#dandelions bloom in late april-may where i live | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

hopiewrites · 5 years

Text

Nobody - OHSHC

NOTE: big, big thank you to the person helping me write this fic, LT! i don’t think they have a tumblr so here is a link to their quotev!

pairing - host club x reader

ongoing series, chapter 3

word count - 4,180

chapters 1 & 2 up now!

-> back to masterlist

Forget-me-not Blue

Weeks had passed, and the daffodils began to bloom, welcoming spring into season that April.

(Y/N) was excited, even if things were barely starting to come to life. The early spring flowers had arrived, and that meant the butterflies and bees would start dancing around again, and the cherry blossoms would bloom, and everything would be alight with new life and begin the new year with vibrancy. She couldn't wait until she was able to walk through Ouran's gardens that would be full of roses and lavender and dandelions.

It seemed that the entire school shared her excitement, as the whole campus was vibrating with excitement and joy. The colors seemed brighter and the sky seemed clearer and the spring air was crisp and clean, brushing it's hands through the trees that were budding with new leaves and fruits.

All was well that day. (Y/N) got to spend time with her mother that morning before she had to run off to work, managed to remember all of her school supplies, and even got to finish her makeup on time; she was wearing one of her favorite outfits, a cherry wood brown turtleneck and a pleated plaid skirt, paired with the dirty vans she always wore.

She stayed late yesterday to make the food beforehand instead of going in early that morning, so she managed to get two extra hours of sleep, and felt relatively rested.

She decided that the day was good.

Everybody in homeroom was chatting amongst themselves, as usual, while cute drawings of different characters and flowers adorned the whiteboard with little phrases and words next to them. Her head was low as she entered, quietly making a beeline towards her usual desk and pulling out her notebook.

Something scrunched under her papers.

The girl moved her notebook, curious brows raised, and there, on her desk, sat a yellow sticky note, with a sun wearing sunglasses and a little daisy sitting around the neat, swirly handwriting that read;

Come to the club room after classes, We have planning to do~

Just when she thought she'd gotten away from them, they pulled her right back into their grubby hands.

She sighed, trying to hide the slight grin that made it's way to her face. She propped her head up on one hand, staring blankly at the whiteboard at the front of the room.

I wonder what's going on this time.

It wasn't long before everyone got settled and into their seats. Now, all she had to do, was wait.

- nobody -

Everyone is so lively today.

Even more so than usual, the host club's atmosphere was effervescent, seeming to bubble over with what she assumed was excitement – even the guests were basically dancing in their seats.

"So, Kyoya! When will the annual Spring Dance be held this year?"

"Yeah! Everybody has been talking about it already, we're all so excited!"

"Well, ladies, we plan to have it soon, in early May. We're actually having preparations being made at this moment."

"Oh, wow, really!? We have to start looking at gowns, then!"

"Yes, we're looking forward to it! I wonder what the theme will be this year."

Spring Dance?

"That, my dears, is a surprise. Just know that all the hosts have worked very hard to find only the best decorations and catering for our guests."

They all swooned at Kyoya's smooth cut words, alight with his usual false cheeriness. He smiled at his guests politely, listening to their excited rambling.

Huh. I should've figured they would have one. Just slipped my mind. Maybe that's why they wanted me up here, to help with preparations?

"Oh, (N/N)-chan!!! You look so pretty!"

Almost knocked back by Honey's embrace, she hid a giggle, letting him hug her – now that it's been nearly a month, the timid girl has gotten used to her elder's childish mannerisms.

"Hello, senpai. Um, thank you!"

He laughed cutely before letting her go. "So you got Tama-chan's note? I wasn't sure if you'd come visit us today."

"Yeah, I almost didn't see it actual-"

"Oh, Princess! Welcome!"

Yet again, she was scooped up into a pair of arms, but this time, she was twirled around and around and around, before finally her feet touched the ground once more, a pair of warm hands on her shoulders.

Her cheeks were pink from that welcome, and head spinning after that twirl; she still wasn't used to Tamaki's bear hugs. As nice as they were, they always made her chest flutter and twist, as if, suddenly, the only thing that was there was warmth, and a rosy cinnamon scent that she could lose herself in.

(Y/N) smiled.

"Hi, Tamaki-senpai."

"I'm glad you came today! We have many things to discuss, like the-"

"Spring Dance?"

