All the Dirt on Gardening

Columbine is a lovely flower to see in sun or part-shade garden spots. The bell-shaped flowers are a gorgeous red-hot-pink with yellow center and anthers.  Mary Ann King at Pine Ridge Gardens said in Plant of the Week -  " Eastern columbine is native to Arkansas and all states from the Midwest to the eastern shores with the exception of Louisiana.  Zones 3-9.   There are several misconceptions surrounding this lovely native.  Most folks think it is delicate – and I agree that it looks fragile.  But let me tell you it is one TOUGH plant.   It will grow in the full sun, out between two rocks, or it will grow in the shade or anywhere in between.  I’ve seen it growing out of boulders where it has almost no soil.  It is certainly drought tolerant.   I think it probably wouldn’t like soils that are too wet.  Hummingbirds adore it.  Bumblebees as well.   Grows from 1 to 3’ tall.  After flowering, seed follicles form and fill with shiny black seeds.  The follicles splits alon

Pete Carson opened Carson Borovetz Nursery for his annual Poinsettia sales event. Native to Southern Mexico, Poinsettias, Euphorbia pulchenima, dominate holiday home and office décor to the tune of 80-million sold each year. This year we are offering four sizes and most of the colors available, said Carson. Shoppers will find over 2,000 plants in various sizes and colors at the nursery. Here is a rundown of the poinsettias choices this year at Carson Bororvetz. Casual observers never notice the Poinsettia flowers because they are so tiny. The colorful leaves or bracts that bring seasonal cheerfulness into our winter environment are not actually flowers. Carson pointed out that even before the bracts turn colors you could see what color they will be by looking at the petiole or leaf stem. All the plants have green leaves when they are growing in October. But the stem that connects the leaf to the main stems carries the eventual bract color. Look for red stems on red poinsettias. Carson

Tulsa Sustainable held a meeting this week with a speaker from Root Tulsa , a project of the Kaiser Foundation. (Root Tulsa is a great app for things to do in Tulsa, sadly available only for Apple customers.) With the holiday gift giving season here, these two organizations came up with dozens of ideas for our conservationist selves to consider. In order to share the presentation with you, here are pictures of several slides. One of the ideas, Keep it Local OK, is not available in Muskogee, but is across the rest of Oklahoma. Purchase or give a $15 gift card for card holders to receive discounts at over 300 Oklahoma restaurants, stores, personal service businesses, clothing outlets, movie theaters, etc. Here's a list of the businesses that sell and honor the card. The emphasis is on locally purchased, minimally packaged items that take as little as possible while giving as much as possible Green, sustainable, gifting builds your community rather than an online s

No matter what you call it, this lily is a spectacular summer flower to grow on a fence or trellis! These summer blooming vines are cold hardy to zone 7 so we are weather compatible. A word of caution: many garden sites say they are hardy only in zone 9. Of course, they need a sunny location for the best flowering. Gloriosa rothschildiana A plant guru recommended Terra Ceia Farms so I ordered mine through them. The bulbs are 3 for $10 and ship in March. There are color choices, of course but I wanted the one I saw growing at the Mobile Botanical Garden, which is Gloriosa rothschildiana, one of the red and yellow varieties. Leafari planting guide suggests planting them with open structure perennials, "With their vining habit and need to something to climb on; flame lilies partner well with open-form shrubs, roses and sturdy mid-size perennials. They want dry feet and average soil, "Average, moderately fertile soil with medium amounts of moisture will be fine f