In My Garden

April 1, 2013 · 2:27 am

Easter Egg Hunt

I love gardens

And children

So it is with great joy

that once again we hosted

The 1st Presbyterian Church Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday.

My friend Kay is my partner for this.

She gives her considerable talent, creativity, energy and education

To the children of our church each week.

She does the lion share of the work for this event

Along with other talented friends.

Four generations of friends, neighbors and church members gather for the fun.

When you think of it, what better place for an Easter event

Than in a garden.

But you may recall I was concerned that because Easter is so early this year

That my garden wouldn’t “look good”.

The grass was not picture perfect green.

Actually it’s mostly brown and still crispy.

Just a few things are blooming

Forsythia, hellebore, pansies and violas

And plants are just emerging from their winter’s sleep.

When will I ever learn that I am not in charge here!

God has it covered…every time.

God…and Kay

She had many activities and stories.

All of which told the story of Easter

Resurrection and new birth

From the live grass for the Easter baskets

Planted a month ago during Sunday School

To the annual Lady Bug release

(Aphids don’t stand a chance in this garden)

To enacting butterflies emerging from their cocoon

(A card table covered with a brown cloth)

Learning about and experiencing nature

Taking flight.

Is there a better way to spend a glorious spring Saturday

Than to create memories for children and adults

To experience nature

And God

What a gift.

Happy Easter,

Gail

1 Comment

Filed under Butterflies, Easter Baskets, Easter Egg Hunt, Forsythia, Hellebores, Lady Bugs, Uncategorized, Violets

March 25, 2013 · 12:58 am

ANTICIPATION

Remember that old ketchup commercial?

An upside down bottle

Cap off

Carole King singing “Anticipation” in the background.

But the ketchup just wouldn’t come out.

This spring feels like that ketchup.

It just can’t get started.

And so we awoke this Palm Sunday morning

To yet another snow.

After all it is still March!

But I’m just a little anxious.

The fact that I’m having the church Easter Egg hunt next weekend

And my yard hasn’t even been scalped

Is driving me just a bit!

So today I did a little “snow gardening”

Yes, it was cold.

And windy.

But after putting on tights, pants, sock liners, socks, boots, wool sweater, coat, glove liners, gloves & ear muffs

Combined with sunshine and a wind block.

It was pretty toasty out.

Smiling violas kept me company

Just waiting for companion tulips to appear

The leaves were wet with snow

But they rack up just like dry ones.

And there is life beneath.

The hope of spring

Of garden days to come.

Of blooms to breath in

And share

Of life!

Sunshine’s on it’s way.

Enjoy the week.

Gail

5 Comments

Filed under Easter Egg Hunt, Forsythia, Hellebores, Rake, spring, Uncategorized, Viola, Winter Garden

March 18, 2013 · 1:11 am

Garden Travels

It’s finally here…Spring!

Officially on Wednesday.

It’s just a bit soon here to begin digging.

You can start cutting back all that brown dead stuff

And racking back that protective coat of leaves.

But instead of standing at the window

Staring into the backyard

Wringing my clean hands

I’ve been lucky this past month

And gotten to visit not one,

But two glorious botanical gardens.

About 3 weeks ago Virginia, Debra and I

Spent an afternoon at the Desert Botanical Garden.

I’m not really a desert person – Virginia is

It was after all a garden, so I was happy to tag along.

So glad I did.

There was a bit of Chihuly glass.

If you don’t know Chihuly glass

Get to know it

It’s art…beyond belief.

Butterflies were another draw for me.

A butterfly pavilion had been added for the next few months.

Being in a small enclosed space with hundred of butterflies.

Or…flutterbyes as I like to call them.

Is…well…like having God doing a fly by.

Really low!

Now, I’m not someone who travels a great deal.

Quite the opposite.

I love being home.

Somehow just two weeks later John and I were heading to Dallas

It was warm and sunny while we were there.

Yesterday on our way out of town we visited Dallas Blooms.

And bloom it does!

The Dallas Arboretum was lit up with no less than

500,00 spring flowering bulbs.

Bed after bed of daffodils and tulips.

Underplanted with violas of every combination.

Pots of Ranunculus

Shouting “It’s Spring”

Planter boxes with the tallest ornamental cabbage known to man.

We were in Texas after all

Brides taking their wedding portraits amongst the glory of it all.

And many princesses complete with crowns, gowns and velvet couches!

There’s a tradition there I need to explore.

Then there were these two darling boys.

Who I was certain had found a lady bug

or caterpillar

or some wonder of nature

Because they had turned their backs on this breathtaking beauty.

Look closely

It’s an iPad!

