Do your spirits need a lift in this cold and rather dreary season? Enjoy this picture of late summer flowers, sent in by Patti, a gardener who photographed them while on vacation at a Montana lodge last August.

colorful flowers overflow from barrels on the porch of a Montana lodge

Patti writes, “I couldn’t believe this lodge was able to keep so many beautiful flowers going during a drought, but the innkeepers told me that they practice xeriscaping.  One trick they use is to grow the most water-needy flowers in containers like this barrel, close to the doors of the lodge.  Then they can easily carry out any water they save from their showers or laundry.   They laughed when I asked how they grew flowers farther away.  They said that anything planted beyond the porch just has to make do with whatever rainfall it can get.  They aren’t toting buckets of water across their ranch!”

Thanks, Patti, for sharing the picture and the watering tip.    We’ll have lots more tips for gardeners at the upcoming flower show, especially when TV personality Joe Washington tells us “How You Can Be A Successful Gardener and Water Smart”.   Watch for his lecture on the demo stage on Friday, Jan. 30, at 3 P.M.

Remember:  leave us a comment and tell us how you bloom for a chance to win a free 2009 gardening calendar.  Pictures, like Patti’s, are welcome too!

cheers,

Lynn

www.LynnCoulter.com

begin by carving out your pumpkin; find an empty glass jar that fits inside.

Got a dollar?  That’s all you need to make a pretty arrangement for your Thanksgiving table.

You see, many grocery stores have pumpkins on sale right now—poor, little wanna-be Jack O’Lanterns that nobody bought to take home and carve.  Because the stores need to make room for fresh produce, they’re often willing to sell these orange orbs at bargain prices.

Our local Publix had some beauties on sale last weekend for $1 each.  I choose a nice, small pumpkin, took it home, removed the top, and cleaned out the innards.  (I like to dry the seeds and then put them out for the birds, but I could’ve roasted and salted them for a yummy snack.)

Next, I filled a clean glass jar with water and put it inside the hollowed-out pumpkin. I added a saucer underneath, in case of leaks. Finally, I filled the jar with an assortment of materials from my yard, including dried grasses, berried stems, branches studded with colorful leaves, sprigs of ivy, and, for color, a few blooming mums.  If you make your own ornamental pumpkin, and you have small children or pets, just avoid using potentially toxic berries or other plant parts indoors.

Voila–a handsome harvest arrangement that can last up to two weeks.  All you’ll need to do is replenish the water as the cut flowers and foliage drink it up.

use autumn grasses, leaves, and flowers from the yard for your table top pumpkin, or buy a small autumn bouquet to arrange instead.

This is just one design idea.  Come to the 2009 Southeastern Flower Show, and see what else we’ve got to share!

Lynn