"Oh! Yes. I'm guessing you've heard?"

His hands fell from her shoulders, as his head tilted like that of a puppy, blonde hair shining like gold under the florescent lights that hung in chandeliers from the ceiling high above.

"Well, just now I heard some of Kyoya's visitors talking about it- oh, I think you have people waiting, senpai."

She nodded her head towards the girls waiting patiently with smiles on their pretty faces. The taller nods. "Yeah, I'll tell you more about it later, okay? So don't leave!"

"Okay, don't worry! I'll be right here."

He smiled once again before greeting his guests and walking with them to a table.

She took it upon herself to sit, folded up in a sofa situated at the back of the expansive room, and plugged her earbuds in to block out the chatter that echoed. Plucking her journal out from her bag, she balanced it on her knee, continuing a sketch she'd been working on recently–a myosotis plant, more commonly known as forget-me-not's.

Small flowers, known for their symbolism of faithful love and reminiscent feelings; their color, known as "true blue," was the color of trust, loyalty and truth. She chose these flowers for an assignment in her art class, the project being on symbolism in everyday objects.

She was a bit of a nerd for those kinds of things.

From beside the focused girl peered a curious ginger over her shoulder. A pair of honey eyes roamed across the paper, watching as her hand moved and twitched, careful yet messy in a way he hadn't really seen before.

"What're you drawing, (Y/N)?"

Music drowned out his words, earbuds nestled safely in her ears as she just continued what she was doing, unbothered.

He decided to tuck his voice away for now, watching the pencil as it dragged across the paper, quietly. He moved closer, a sheepish smile playing on his lips as he crouched, propping his arm on the armrest of the chair, head leaning close to the oblivious girl's shoulder.

He'd seen those flowers before, overflowing in the pots that sit right outside his mansion's front doors, serving as a welcome whenever he arrived home. He never realized how pretty they were until that moment.

Soon enough she turned the page, and from the corner of his eye he saw a nonchalant smile pull on her cheeks - she wrote a message in her book.

How long have you been spying on me?

Kaoru chuckled, then pulled out an earbud of hers.

"About five minutes now, actually."

"Hm. You're such a stalker, you know that?"

Closing her book she turned towards the younger twin, headphone swinging and smacking Kaoru in the face as she moved; she held back an embarrassed laugh.

"Those are forget-me-not's, right?" His head tilted, lights reflecting in his eyes like constellations.

She lit up. "Yeah. I'm just doing rough sketches for a project I'm working on... I'm pretty excited to start painting it."

"That's right!" The girl jumped at his exclamation, dropping her journal with a thud, "We've never seen your paintings before. When will you show us your winning masterpiece, (Y/-"

"What's this?"

Her cheap journal was plucked from the floor by slim hands, mischievous eyes studying the contents of the page that had revealed itself from the prior fall.

"Wai-"

"Ooh, I never took you as the obsessive type, (Y/N)."

Kaoru stood abruptly from his crouch and walked over to where his twin was in front of the poor girl, lips falling open, just a bit, just enough to suck in a breath he didn't know he needed.

"And for Tamaki, no less!"

Imprinted on the thin pages of her grimoire, was an unfinished portrait of none other than Tamaki Suoh, eyes sleepy and hair a mess, but a smile as bright as the very sun. You could feel the warmth he radiated through the page.

What took Kaoru by surprise was how much detail was put into the whole thing, even if it was a bit sloppy. It looked like it held every color in the world, even though the only thing that was there was the dull, grey lead of the pencil and bits of eraser shavings caught here and there.

She jumped up and tried to snatch it out of the taunting male's hands, though he just held it over her head.

She felt like crying; nobody was supposed to see that.

"What are you all doing?"

None other than the king himself asked, taking long strides towards the twins. Hikaru couldn't get enough of this. For one reason or another, he felt acid deep down in his stomach that bit at him from the inside, but on his tongue was the sweet taste of hell's fire, and he would deal with the burning of his conscience later.

"Seems like you have another fan, boss! Look at this."

Though, the girl wouldn't give up that easily. She jumped up once again, eyes glaring holes through the auburn's head, and a shiver crawled up his spine. He almost considered giving it back. Almost.

Tamaki was there now, and it felt like everything was in slow motion for her. Yeah, maybe she was being dramatic, but she couldn't help it. That was private and special to her, not to mention how embarrassed she'd be if he saw it.