Somehow I kept from screaming at them.

It’s starting here.

Hellebores are always first.

Patches of daffodils are beginning to bloom

Next will come forsythia and flowering pear trees

Then the big parade begins

I can’t wait

I’m just grateful for such a splendid preview.

Take in a little spring this week.

Gail

6 Comments

Filed under Butterflies, Daffodils, Forsythia, Hellebores, Ornamental Cabbage, Spring Flowering Bulbs, tulips, Uncategorized, Viola

December 25, 2012 · 8:25 pm

Christmas Birthdays

Thirty Three years ago today
Elliott was born
2:43 a.m.
Dozens of family and friends came to welcome him to the world.
It was a joyous Christmas.
With many more to follow.

Popcorn and Elliott Christmas 1984

In time having a Christmas day birthday was well…overwhelming.
So we began a series of 1/2 birthdays on June 25th.
But after a few years I was feeling guilty about ignoring the day.
So was born Elliott’s Christmas Cookie Decorating Party.
The first was just before his 5th birthday in December of 1984.
I don’t recall how many we had but they did stretch well into
If not through his years at Taft Elementary School.
So on a December weekend afternoon a couple of dozen friends would come.

We would roll out the cookie dough on the kitchen island

Will and Elliott cutting cookies

Then cut an array of trees and angels and reindeer and santa claus cookies.
Once baked the decorating would begin in the dining room.

Elliott, Brady Henderson and Anthony Frevele with help from Geraldene Stevenson

My memory is it was a huge flurry of activity
Lots of sticky fun
There was a core of “Taft Tigers” who would come.
As well as the older kids of friends who came to “help”.

Trevor Johnson, Gwen Glasser and Kyla Buxton

Sometime in late elementary the inevitable happened.
Elliott outgrew the party.
We substituted with a chinese auction for all boys
But I still miss those cookie decorating days.
So last year I began to think about re-creating these memories.
Decades have gone by so I wasn’t up to the numbers of past days
But I could handle a few.
Luckily Cassidy and Sloan are right next door
And Tori is always willing to indulge me.

Cassidy and Sloan “creating”.

So last year we had a very fun and sticky cookie decorating afternoon.
I made the mistake of using a royal icing recipe
Way to runny.
Pretty much coated the table top with icing.

Now as it turns out there was another baking memory.
There were a few years when Mother and Daddy lived in OKC

That she had all of her grandsons make gingerbread houses.

Ben, Elliott, Brok & Will building gingerbread houses

And we’ve done it at the afterschool program at our church for a decade.
So this year we did a simplified gingerbread house.
Graham crackers glued to milk cartons
With just the right consistency of store-bought icing for glue.

Much less sticky and just as much fun.
So the tradition continues.
Adjusted over the years for the changes life brings.
With more in years to come I’m sure.
Happy Birthday, Elliott
And Merry Christmas to everyone.

We’ll be back to gardening come spring.

Till then enjoy the winter’s sleep.

Gail

4 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

October 21, 2012 · 1:58 am

DAYS OF GRACE

We are having some splendid days this fall.

Granted, a few days are warmer than usual.

But overall this is one of the reasons

I love life on the Great Plains.

Indian Summer.

The cool crisp days

Filled with sunshine

And hope.

Many here are putting in fall vegetable gardens.

Our summers have gotten a little “toasty” for tomatoes.

So now we often get as many if not more in the fall than summer.

That has certainly been the case at my house.

Because I have ridiculously over committed myself this fall

I’m finding little to no time to spend in my garden.

I have managed to get some transplanting done.

Ferns, Hostas and Hydrangeas have all been relocated

To a happier home – hopefully.

I’ve pulled fallen plants out of the ground where they block my path.

Beyond that I’m afraid time in the garden just isn’t happening.

These are the days that my garden teaches me grace.

That unrelenting giving that God and gardens are known for.

It’s as if they are saying to me

You can ignore my but…

I’m still here.

I’m not going anywhere.

I will be here for you

When you take a minute to slow down

And let me in.

I’m not only here

I have much to give

To teach you

And to share.

Gail

4 Comments

Filed under Basil, Bouquets, cockscomb, Dahlias, Fall, Fall Vegetables, Gardening, Tomato, Uncategorized

October 13, 2012 · 4:19 pm

PESTO TIME

Last weekend while I was far away.

We came very near to an unseasonably early freeze.

Which can only mean one thing.

Time to get serious about making basil pesto!

Every year I think I’ll get to it all along the way.

Instead I just go into the garden

And cut the basil that I need.

Then late in the season

I pick an afternoon

And make pesto.

