My friends, I’ve found the key to happiness. Well, that might be too broad of a statement. Let me get a bit more specific: I’ve found the key to happiness in March and April for gardeners in climates where winters are long and cold. The secret? BULBS!
Now, I know what you’re thinking: Planting bulbs is a lot of work for such a short bloom time. Can’t I just find happiness in a bottle of Cabernet?
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It was bound to happen. After months of cold, snowy weather without the normal respite of random warm days, my condition worsened. “Get in the car — we’re going to Lowe’s,” I announced to my husband on Saturday night. Ten minutes later, we were bundled up, cursing ourselves for not using remote start to warm up the Tahoe, and headed to town. As we pulled out of the driveway, I growled to Brandon: “Play me some angry music.”
Call it the winter blues, call it cabin fever, call it “*bleep* you, winter!”, my affliction has me feeling a combination of anxious, frustrated, and just plain angry. Last year at this time, I was having my water garden installed! We were seeing glimpses of spring! Heck, you could even be outside without the fear of frostbite!
I mean, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, can we please get some warmer weather around here?
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Patience may be a virtue, but it’s not one that I’ve ever possessed. In elementary school, my report cards all had the same comment: “Sarah needs to work on her patience — but don’t worry, she’ll develop it over time.”
Well, I sure proved those teachers wrong! All these years later, I still need to work on my patience. I’m reminded of this regularly as I garden — for example, just this weekend I found myself staring at the seedlings in my basement and willing them to grow faster. (In case you were wondering, that tactic does not appear to work, but let me know if you have other ideas.)
Luckily, there are more advanced gardeners who can demonstrate for us that good things take time. One of those gardeners is Laura, owner of stop #2 on last year’s 2018 JoCo Master Gardner Tour.
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Every year about this time, you’ll hear me make the same resolution: “Next year we’re going to Florida for the month of January.” Yep, as much as I love living where we do for most of the year, January and February here can be rough. It’s cold, it’s brown (except for the rare occasions when we get snow), and there’s just not enough sunlight. For someone who loves being outside playing in the dirt, it’s a drag.
Now when I say “go to Florida,” I don’t mean just anywhere in Florida — I’m talking about one of my favorite places in the world: the Keys. And while I was bundled up this weekend, dreaming about driving down Highway 1 in a convertible with turquoise water on each side of the road, it occurred to me that this may be a great time of year to share with you pictures from the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory.
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Here in Kansas City, we’re enjoying a winter wonderland. Over the weekend, we got 7+ inches of a beautiful, wet, heavy snow — the kind that makes trees branches hang heavy and snowmen come alive. It’s absolutely gorgeous, and if you ask Blaze and Beau, it makes our daily walk extra fun.
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***WARNING: The photos contained in this post may cause garden envy. Use extreme caution if viewing within driving distance of an open garden center.***
Master Gardener \ ˈmas-tər ˈgärd-nər \: 1) A title worthy of respect and admiration 2) One of my life goals 3) Owner of an amazing private garden
Perhaps amazing is an understatement — it certainly would be if all of their gardens look like the ones I toured on the 2018 Johnson County Master Gardeners Tour. The 7 gardens on display were like something straight out of a magazine. If you were in need of garden inspiration, this was the place to get it. (And I certainly did!) Continue Reading
I don’t know about you, but for me, Pinterest-inspired projects rarely turn out as wonderful as I have pictured in my head. I’m not sure if the cause of this Pinterest/Reality gap is exceptional photography, an inflated assessment of my abilities, minor execution error, or some combination of all of the above, but I continue to use the site to inspire my project list. And good thing I do, because my latest Pinterest-inspired project turned out better than I could have imagined! Continue Reading
How is it late July already? Between a new role at work, family in town, and various gardening activities, I’ve been slacking on the blog posts. Don’t judge me too harshly, though; while I’ve not been writing, I haven’t forgotten about you — I’ve been out touring gardens, working on my garden, and taking lots of pictures (which means I should have plenty of awesomeness to help us get through winter next year!) But for now, I thought I should share a mid-summer garden update. Continue Reading
Botanical gardens are amazing classrooms; kids can learn to appreciate the natural world, adults can learn to look up from our smartphones and appreciate the present, and gardeners can learn that it’s easy to have a beautiful garden when you have an army of staff and volunteers!
Beyond the lesson that we should give ourselves a break and not compare our own gardens with those that have full-time caretakers, we can pick up a few other ideas that are easier to implement than finding money in the budget for a full-time gardener. Continue Reading
A backyard waterfall, stream, and pond is a water feature. When you add plants, it becomes a water garden. When you add plants and fish, it becomes a magical place you could sit by all day if you didn’t have to do adult things like go to work and buy groceries.
Alas, I am neither independently wealthy nor close enough to a store to qualify for any kind of delivery, so I do have to leave my oasis more than I would like to. Now the last time you saw the water garden it was under snow and looking pretty darn empty — probably not what you would consider an “oasis” — so let me rewind a bit. Continue Reading
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So glad you’re here! I’m Sarah — garden enthusiast, animal lover, and blogger. I live with my husband and four-legged children in Kansas. Learn more…