(Y/N) disregarded how she was now chest-to-chest with Hikaru Hitachiin, and how pink dusted his cheeks as his eyes slanted down at her own ones in a silent declaration of war. The tips of her toes kissed the marble of Ouran's floors as she leaned against the much, much taller male in effort to get back what was rightfully hers, but he only stretched his arm out further, completely ignoring everyone else's presence in the now emptying room.

In that moment, nothing mattered to either of them. There was nothing else but each other and the mutual feeling of a bloody red.

...Save for the other club members of course, who watched the whole ordeal with amusement.

Kyoya sipped on his earl grey. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say Hikaru is flirting, wouldn't you agree?"

Haruhi's hand clasped over her mouth in an effort not to laugh. She hummed in silent agreement. "Yeah, I'd definitely say so."

"(Y/N), you drew this...?"

It was those words that were the rain that washed the fire to ashes, though the biting heat lingered even when she pulled apart from Hikaru. His glare snapped to the wall as he avoided eye contact. Her skin was red with embarrassment and anger, blood boiling and burning her from the inside. The older twin only stood, arms crossed and eyebrows drawn together with an angry pout plastered on his rose petal lips.

Though, what she didn't know was that Hikaru was nauseous with the nasty aftertaste of guilt, pitchforks stabbing at his lungs, making it hard for him to do anything but clench his fists and bear it. He didn't care about how he made her feel. Why would he? She was just another one of Tamaki's stupid fangirls.

Right...?

He couldn't keep himself from glaring over at (Y/N) one last time.

- nobody -

Tamaki cleared his throat, clapping his hands together as all the hosts gathered and watched him.

"So, as many of you know, the annual spring dance is upon us, and we've already booked the grand hall for the ceremony."

(Y/N) listened curiously from her seat beside Mori, whom she felt safest by at the moment. He didn't ask questions; he didn't pry; he didn't do much of anything, really. His quiet presence was cooling against the fire raging red underneath her skin.

"I thought we should all gather to choose a theme. Last year's was royalty, and the decorations and dress code played off of that."

That's so like them. The girl grinned quietly to herself, finding their predictable nature entertaining. "Does anyone have any ideas?"

The girl hesitated, just for a moment, swallowing Hikaru's thorny glare like sour medicine.

"What about a vintage theme?" She spoke.

"Vintage theme...?" Tamaki questioned aloud, tilting his head slightly, just like she noticed he'd always do when thinking.

"Yeah. Like age old antiques, soft colors, lace, the like. Unless you've already done something like that, I mean.."

"No, no. Actually... That's a really good idea, (Y/N)," Kyoya flipped through his little black book, jotting down the girl's idea.

"Yeah. Sounds good."

(Y/N) shifted at the sudden voice beside her, quiet but not shy. Mori wasn't even looking at her, not sparing a single glance her way, his face bearing the same sea glass expression.

She took Mori's words to heart, those words he probably thought nothing much of. She then elaborated her thoughts, a little clearer, a little more confident.

"I think it would be really elegant, not to mention economical. We could maybe even visit a few antique shops for some of the decorations."

No one added anything in, silently willing her to continue.

"Soft colors, like cream and periwinkle and mauve would do. Maybe we can even make some kind of dress code."

Still, no one.

"...I don't know."

"That's a wonderful idea, (N/N)-chan!" Exclaimed Honey from his cozy seat on Mori's lap.

"Yeah, we've never done anything like that before. It could be really pretty," added Kaoru.

Kyoya chimed in, "Any other ideas?"

"Nope! I think this is what we're going for this year, my dear Kyoya!"

As the hosts scattered amongst themselves, Honey tucked his arms snugly around (Y/N)'s legs with a wide, sweet smile; too wide, too sweet. In the moment, though, the girl was caught up in catching butterflies in her stomach. They listened to me, she thought. Her hands subconsciously found their way around the short male's small frame, as they tended to these days.

"(N/N)-chan, do you wanna walk with us outside?"

A sheepish smile stretched her lips as she replied. "Can't, senpai. I have to prepare tomorrow's food."

"Oh, about that, (Y/N)."

Honey reluctantly loosened his hold and marched back to his tall companion. Kyoya stood at her side now, tucking his phone away safely into the pocket of his trousers.

She hummed, listening.

"We're not opening the club tomorrow, so you don't have to have anything ready. Just go home and get some rest."

