Walk the garden with me, and I'll show you the flowers of Mother's Day. Lily of the Valley We'll start with Lily of the Valley, Convallaria majalis. Some people consider it an invasive, spreading plant; others love it as shade-loving ground cover with a sweet-scented flower. I love it because we picked the flowers at my grandma's house in the spring, generally around Mother's Day, the second Sunday of May. I got my start of Lily of the Valley, just a few pips as they are called, from … [Read more...] about The Flowers of Mother’s Day
holidays
Happy New Year, TwentyOne
His bags were packed and he was ready to go.The old rabbit—Twenty—stood by the garden gate, waiting for TwentyOne. As he stood there waiting, he reflected back on the year. “This was one crazy year and I’m grateful gardens and gardening turned out to be a bright spot for so many people,” he said to the chipmunks, squirrels, and birds who gathered nearby to watch him leave. Or were they there to make sure he left? He looked down at the list of instructions he had written … [Read more...] about Happy New Year, TwentyOne
Happy New Year, Twenty
"Which gate will he come through?" The old rabbit—Nineteen—looked to each side of the garden at the gates, wondering which one the new year rabbit would hop through. "Will it be the east gate?" He liked that gate. It lead past a big hydrangea, still loaded down with dried flowers from the summertime, across a little puddle of lawn, and straight down a path through several gardens, eventually ending by the vegetable garden. "Or will it be the west gate?" He thought about how that gate … [Read more...] about Happy New Year, Twenty
Watch Out for the Under Bunnies!
If you look outside and happen to glimpse a rabbit running around, or maybe you see some rabbit tracks in the snow, you can bet that one of the Christmas Cottontail's under bunnies has been snooping around your garden. They are out in force these days deciding who's a good gardener and who's a bad gardener. I suggest you look around and decide what the evidence in your garden indicates—are you good or are you bad—and then do what you need to do to move from bad to good, or from good to even … [Read more...] about Watch Out for the Under Bunnies!
Happy New Year, Eighteen
The old rabbit, Seventeen, sat shivering in the snow, waiting for his replacement. He checked his watch. Just a few more minutes and his time in the garden would be over. As he sat and waited, he reflected back on his year. Oh, there were high expectations for Seventeen, which he knew coming into the year. After all, it was the Carol's first full year of retirement so the gardens should have been their best ever. And then there was the book. Had anyone not yet heard of Carol's book, Potted … [Read more...] about Happy New Year, Eighteen
Seedy and Soddy would like to tell Santa they are sorry
Seedy and Soddy, two young garden fairies, would like to tell Santa they are sorry. They had been quite bad for quite some time but after a long talk with the right reverend Augustus McGarden—Gus to his friends—they saw the error of their ways and decided to make amends before Santa came on Christmas Eve. Gus explained to Seedy and Soddy that garden fairies are naturally mischievous but they should never be bad. And Seedy and Soddy had crossed the line from mischievous to bad too … [Read more...] about Seedy and Soddy would like to tell Santa they are sorry
