No lilies indoors! An Easter warning & other options

"Hello. My name is Tiny Timbit, and I have an important message for all you cat owners out there. It's about keeping us safe during Easter (and during other times of the year."

 "There are all kinds of plants that you can have in the house when you have kitties. We usually won't bother most plants that might not be tasty, like Hydrangeas..."

Green Flowers for the Irish (and for Green Flower-lovers)

 It's been quite a while since I did a colour-themed post, and what better day to do it than on St. Patrick's Day? Green flowers and/or Irish names for a late-winter, it's gonnna-be-spring-someday Sunday afternoon.
(Above, clockwise left: 'Greenland' tulip; 'Irish Lemon' heath; 'Spring Green' tulips'; 'Green Envy' echinacea'; 'Green Eyes' echinacea)

 I've heard people say they don't like green flowers, because foliage is green and how will a green flower show up against foliage? Well, in some cases they are somewhat subtle, like the native Jack-in-the-Pulpit seen here.

Farewell, Fellow Plant Addict

 I've told the story many times of how I met Captain Richard Steele, and how he put me on the path to being fascinated with ericaceous plants. How he inspired me to be the best plantswoman I possibly could, and to rejoice in plants of all kinds.

I met Dick's daughter Diana the same day I met him. In fact, it was Dinah, as her family call her, who took me up to the greenhouse to introduce me to the great man himself, and who made tea for all of us. Before we made it to the greenhouse, however, my late beloved came bursting out of a path at Bayport Plant Farm, where the Steeles planted and bred plants for so many years.

"You have GOT to see this!" he proclaimed. I followed him around the corner, to meet my very first blue poppies, a great profusion of them, growing like weeds. Dinah just grinned at my reaction. She grinned even more at my reaction to her father a short time later. I'm not sure who or what I was more awestruck by, but they all made a permanent impression on me.

The Art of the Garden Journal

 So last weekend I ran a garden journaling workshop, which was well received by the participants. It's the first time I've done this workshop, so it was a learning experience for all of us, but everyone seemed to come away inspired to do their best at recording their gardening experiences.

Why keep a journal? You'll learn from your own experiences from year to year. When should you start tomato seeds indoors? Which echinaceas did you plant last year? And where DID you plant those echinaceas You'll get to know your garden's soil, microclimates and other factors affecting growing conditions much better. You'll keep all your plant and planting information in one place so you don't go searching for it year after year. You can create an artifact which can be handed down to future generations, or, if you sell your home, to future owners of the home. You can track the natural world, from the blooming of the shadbush to the arrival of the hummingbirds to the hatching of monarch caterpillars. You're only limited by your time and imagination.