(Y/N) turned her head to peer up at him. His eyes were unfocused, looking out at the blooming colors of spring outside the windows. She didn't understand what he was thinking or feeling, or if he was feeling anything at all for that matter.

In that moment, he reminded her of the darkness that separates the stars.

- nobody -

The walk home was full of life, unsurprisingly. Wildflowers and green grass lined the roads, honeybees buzzing happily as they kissed the flowers and danced with butterflies. There was still a few hours of the day left, judging by how the sun was strung in the sky, so instead she decided to walk to a local park. It was small and well-worn but very peaceful, with its rusty swings and small pond.

Ducks waddled around in and out of the water. Birds chirped back and forth in the few trees as a lady struggled to keep her small dog from chasing a poor squirrel scurrying around the base of an oak.

Settling on the swings, (Y/N) took a second to unwind. The wind was soft and carried the scent of wild roses as it soothed her skin. There were yellow daffodils happily swaying by the pond. Everything was okay in that moment.

In a swift movement the girl kicked off her shoes and hopped out of the swing, laughing at herself when she stumbled. The grass felt like silk on her callused feet as she stepped towards the large rose bush, crouching to smell its pink petals. Carefully, she plucked one, two, three, four roses and skipped away to gather a few daffodils, cattails, and dandelions.

For mom, when she gets home.

Right as she was about to steal a pinecone from its branch, her phone vibrated annoyingly in her pocket.

2 new messages from " the host club 👑✨💞"

Since when was I in a group chat??

Ignoring it, (Y/N) decided to check it out later. How did they even get her Instagram though? It didn't matter, she figured. She'd probably spent far too long at the park, anyway, if the creamy orange beginning to color the sky was any indication. It was time to head back home.

With all different kinds of plants gripped securely in her dirty hand, she retrieved her discarded shoes and gingerly walked back towards her neighborhood.

- nobody -

It wasn't until (Y/N) found herself sprawled across her bed and once more attempting to wrap-up her forget-me-not sketch that she remembered the notifications she had received from the host club prior.

The mixed bouquet of wild flowers she had managed to concoct was placed on her mother's nightstand, along with a note on which she had scrawled a short but sweet message the moment she arrived back home. Aside from that, the only things she had her mind set on were homework (regardless of how little she was assigned), dinner, and sleep. It's true, she was tired, a bit hungry as well, but she still chose to squeeze in some relaxing time to comfortably let her pencil dance across the designated page within her journal.

It almost amazed her how lost in thought she would find herself whenever she decided to let her creative side flow as freely as it did. It's as if she would switch over to autopilot and let nothing but her hand take control while her mind soared with an intoxicated sort of vigor as it explored every idea that subconsciously came to her head.

It was for this exact reason that it took her several moments to register the lit-up screen of her phone lying atop the cluster of unmade sheets just inches away.

Setting down her pencil, (Y/N) diverted her attention to the rectangular device and awkwardly shifted positions before picking it up and unlocking it. The number of messages from earlier had since multiplied, a prominent 61 plastered on the corner of the application.

haruhi.fuji: Well I know of a few thrift shops around near my apartment. You can find all kinds of hidden gems there.

haruhi.fuji: Don't know about antique stores though, but (Y/N)-chan might know of some.

tama_king: Thrift stores????

(58 more messages)

The corners of her lips upturned just enough for her to notice.

She opened the app and scrolled through the messages, skimming through notifications and following each member back. Well, accept for Hikaru, who hadn't even followed her in the first place. Hesitantly, (Y/N) typed out a message, then deleted it, then typed it out again, then deleted it. The girl sighed, chewing on her cheek, trying to decide what to say.

tama_king: Look (Y/N)s online!!

Well, leave it to Tamaki to point her out. Said girl settled for a simple greeting.

(username): hi everyone!

haruhi.fuji: (Y/N), we were just talking about what kind of decorations we should get for the spring dance.

(username): oh, well i figured we could just go looking through local shops to find authentic antique decor

haruhi.fuji: Like all of us out shopping together??

tama_king: That sounds like fun we should go see all the commoner shops together!

(Y/N) suddenly had regrets. All eight of them, six of which all likely hadn't ever even heard of a thrift store before, out and about? Even if she was starting to grow used to the lot of them, it was a whole other thing to be seen out in public with them. It wasn't that (Y/N) was embarrassed of them, but more so bothered by how much attention they seem to bring towards themselves. The socially awkward girl wasn't sure if she could handle that very well.

