If you live in Zone 7/8, it is time to come out of hibernation and get back into our gardens.     Check out my "Diggin' in the Dirt" Newsletter for tips on late winter pruning and cleanup to get our gardens ready for spring growth.

Happy pruning....

Toni :-)

Oxblood lilies, also known as Schoolhouse lilies, Rhodophiala bifida, 

are like little red trumpets announcing that fall is here :-)

Here's my latest "Diggin' in the Dirt" Newsletter with tips for your fall garden (if you're in Zone 7b/8a)

Happy fall gardening...

Toni :-)

Diggin' in the Dirt - Summer Newsletter 2016

If you garden in Zone 7/8, click the newsletter links below to get tips for your summer gardening...

Diggin' in the Dirt Summer Newsletter

Containers/Annuals Summer Newsletter 

Happy Gardening...

Toni :-)

The 10 Best Dallas Suburbs - Grapevine

In a tie for the #4 spot, Grapevine was recently featured as one of the 10 best Dallas suburbs to live in.  Check out the article here

As wonderful as it was that Grapevine made the top 10 list, what made it even more special is that it was a picture of my yard was chosen to represent our fair city!    How cool is that?!!!    What an honor!

Grapevine is #1 in my book :-)

Happy Gardening in 2016!

Toni :-)

P.S.  As you can tell by the date of the previous post, I've been a little absent from my blog the past year.  I've been hanging out over on Facebook, so "like" my page:  Signature Gardens

Fall is a busy time in the garden in North Texas.   

Here's the latest

"Diggin' in the Dirt" Newsletter  

with tips for your fall garden.

Happy Gardening...

Toni :-)

It's Not Nice to Rhyme With Ice

Have all the poppies perished? 

Are the columbines soon to croak?

Winter became reality,

the icy forecast was no joke!

March 2nd ice accumulation at my entryway

Have the roses come to ruin?

Oh, the salvias look so bad!

Will they live to bloom another day,

when now they look so sad?

The catmint looks all crinkled

The spiraea lost its buds.

Will they have a second flush of growth,

or are they merely duds?

Triumphator Lily June 2013

Will the Triumphator lily rise again

to toot its lovely horn?

Or will this winter be its end

and leave me so forlorn

The day the icy precip fell

and temps began to drop ...

 The daffodils once stood tall and bright...

Ice Follies the day before the ice

...then froze and took a flop

The pansies and the kale in pots

I fear are finally toast.

No containers full of color this year

about which I can boast.

Colorful containers February 2013

 About right now the warmth of spring

would really hit the spot. 

I'm so ready for winter to cash it in;

I just hope my plants have not!

A few buds remain to comfort me

Maybe spring's about to start.

A little sign to bring some hope

for my winter-weary heart.

I wrote this poem to lift my spirits

after a winter filled with ice.

And even though the words may rhyme,

this winter's been all but nice! 

Take care...and stay warm!

Toni :-)

Dirt: The New Prozac

In a recent Outside Magazine article entitled "The Pursuit of Happiness," I found one of the "life-improving strategies" of particular interest.  
It is simply...

Get Dirty.    

 "Dirt may be the new Prozac. Working in soil raises your spirits, in part because you pick up cheerful germs while digging. University of Colorado researcher Christopher Lowry injected mice with dirt-dwelling Mycobacterium vaccae and found increased serotonin in the critters’ prefrontal cortex. Getting your own dose is as easy as taking a walk in the wilderness or planting something. You don’t need to wait until spring: even in the dead of winter you can sprout basil seeds in a pot on your sunniest windowsill."


You know, I always say, "A day without dirt under your nails is like a day without sunshine."  Who knew what I was really saying all along was, "A day without Mycobacterium vaccae under your nails is like a day without serotonin." :-)

As we start a new year with all kinds of often unreasonable, unattainable resolutions and goals, I think this is one resolution we can actually keep.

So get out there (or in) and get some Mycobacterium vaccae under your nails, and have a...

Happy New Year!  

Toni :-)