Hey, I can sing that one even when there are Children in the house, Marilynne.
What part of AL do you call home, Kabby?
Beth, no wonder there is so much fire ant research going on in Texas! I know fire ants drive Alabama Power up the wall because they get into equipment. Hope your head feels better soon. Tissue culture, you are a brave woman.
Our Valentine’s Day extravagance, the violets and pansies, are in the ground. I do admit to a sentimental association between those flowers and Valentine’s, but I have not totally taken leave of my practical senses. In the first place, anything in the viola family is dirt cheap in February in the deep south and because of Amargia’s peculiar micro-climate they stay in bloom far longer than they would even a short distance away. The redbuds a quarter mile away have been in bloom since late January. Instead of whining about the lands idiosyncrasies, this year I will take advantage of them. There must be ways to put frost pockets to use. Most members of the viola family are edible too and I need as much variety as I can get on a low protein, gluten-free, low salt diet. I grow lettuce in containers and edible flowers make a lovely addition. The word “beautility”, coined by the 70’s fashion industry, is one of my favorite words in the garden. Some lettuce varieties are gorgeous enough to stand on their own as ornamentals.
After last year, it may take us a while to get back to the beauty part in beautility, but all the new color provided by annuals makes for a beautiful start. I like the lower maintenance idea of no annuals, but I cannot yet imagine high summer without marigolds or winter without violas. I am still on the lookout for bee friendly perennials for the gap times when there is a dearth of perennial blooms.
k*