(username): i mean, sure??

haruhi.fuji: That sounds... ;;;

(username): yeah ik, migjt not be the best of ideas i've had huh

(username): *might

She quietly laughed to herself, trying to shake off the dread that was already piling on her shoulders.

tama_king: No, it sounds like a great idea!!

The "Oh, what have I done," slipped past her lips as she saw none other than Kyoya himself finalize the plans.

KyoyaOotori: I see you three have been planning an outing?

KyoyaOotori: And when are we all going to do this?

It was funny, because she could practically feel him shaking his head through the screen. Maybe the two of them were more alike than she had originally thought.

She decided then that she might as well go through with it.

(username): well, earlier you said i didn't have to prep for tomorrows guests, so i'm free tomorrow after school.

tama_king: The host club was planned to be closed tomorrow for preparations to be made for the dance. i'm sure our lovely guests wouldn't mind. so Kyoya, is tomorrow okay to go out shopping?

KyoyaOotori: I suppose that it would be a good learning experience to see what low-budget commoner living is like. So, yes, that sounds just fine. I'll make sure to let the others know.

It looked like all had been settled, so she switched the device back off and let it sit to the side. The sound of the door clicking shut and the A/C being tampered with alerted the young girl of her mother's arrival home, so she skipped into the doorway to greet her.

She looked tired, just as she always did, with the same empty smile and hollow eyes. (Y/N) hugged her and in a small voice, said hello.

"Heya, Pumpkin."

There was nothing else to be said as the woman kicked off her shoes and walked into her room, no doubtedly to sleep until she had to drag herself back out to work again. (Y/N) hoped she liked the flowers she had picked out for her.

Sometimes there is no worse feeling than guilt that will eat one out from the inside.

She felt as though the way that things were running in her house functioned like an unbalanced scale. Her mother always came home exhausted and worn-out as the result of working from dawn to dusk, and it hurt the young girl's heart to see her in such poor condition. It wasn't extremely often that she would even get the chance to say hello, and rarer still that she ever had the time to hold a good conversation.

They both loved each other more than life itself, and (Y/N) knew that better than anyone else, but with all the overbearing work her mother put up with, day and night, everything just seemed...

Unfair.

Bitter and unsavory thoughts aside, one glance at the clock on the microwave reminded her of the looming drowsiness she felt gradually washing over her. It had been a long day, and the next was certain to be even longer.

With this in mind, she experienced little to no hesitation before striding off towards her bathroom to ready herself for what she hoped to a good night's rest. Once she was curled up under the cotton sheets and had her stuffed animal of choice in a loving grip (not caring about how childish she may have seemed), the bluish light of her phone caught her attention as she slowly and reluctantly lifted up one eyelid.

Reaching for the device resting on her night stand, she opened both eyes; given how she hadn't really been exposed to the darkness of her room for a prolonged amount of time, it didn't take long to adjust to the screen's luminescent glow as she focused on the message displayed on her lock screen. A single notification was shown, and (Y/N) couldn't help but allow a small smile to make its way onto her face once she had processed what it read.

haruhi.fuji: Good luck tomorrow, (Y/N). Hope you'll be able to handle a few hours out with those goofballs.

#ohshc #ohshc x reader #tamaki suoh #tamaki x reader #kyoya ootori #kyoya x reader #haruhi fujioka #haruhi x reader #hitachiin brothers #kaoru hitachiin #hikaru hitachiin #hitachiin twins x reader #nobody - chapter 3 #hopiewrites #nobody

261 notes · View notes

reddirtramblings · 7 years

Text

After returning home from Italy last week, I found the garden in better shape than I expected.

Ornamental gardens are forgiving. In spring, my garden is always covered in leaves and debris. I live at the axis of the shortgrass prairie and the beginning of the deciduous forest in the hills of east central Oklahoma after all. In the back garden, we removed the surrounding chicken wire fence and blew the leaves out into the lower pasture.

The entire garden, including the back beds, is way ahead of last year.

We will replace the worn out chicken wire with flat cattle panels cut in half to make it easier to weed-eat around the garden’s border while keeping bunnies at bay.

Front flower beds before cleanup yesterday and today.

Yesterday, after a few days recovering from jetlag, I went outside and worked on the last two beds in disarray.