That yummy herb paste

That can be used in well…everything.

My habit it to make several batches.

Freeze them in ice-cube trays.

Then place the frozen cubes in a freezer bag.

Whenever you need a bit of basil flavor

It’s right there – ready to go.

I’ve also been known to open up the bag

On a particularly frigid winter day.

And breath deeply.

The smell of fresh basil will take you back

To the heat of summer.

My preferred location!

I use the recipe of a family friend, Liz.

Whose daughter, Mary, is also a friend of mine.

Liz’s Basil Pesto

3 C. packed fresh Basil leaves

1/3 C. grated fresh Parmesan Cheese

3 cloves Garlic

6 T. Toasted Pine nuts

4 – 6 T Olive Oil

Juice of 1/2 Lemon – keeps it bright green!

Pulse 1st 4 ingredients in food processor or blender.

Pulse and scrape sides until well chopped.

How smooth or chunky is a matter of personal taste.

I like chunky.

Then slowly add olive oil.

Stir in Lemon juice.

Freeze in ice-cube trays sprayed with non-stick cooking oil.

When completely frozen remove from tray to freezer bag.

There you have it.

Summer in a bag.

I grow Basil everywhere.

In the ground.

In pots outside.

In pots inside.

Never want to be without the stuff!

About a month ago I started my indoor pots.

The plants are only a few inches tall now

But by the time the outside basil freezes

The inside basil should be well on its way.

Happy in the south-facing window

Of my toasty warm 2nd floor office.

I’ll also bring in the pot I had upstairs last winter

Which has loved being outside all summer.

I wonder how long a basil plant can live.

We are about to find out!

Hope you are enjoying these cooler days.

Gail

1 Comment

Filed under Basil, container gardening, Herbs, late summer garden, Pesto

September 30, 2012 · 1:07 am

A GOOD DAY

I love the mundane.

Now I realize that isn’t “culturally correct”.

But really, there is nothing like a day of regular.

And that is what today was – mundane – regular – wonderful.

After a quick trip to the last Farmers’ Market.

I headed straight to the back yard

The goal was to finish transplanting on “the hill”.

It began about a month ago.

I was tired of the vinca minor running the show.

So I began to dig it up

And pull it back like a carpet.

Then I transplanted 5 big ferns.

I’m not sure but I think they are Cinnamon ferns.

They’ve settled in nicely.

So, today was the day to dig the hostas in the front bed

And bring them to their new home on the hill.

These were planted about 3 years ago.

They were bare root so they were tiny.

Unfortunately they just get too much sunshine in the front

And the last 2 summers they have simply fried.

So a home on the hill under the shade of the old cedar trees

Should make them much happier.

The root balls were the size of small trees.

I’m thinking they’ll be just fine.

Smaller hostas were also relocated.

Layered in the front between the Hellebores and Ferns.

I did have my assistant gardener close by

She has figured out that when I dig

Worms appear.

And she loves worms!

Unfortunately some things disappeared.

My favorite pruners can’t be located.

My best guess is I buried them under one of those

Very large

Very heavy

Hostas.

Didn’t have the energy to dig around for them.

Hopefully they’ll surface tomorrow!

There are lots of little surprises

In the fall garden.

So on this

Mundane

Regular

Wonderful

Saturday night.

I thought I’d share a few.

May you find the blessings

Of a mundane day soon.

Gail

DAHLIAS

The Dahlias are blooming!

They are one of the great gifts of fall

And in my book fall has many gifts.

You may recall about a year ago when

I realized I needed to move my Dahlia bed

From it’s original home that had become too shady

To the east side of my Garden House.

It’s much sunnier here

Meaning more Dahlia blooms.

Just love that.

These dramatic blooms

Are an explanation point toward the end of the garden season.

Dahlias are relatively easy to grow.

Plant the tubers 6″ – 8″ deep in the early spring

After the nights warm up past freezing.

I usually go ahead and put up the fencing

As soon as I plant them.

Actually I use triangular tomato cages

Reinforced with a little re-bar.

Because to get blooms the size of your head

You get lots and lots of plant.

So fencing from the beginning

Insures that you keep them growing up

And not everywhere else.

Then as the bloom stocks grow and grow

I stake them individually.

Because giant blooms

And wind

Are not a good combination.

It sound like more work than it actually is

But like most things in life

It’s well worth it!

Enjoy this glorious fall.

Gail

P.S. The Bees like them,too!

BENIGN NEGLECT

Yesterday I took a friend on a little tour through my garden.

Frankly, it was embarrassing.

I knew I hadn’t spent much time in my garden

For weeks.

