Take A Tip From Lucky

Feeling frazzled? Take a tip from my friend, Lucky. Grab your favorite toy, hold it in your mouth and roll around on your back in the snow. This method is guaranteed to release your body of the holiday tension that builds up during the month December.

Whether you're celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday or as a time for family to come together or both, I wish all of you many happy and warm moments. It's always a pleasure to visit your blogs and see what's growing in your part of the world. You're terrific people, as well as great gardeners.

Time Travel In My Garden

I didn’t get to do a lot of blogging back in the summer, so please join me as I travel back in time to visit my garden.

Euphorbia marginata, or Snow-On-The-Mountain, was looking pretty in August. They are showy plants that brighten up any area of the garden. Euphorbia marginata is native to the Midwest and regarded as a pest in some areas because of its tendency to spread.

Blooming starts in mid-summer and lasts two to three months. Each female flower becomes a pod containing one seed which “pops” open and flings the seed several feet. I’ve had these plants for a few years now and only have two or three plants come back each spring, so being invasive has not been a problem for me.

Warning: All parts of the plant are poisonous if ingested. Handling the plant can cause skin irritation or an allergic reaction, especially when touching the white milky sap substance. Be careful to keep it away from your eyes. I’ve not experienced any problem with it and only recently became aware of the warning.

Every spring I plant one pot of Dragon Wing Begonias and then when August arrives, I'm left to wonder why I didn't plant a dozen containers because they are so pretty, bloom continuously and tolerate heat and drought.

The Black-Eyed Susan's make me happier than almost any other flower I grow. Cheerful is the best word to describe them.

This picture of P & C was taken in August, just a few days before school started. They were talking about Justin Bieber while enjoying an end of the summer Popsicle. Those are sad-looking New Guinea Impatiens in the pots. As the temperatures cooled in September, they picked up speed and put on a colorful show.