I cut back the ornamental grasses, including my favorite, pink muhly, and dead perennial stalks. I pruned and fed the roses, adding a couple of roses to my garden this year. ‘Boscobel‘ and ‘The Poet’s Wife‘ went in these beds. I haven’t decided where The Alnwick® Rose will go yet.

Front flower beds after cleanup. It took me one and a half days, but I also removed a lot of Phlox paniculata that was taking over.

I also overseeded my small fescue front lawn.

I find fescue a constant source of irritation partly because I live on a hill. Without something to hold back the hill, my front doorstep becomes covered in muck, but only after a rain. Since rain comes in fits and starts mostly in spring and fall, it’s barely possible to keep the front stoop clean. Fescue is a lot of maintenance, and where the native moss and clover grow, I consider it a boon.

[bctt tweet=”I don’t care if my lawn has weeds. Never have, never will. ” username=”reddirtramblin”]

I overseed my little lawnette each spring and fall and feed it with Milorganite as needed. Because it is such a pain in the rear end, I only grow fescue in a small shady area. The rest of the grass on our land is all Bermuda not planted by me. I keep adding gardens so the Bermuda is reduced bit by bit. Look for new raised beds we’re installing this month. I also don’t worry about the dandelions that come. In fact, I saw a honeybee feasting on the nectar from a dandelion only yesterday.

So, don’t expect a lot of grass maintenance info from me. I’m no expert, and I don’t use weed and feed.

Another view of the fescue front lawn. You can see why it needs overseeding. I’m having trouble with moles too.

Fescue lawn in early spring. I bought plants for the front pots, but I haven’t planted them yet. They are sitting in the pots in their pots waiting. Because the weather is cool and wet, they can wait quite a while.

[bctt tweet=”So, don’t expect a lot of grass maintenance info from me. I’m no expert, and I don’t use weed and feed.” username=”reddirtramblin”]

I’d much rather talk about flowers and vegetables you can grow.

I also went to three nurseries yesterday and purchased a plethora of plants.

There are three types of plants that perform well in Oklahoma: those native to Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas and Arkansas; tropicals grown as annuals for summer color; and tough perennials.

Still, even some tough perennials aren’t consistently, well, perennial.

I pondered this yesterday as I planted two more Big Bang™ Redshift coreopsis in my lower/back garden. I also bought ‘Rose Glow’ ajuga to replace some that wasn’t happy after winter. Many perennials like coreopsis, gaillardia, rudbeckia and some salvias bloom themselves to death. S. leucantha, Mexican bush sage, isn’t alway hardy in our climate either, but oh, when it is, you get large stands of blooms like this.

Bumble on Salvia leucantha, Mexican bush sage. There is no purple like this plant. It doesn’t always overwinter, but I keep some starts in the greenhouse just in case.

The vagrancies of our stupid, unpredictable weather also kill some perennials that may be extremely hardy elsewhere. I could rail against perennials that don’t stay perennial, but instead, I just replant those I love best. The Big Bang™ series of coreopsis is worth planting again, as are ‘Arizona Sun’ and ‘Arizona Red Shades of gaillardia along with pretty-in-pink ‘Punch Bowl.’ You can start seeds for ‘Punch Bowl‘ indoors in February, or buy plants from Bustani Plant Farm, my favorite plant nursery. I’ll be buying plants this year.

Gaillardia ‘Punch Bowl’ in my garden in 2015.

Echinaceas like ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ are worth growing. So is E. pallida if you can ever get it going. I keep trying, and I will again this year.

I’m only telling you this because I don’t want you to feel badly when perennials die after a season or two. It’s not you. It’s them.

Side border with ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ echinacea and daylilies from 2016. Being a seed strain, ‘Cheyenne Spirit’ comes in a multitude of heights and colors. It’s also dynamic for an unusually colored echinacea.

[bctt tweet=” I’m only telling you this because I don’t want you feel bad when perennials die after a season or two. It’s not you. It’s them.” username=”reddirtramblin”]

So, into my basket went a few things I wanted to replant. I also decided to try a couple of new plants I found, including Geum ‘Banana Daiquiri.’ I love geums, and they are often hard to find. I’m hoping this one settles into my hot and dry prairie section of the garden.

Geum ‘Banana Daiquiri’ new to my garden this spring.

