How to prune roses

Rose fanciers traditionally prune roses on Valentine's Day, so if you need help knowing how to properly prune your roses, now is the time to learn. Fortunately, each year the Golden Triangle Rose Society performs the honors for the beautiful rose gardens at the historic McFaddin-Ward House in Beaumont - and they invite the public out for a free demonstration. This year, the event is Saturday, Feb. 6, from 10 -11 a.m. Members of the rose society will be glad to answer questions. If you'd like, you can take home some clippings and try your hand and propagating a new bush.

Meet at the back gate of the house on North Street between Third and Fourth Streets.
Bring good thorn-proof gloves and newspapers for your cuttings. The McFaddin-Ward carriage house also will be open (free) to go on a self-guided tour between 10a.m. - closes at 4 p.m. Tours of the main house are $3. Call 409-832-2134 for a reservation. For more information, call (409) 832-1906

Vegetable Gardening 101

Master Gardener Paul Eyre will present a seminar "Vegetable Gardening 101" this Thursday (Feb. 4) at 10:00 AM at Heritage Hall on the grounds of the John Jay French Museum (2985 French Road, Beaumont TX 77706). The seminar is free. For more information, visit (http://www.beaumontheritage.org). Paul is a dynamic, entertaining speaker with a passion for growing vegetables.

Earth Kind Program

When it comes to selecting plants that are hardy, easy to maintain and consistent performers, I am a big fan of plants that have received the Earth Kind designation from Texas A&M. The Earth Kind Landscaping program recently revamped its website and it's a pleasure to visit. On the home page (http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/earthkind), they post this information, which helps explain the program to those who aren't yet familiar with it:

What is Earth-Kind Landscaping?
Earth-Kind Landscaping uses research-proven techniques to provide maximum garden and landscape enjoyment while preserving and protecting the environment. The objective of Earth-Kind Landscaping is to combine the best of organic and traditional gardening and landscaping principles to create a horticultural system based on real world effectiveness and environmental responsibility. Earth-Kind Landscaping Encourages:

•Landscape Water conservation
•Reduction of fertilizer and pesticide use
•Landscaping for energy conservation
•Reduction of landscape wastes entering landfills
Individuals using Earth-Kind landscaping principles and practices can create beautiful, easy-care landscapes, while conserving and protecting natural resources and the environment.

The site has a list of plants that have earned the Earth-Kind designation, a great resource list, publications and even an archive of podcasts focused on sustainable landscaping principles. I highly recommend it to those who are interested in sustainable landscaping or just want hardy, proven performers.

East Texas Spring Gardening Conference

If you’re reading this blog, you almost certainly have an interest in gardening, nature or the outdoors. There was a time when that was included just about everyone. Just two generations before mine, millions of Americans living outside urban areas depended on a vegetable garden to provide food. My grandmother plowed her garden with a hand plow pulled by a mule, just as her father had. She was barely over five feet, and anyone who has plowed or watched someone plow knows how brutally physical it is. My grandmother’s father, Jacob William Wesley Johnson, died before he turned 40, killed by a kick from his plow mule on a hot July day. But if you lived on a farm and didn’t have much income, you planted a garden or you went hungry, so my grandmother did what she needed to do. Aside from the plowing, she loved working in the garden. Being outdoors was preferable to her to being inside.

Now, plowing is done with a tractor or a lawnmower with attachments, or tillers. On a smaller scale, hand tools can do the trick. With some techniques, like lasagna gardening in layers, very little digging is required. Home gardening is easier than ever, not that it doesn’t still have many of the same challenges my grandmother faced, like the weather and pests and diseases. But if you want to garden, you can find a method that works for you.

If you live in the Tyler area or don’t mind the drive, you can learn more about home vegetable gardening (and growing fruit in the home landscape) at the annual East Texas Spring Landscape and Gardening Conference on Feb. 13. The AgriLife Extension offices are a great source of information, and they are the hosts of the conference in Tyler. Other topics include feral hog control, which has become a serious problem in many areas, and for the ornamental gardeners, favorite perennial plants for East Texas landscapes, controlling moles in home landscapes and floral design.

