Lena’s Orchid

I love winter in our desert. It is the best time of year with the blue skies, red rocks, and especially the mild temperatures. But for every gardener, the lack of dirt under the fingernails can cause withdrawals. My solution is to start some vegetable seeds indoors. I would love to have a greenhouse someday,…

We pruned the flowering plum a couple of weeks ago, and I put the branches in a vase of water, set them on an old bench by my garden seedlings, . . . . . . . . and waited. And waited. . . And finally!!!!. . . They bloomed! The deepest most beautiful crimson…

Can you hear it? That deep rolling thunder that sneaks up on a summer afternoon? I’m in the garden; stirring the compost and planting lettuce and the trees around me start to sway. The drum-roll in the distance is mesmerizing. I look up and see the sheets of rain falling in the distance. They’re somewhere…

Looking out the window today, it feels like winter. I have on two shirts, wool socks, and can’t wait to build a fire in the wood-stove. I was anxious to sit down in the bay window and write today, but as soon as I got my computer set up, the sun went behind gray clouds…

Hands down, the most beautiful plant in the garden is purple cabbage, and mine is doing so well for June this year! I credit the great compost pile in the corner of the garden. I haven’t had cabbage this full and healthy this late in the season since I had sheep to raise and little…