Note, it’s too early to buy true tropicals although the nurseries and box stores are selling them.

I’ll put my tropicals in the greenhouse for a couple more weeks. Even though our average last freeze date is April 20, we may be finished with winter, but remember, tropicals don’t like temperatures under 45°F. I found several new varieties of coleus at Davison’s Nursery, including some of the Main Street series. Davison’s is not my favorite nursery. I think they are too high priced on many plants, but they often have coleus no one else will.

As you can see from this photo, coleus is a great plant to work in with other perennials like pink muhly grass and Mexican sage.

Under the Sun, also expensive, had lots of fresh tropical plants no one else will have like several varieties of alternanthera, Joseph’s coat. You pay more for exclusivity. They also had a new variety of zinnia, Swizzle Cherry and Ivory, that I plunked into the ground. It’s too early for zinnias, but I’m willing to cover these little darlings if I must. So far, the weather looks ok, and zinnias are tough little plants. In the new raised beds, I’m planting tall zinnias for butterflies.

Swizzle Cherry and Ivory zinnias I planted yesterday before the rain.

So, here’s the dilemma with Oklahoma gardening. No matter what you grow, you’re doomed to failure. Just kidding, at least partly.

We added these new narrow borders for daylilies I wanted to add for the tour.[bctt tweet=”So, here’s the dilemma with Oklahoma gardening. No matter what you grow, you’re doomed to failure. Just kidding, at least partly.” username=”reddirtramblin”]

We are often cool in spring, but maybe we’ll be hot instead. We sometimes get copious amounts of spring rain that drown your xeric plants, but then it’s super hot and dry in summer. Autumn can be long, or extremely short. A lot depends on first and last frosts.

So, what’s a gardener to do? Watch the weather.

Don’t pay attention to charts devised by people who live anywhere else. Instead, watch your local news each evening and note cold fronts coming to town. If rain is coming from the south, it will be warm and often heavy. If it’s coming from the northwest, we may get a freeze.

Know your garden too. As I wrote above, I live on a hillside. I planted my fruit trees at the top of my front yard to protect them from frosts and freezes. It doesn’t always work, but when it does, I eat peaches and tart cherry pie. Occasionally, I get an apple or fifty. When we get a late freeze, I just enjoy the spring blooms until they are frozen and gone. I’ve ceased to worry about it. I’m a gardener. I’m used to disappointment. Ha!

‘Miss Kim’ lilac next to Black Lace® Sambucus.

Know your garden with all of its idiosyncrasies, soil types, and microclimates. The soil in my garden is different in each section with most being sandy with pockets of clay. I have a new section that is clay through and through. I’m working to create good soil there so I pile on shredded leaves, Back to Nature compost and more mulch as the leaves decompose. I now have about two inches of good soil over bad.

[bctt tweet=”Gardening in Oklahoma especially is a lesson in humility. That’s why gardeners are so kind. ” username=”reddirtramblin”]

Back garden with roses about to explode into bloom.

At the bottom of the hill where my main garden is, microclimates exist because of tall grasses and trees. I waited until the last minute this year to chop my ornamental grasses because they protect other plants from freezing. Go out into your garden now and look for plants that have heaved themselves out of the soil. Some of my autumn sage does this every year, as do the heucheras. Poor heucheras, they often want to die. I think growing in Oklahoma makes them suicidal. I use my hands and my feet–in shoes, of course–to push their roots back into the soil. Then, I place some shredded leaves or finely ground cedar mulch on top to comfort them.

Polygonatum falcatum ‘Variegatum,’ variegated Solomon’s seal with a red heuchera (I don’t remember the variety) and Phlox divaricata not yet blooming.

On these warm days with the sun at my back and birds surrounding me with song, I’m out working every minute. Yesterday was cloudy and gray. There was fog this morning, and the clouds blanketed the plants and ground with warmth. Tomorrow morning may not be the same so keep your eyes on the weather and your heart ever hopeful. Spring colors are so glorious my eyes mist at their beauty.

Cotinus ‘Grace’ smoke bush.

What gardeners do may look like work, but we know different. Hands in the soil, eyes raised to heaven, Up close and personal, we see God’s handiwork in all its glory.

Spring has sprung, and we are the fortunate ones. Garden on my friends.

Flower bed before and after & plant shopping 101 After returning home from Italy last week, I found the garden in better shape than I expected.

0 notes