Your Home, Garden and Travel

by Freda Cameron

Tired of reruns? Me, too. Isn't it great to have new shows on TV to entertain you in the fall?

I'm tired of writing about the same plants ten times over. There is a limit to the number of plants that I grow, so there's a limit to my blogging material. It seems as though all of my photos are starting to look the same. My garden blogging is photo-driven. If I don't have good photos, I don't have good material!

I'm not going to expand my garden for the sake of blogging. I can't hire gardeners, like actors, to come in and help me put on a new show for my readers.

Without a new garden to create a new blogging show, all I can do is freshen up the characters in my garden and ditch the ones that aren't performing well or just plain boring or too prima dona to be worth my efforts to keep them in the show. This "editing" (a genteel term for "ripping those suckers out of there") is underway with the fall planting season.

I was planning to stop experimenting and finish designing my garden vision anyway, so why not make it a documentary series of slow-action garden installments?

If I want to take a good nap, I turn the TV to a documentary. Usually, the announcers voice is so monotone it sends me into a deep sleep. If nothing else, my series will serve as good nap time reading.

Here's a preview of the next show:

Two purple hotties team up for a steamy tango. Short and tough, salvia greggii 'Diane' dances and mingles with her Texas companion Gaillardia aestivalis var. winkleri 'Grape Sensation'. The choreography is so tight, it looks as though there are different blooms on the same plant. Stay tuned for the close-up shots and planting instructions!



The fine print:

All deer resistant plant suggestions come with the disclaimer of "if my deer don't eat this plant, your deer may like it" as any herd that is hungry enough will eat things they don't really prefer.

All of my plant combinations are my opinion and you may not share my taste in color schemes.

All of my plants are growing in zone 7 and you may be gardening in colder, or hotter, zones.

My garden is in full sun and must tolerate inferno-like summer conditions with minimal irrigation.

I am not paid to recommend any plant, but if I have received free plants to trial, I'll always tell you.