get them to flower, much less rebloom. How the heck do you make that happen? Read on to find out.