Snow Day! (sort of)

Snowball Bush (Viburnum)

We got our annual Late February Last Snow last night - I awoke to a light dusting - so beautiful before the traffic starts moving and the streets get ugly.  I sure wish it snowed here like it used to when I was a kid.

They keep saying Global Warming is a crock, but I know for sure it's warmer on average here in the Rogue Valley now, than it was 40 years ago.  We used to get at least a foot of snow

Work and Fun and Games

Clematis 'Nellie Moser'

Yes, it's been awhile since I posted here - I've gotten lots of work done, and had some fun, too!


I spent 3 days going thru my shop inventory, deleting some things, and adding a bunch of new things, while at the same time creating a database for my inventory.  The software for my website does not allow me to sort and print my inventory as I would like, so now I have it all on a thumb drive in a spreadsheet.  This will allow me to sort by distributor (I have 4 different ones), making it easier to check inventory.  Time well spent!

We have a real muddy area at the back of my side yard, and I cannot get any sort of ground cover to take root there, despite repeated attempts.

Ladybugs!

When is a ladybug not a bug?                 

Always, they are actually beetles!  (Coccinellidae)  A minor distinction, I know, but an entirely different order of insect.  Bugs have mouth-parts made to suck, and feed on fluids, beetles have biting mouth-parts, and tear their food.  The ladybug's proper name is actually the Ladybird Beetle.

Spring Really Is Coming!

The first Snowdrop

I was out enjoying a rare, sunny afternoon yesterday,     

raking up the last of the leaves and doing some other 

general clean-up when I spotted them!  Snowdrops 

(Galanthus), blooming in my front border!

That is always the first sign of spring, here in Oregon, and a welcome sight they are.  They inspired me to check out the rest of the yard more closely, and I found many more signs that this strange winter is finally coming to an end.

'Socks - How our garden saved our cat'

By Ted Sherman                                                         
Reprinted by permission from Greenprints Magazine
Issue #84, Winter 2010 / 11

     Socks was our family pet, a mostly black tomcat with white legs.  he had to be the biggest cat in the neighborhood and should have ruled the backyards and fences.  But Socks was a coward.  All the other cats, including the females, bullied him badly.  They'd hiss at him and spit at him and, if they caught him, bit pieces from his ears, nose and jaw.  He looked like the neighborhood chewing - uh, punching - bag.

A Side Effect of Quitting?

So my husband Sam quit chewing tobacco.  Hooray!   And his dentist is happy too.

It's been about a month since he chewed, however he still has the occasional cigar, maybe 2 big ones a week, and one of those little cigarillos daily.

But the last few days, he's been experiencing a strange thing - several foods have "tasted like tacos"!  Foods that really should not taste like tacos -

My Very Favorite Garden Magazine

It isn't full of information about plants and how to plant them.  It IS about the human side of gardening, and our relationship with nature.  It's about the funny side of gardening, and the terrible (and sometimes wonderful) mistakes we make.  It's about the sad side of gardening, and how one particular plant can make us cry over the loss of a loved one like it was yesterday.

A Great Garden Club

Last November, I spoke on the phone with Katie and her supervisor at my wonderful Garden Club, of which I am a life member. I get a great bi-monthly magazine from them, jam-packed with great garden and patio ideas, new plants, product reviews and tips. It's called Gardening-How-To.

 They have granted me permission to utilize the magazine for blog ideas and exerpts, so I am going to grant them a shameless plug!