Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

gardening

Quest For The Perfect Garden Pot?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                       (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

My roses are blooming in April. Sweet sea biscuits! While we had hail, rain, sun and thunder over the weekend, I went on a quest last Friday to find the perfect large ceramic teal garden pot for the fairy rock garden. So far I feel like Goldilocks; close but not quite.

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Perfect color. Great shape. Too big. Rats!

Then I got sidetracked by the plants and flowers. Luckily I had an appointment or I could have wandered for hours.

 

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Look at these fun purple flowers.

Then I found this fabulous pink azalea in full bloom. Yummy!

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So, so pretty in pink.

Then a foxglove caught my eye and I had to take a very up close and personal picture.

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Fairies paint the insides of these blooms, I’m sure.

And then I came across this fabulous selection of water fountains I love but are way out of my price range. But maybe if I save my pennies over the winter…. What was I shopping for anyway?

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The big or the small blue one, either one will work. But I need electricity. Always something.

Taken a ramble in the garden center recently? Maybe I need to use spray paint on the current big pot. Another quest begins!

Got garden style?

What Flower is Your Grandmother?

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by Kimberly A. Cook          (Twitter@   WarriorTales)

Walked into the grocery store on the way home from the day job last night to get three things. Walked out with the three things plus three carnation plants and three tomato plants and one small pink flamingo with flapping wings to go in a potted plant. I’m a sucker for Spring flowers and odd yard art!

Gift plant from my Mom when I was under the weather. LOVE the color of the blooms. Must get more potting soil....
Gift plant from my Mom when I was under the weather. Celosia Intenz. LOVE the color of the blooms. Must get more potting soil….

Now I had specifically told myself not to buy any tomato plants until Mother’s Day, the best time to put them in the soil. Even though I had spied the coveted yellow pear tomato plants at the store last weekend, I did not purchase last time. They’ll be more I told myself. But when I sauntered by the same plant display last night and didn’t see the yellow pear tomato plants, I panicked. THEY bought them all!

Wait one. They’d just rearranged the plant display. They were shuffled to the middle. Retailers are tricky that way. Not taking any chances I scooped two yellow pear tomato plants up and added one sweet cherry 100 for good measure. I prefer to grow the baby tomatoes; easier to cut in half for salads and I think I have a huge crop when I see all the produce on the vines.

While sniffing the carnation plants at the garden center, the clerk asked if I needed help. “Found the carnations,” I said. “Carnations always remind me of my grandmother,” I told her. “Pansies and fuchsias remind me of mine,” she replied. Even flowers have stories and memories. Scent and smell are powerful things. So I bought the carnations of course.

Now I have to buy potting soil to get these gems planted before the big rains come later this week. I usually don’t plant before Mother’s Day, cold soil and all, but with this warm early Spring, perhaps I can get away with it. Gardening is an adventure!

Got tomato plants? Got carnation plants? Got potting soil?

Would A Carnation By Any Other Name Smell Of Spring?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                     (Twitter@   WarriorTales)

The great thing about gardening is the unexpected surprises. Went out the door on Sunday and found out my carnation had bloomed, all by it’s little own self. I’d noticed the buds, but it was in full on open to the world mode. Fabulous!

The perfect pink carnations for Spring!
The perfect pink carnations for Spring!

While I love roses, carnations are like a very dear friend. The memories they bring back start with the large all carnation lei I brought home from a trip to Hawaii, my corsage for the Senior Prom and then all the way back to spending weekends at my Grandma Cook’s home. She grew carnations in her yard and they smelled like cinnamon under the fir trees.

The scents of Spring to me range from daphne to hyacinths, but I know carnations are my favorite. From their soft and lacy petals to the variety of colors, their fragrance still sweeps across me like the smell of Clove gum or butter rum lifesavers always hidden in my Grandma’s purse. Treasures waiting to be discovered.

The bright sun, the smell of the earth blooming anew once again, all the best parts of starting the growing season and Mother Earth coming back to life. Spring gives me hope and carnations; two great presents in one. What are your favorite Spring memories and flowers?