But I hadn’t realized what bad shape it was in.

It has a major case of “the flops”.

Between the rain

And Peg looking for bunny rabbits

Plants – especially cockscomb – have fallen down everywhere.

Paths are almost impassable.

Weeds are well…being weedy.

It isn’t pretty.

Luckily, today was a spectacular day.

Cool with a high of around 65 degrees.

And cloudy all day long.

So I spent the day doing what I should have done all along the way.

Cutting back

Pulling out.

I think I have mentioned before

I have a problem of shall we say “editing”.

I let too many tiny seedlings

Grow into giant plants.

Too much of a good thing like cockscomb

Will strangle even a rose bush.

Rosa Julia Child and New England Asters

Tomato plants run amuck

Will completely shade other plants into oblivion.

So even though it’s very late in the season.

I’m whacking away.

Hopefully they’ll be time for all of this to recover.

And just in case there isn’t.

I’m throwing lettuce seed in all the empty spaces.

It’s a little late for that, too.

But what the heck

You never know

If you don’t try.

So the lesson here is simple.

From time to time

You have to cut things back

Or completely pull them up and compost them.

Begin again.

As the decades roll by its harder and harder to do that.

At least for me.

Familiar is comfortable.

Safe.

But then you end up living in the shade of your past.

You just don’t grow as much in that shade.

Not good

For roses

Or for people.

Fall officially begins next week.

Enjoy,

Gail

THE RIGHT STUFF

Over the years I have tried a variety of gardening tools.

I’ve narrowed it down

To what actually works

For me.

So, I thought I’d share my favorites.

Now…I realized that like everything else in life.

What works for me

May not work for you.

But this tool conversation has to start somewhere

And this seems the logical place.

First, let’s talk about what I don’t like

And get that out-of-the-way.

I don’t like what I call “cutesy” gardening things.

You know – trowels with flowers and bugs and frogs painted on them.

Not only are they too cute,

They just don’t stand the test of time.

No…I go to the other end of the spectrum.

Some off my garden tools look more like

Well…midieval weapons.

Take my very favorite

The Korean Hand Plow

Or its common name the E-Z digger.

I once gave these to all my gardening relatives for Christmas.

You can imagine what it was like going through airport security!!!

But they are to my way of thinking, the most logical piece of gardening equipment.

And they are ergonomically efficient.

Saving strain on the shoulder and elbow.

I use it for weeding, working up the soil and digging holes for seeds and plants.

I once lost one for months.

Only to have it fall out of the composter after a good spin.

It was really rusty, but still works.

If you can only have one tool.

This is it.

Next would be pruners.

I’ve tried them all

And lost them all.

Felco is the gold standard here.

A number 6 or 7 is sized for the average woman’s hand.

But as it happens I didn’t really like my #7 Felcos

So when they disappeared into the late summer garden

Never to resurface

I replaced them with Okatsume Pruners

Which I found at, of all places, Amazon!

I’ve managed to keep them now for several years.

The bright orange handles help me locate them in a sea of growth.

To keep them sharp I use this handy little pruner sharpener I discovered a dozen years ago.

And rakes – gotta have them.

I have 2 favorites.

A small hand rake.

Oh so handy when I’m on the ground cleaning out under

Hydrangeas, overgrown well…everything this time of year, rose bushes, etc.

You get the idea.

Then there is this handy little expandable rake.

It goes from very small to a regular size.

And everything in between.

Which means you can make it work for just about any job.

Now, so as not to frustrate you I think it best to tell you where to find all of this.

Normally, I’m a locavore when it comes to shopping

But since for some reason many of these are not carried in garden centers

I think I will give you websites.

Kinsman at www.kinsman.com is a gold mine of really good gardening tools and supplies.

There you will find the Korean Hand Plow, the pruner sharpening kit and the hand rake.

The bigger rake is found at garden centers and hardware store.

Another quality online source is Lee Valley Tools at www.leevalley.com

So, that’s the beginning of my tool story.

We’ll talk of others again soon.

As I see people around town many ask if I have any flowers left

After the heat.

So here’s the answer

Yes

Another great tool…

Drip irrigation www.dripworks.com

It saves me every year.

Enjoy the week.

Gail

1 Comment

Filed under E-Z Digger, Garden Tools, Hand Rake, Korean Hand Plow, Pruner sharpening kit, Pruners, Rake, Uncategorized

In My Garden

Easter Egg Hunt

ANTICIPATION

Garden Travels

Christmas Birthdays

DAYS OF GRACE

PESTO TIME

A GOOD DAY

DAHLIAS

BENIGN NEGLECT

THE RIGHT STUFF

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