Gardening, anyone?

Jazzy, Between Houston and Galveston, TX, the highway median is planted with oleanders. It's a spectacular show but they have to warn people how poisonous it is. So much so that a family used branches as sticks to roast hot dogs and eating the dogs made them sick.

Monis, Do you can or freeze produce? I've seen how large your garden is -- way too much for us to ever eat.

Wren- I never knew that about oleanders. I don't have pets so no worries there about dogs chewing sticks, etc. If someone tries to break into my home, I am going to offer them a branch though!

Monica- YUM! Thanks god sharing all of that wholesomeness.

And Charger, the lady's slippers are spectacular! What wealth

Good ideas, ladies on the plants. I will look at some of the latest varieties on some of those. I've found that it's worth it sometimes to dig up older varieties because the new ones are quite improved, like the roses for instance. My mom has some of those lemon yellow day lilies though. I may divide hers and bring some to my place. I was reminded how much I love them.

I'd love to plant lavender but I have to explore and find one as cold hardy as possible. I had a couple of plants that did not survive the winter. I am in Chicago, zone 5.

Monis those pea pods are making me hungry. They look delish.

We've managed to keep lavender alive for several years. Here we have to replace it after 3-5 years. Our yard is shady so it only wants to cover the sidewalk. They have lavender farms here and in Oregon so there must be hardy kinds. We visited one and I have never seen so many bees.

I have not gotten into canning or preserving much. We do make tomato sauce and green (tomatillo) salsa and freeze it. Some green beans and carrots make it to the freezer as well. My husband and I take excess produce to work and share with coworkers. Everyone looks forward to the growing season and seeing what we will bring in!

Teka, I once had a couple of dogs who would go down to the garden and eat snow peas off the vine!

I'm enjoying seeing what is blooming all over the country, and Canada too! I'm zone 5 too, but we have some elevation, so i find that zone 4 roses survive better. I have a hard time keeping lavender for more than a year or two. My daughter lives in California, and I enjoy going out there are seeing all the different vegetation. Here are some photos I took in the yard a day or two ago. Its been cool and rainy here, but will warm up and get humid today. Last week we had one night that got down to 37.

rhododendron with bumblebee

beans, peppers, beets, lettuce, radish bok choi, carrots, etc.

sweet william

iris

peony

and the sweetest flower of all, my granddaughter, Rosa.

all so beautiful Teka. Rosa is beautiful

Hi, fellow gardeners! I've been hanging around here a while - it's been a nice way for me to get used to this "survivorship" part of my life. You have created a welcoming, calm and beautiful space -thank you! I'm going to have to work on my computer and photo skills to keep up. I'm going to try and send a photo of my front flower garden when it was bluebonnet time in April - we will see! Lindal

Flavia- wow, wow, wow on the garden pics. I love the pic with the bumblebee and have to say how much I LOVE bok choy.

And little Rosa, what a cutie. How old is she? I bet she is the apple of her gardening grandma's eye. Babies are special.

Booklady- welcome to our thread and how beautiful your bluebonnets. I am a huge fan, I lived in TX for three years during grad school in the 1980s and we would always go driving to look at the blue bonnets in April. I was in the DFW area last April and got to see some in bloom for the first time in many years. So beautiful. We hope you like it here. We are garden junkies.......

Flavia- Rosa is so precious. Thanks for sharing her pic and telling us a bit about her.

A quote from Ladybird Johnson:  “My special cause, the one that alerts my interest and quickens the pace of my life, is to preserve the wildflowers and native plants that define the regions of our land—to encourage and promote their use in appropriate areas, and thus help pass on to generation in waiting the quiet jobs and satisfactions I have known since my childhood.”

“Some may wonder why I chose wildflowers when there are hunger and unemployment and the big bomb in the world.  Well, I, for one, think we will survive, and I hope that along the way we can keep alive our experience with the flowering earth.  For the bounty of nature is also one of the deep needs of man.”

The fact that we can drive on thousands of miles of interstate highways without seeing billboards is also due to Ladybird Johnson.  She was a terrific First Lady, truly the First Lady of all of America.

Pretty pictures ladies. I have never seen Devils paintbrushes. How pretty. And what a beautiful variety of flower, baby Rosa!

Welcome booklady. I have never seen bluebonnets in person but had a wildflower calendar with beautiful pictures. I would love to see that sight in person. What a treat to have them in your yard.

My cherries are getting ripe and for some reason the birds aren't bothering them yet! I ate about 10 this morning straight off the tree.