Keith Hansen, Texas AgriLife Extension Service horticultural agent for Smith County, says that national surveys and observations by folks in the Ag business show an increased interest in home food production. The value of all vegetable production in home gardens – if they were sold commercially – was $20 billion in the U.S. (in 2009), according to Dr. Joseph G. Masabni, AgriLife Extension vegetable specialist in College Station.

And if you need another indicator that vegetable gardening is once again flourishing, get this: in the spring of 2009, home and garden centers throughout the U.S. sold out of vegetable sets and seeds.

Registration for the conference is $15 (check or cash at the door) at 7:30 a.m. (Feb. 13). The fee includes a catered lunch and refreshments at breaks. Speakers begin at 8:30 a.m. and the conference wraps up at 3:20 p.m. with door prizes. For detailed programming check out http://easttexasgardening.tamu.edu/ or call Hansen at 903-590-2980 or email him at k-hansen2@tamu.edu.

Can weather changes make you sick?

First it's freezing. Then it's hot. Then it gets cold again. Next thing you know, I've got a cold. Sore throat, fatigue, swollen glands in the neck. Could there be a connection?
I'm just saying...

Cara Cara oranges at Central Market!

If email is any indication, there are a lot of cara cara orange lovers out there.

The sweet, juicy oranges are not easy to find in stores, but I received an email from Central Market in Houston today with the happy news that they have them in stock - and at a good price. The sale runs out this weekend.

Check it out.

Italian Seed Co. offers Rapini, Agretti and more

The cold, rainy days of winter are the perfect time for gardeners to grab a cup of hot cocoa and spend pleasant hours searching through seed catalogs as they plan their spring garden. The biggest challenge is trying to narrow down the many choices to the best bets for your taste, skill and zone.

I ran into a friend at Rao's last week who told me I should check out an Italian Seed company catalog. I found two - and I'm not sure which one he meant. The first is Italian Seed & Tool Co. I went online and browsed through their catalog, which isn't nearly as satisfying as holding a catalog in your hands, by the way. The list of vegetables is extensive, but what is particularly interesting is the variety of veggies not usually found in many other seed catalogs. Cooks like me who love preparing Mediterranean dishes will especially enjoy it. Some examples:Bean Borlotto Lingua Di Fuoco (bush bean), rapini - broccoli raab del trasimeno, Chard Riccia da Taglio and Escarole Batavian Broad Leaved.

In addition to vegetable seeds, the company offers flower seeds, herbs, sprouting kits, tools and supplies. You can find them at http://www.italianseedandtool.com/

The other is Seeds of Italy, which I think is the one he was talking about. It has seeds listed by the region of Italy in which they are grown and collected, which is appealing.

A qoute from the catalog helps explain the importance of location: "Every region of Italy has its own varieties, which like its recipes have been handed down from generation to generation. They are not globally available varieties which are found worldwide but instead are regional with a unique heritage. Go to an Italian market and you can buy tomato seeds, tomato plants, tomatoes and everything made with the tomatoes. There is no separation between gardening and food – there’s just food, and the tomato will vary in shape, size and flavour depending on the region, along with all the other vegetables."

You can download a pdf of their catalog at http://www.seedsofitaly.com

Don't forget to feed the birds

Winter might drive us indoors, but our feathered friends still have to fend for themselves out in the elements. A bird's food supply is lower in winter - and they need more fuel than usual. Both are good reasons to venture outdoors and fill the feeders.

Place food at several levels. Mourning doves, sparrows, towhees and juncos are ground feeders; cardinals, finches, and jays like table feeding while titmice, goldfinches and chickadees prefer hanging feeders. Feed woodpeckers, nuthatches and wrens on tree trunks.

Put out sunflower seed, white proso millet, thistle, suet, peanut butter and dried fruit to attract a variety of birds.

Don't forget fresh water.

Photo from Droll Yankees Bird Feeders

Wildflowers in Southeast Texas

The City of Beaumont, Jefferson County, Greater Beaumont Chamber of Commerce, Texas Department of Transportation and some generous private landowners have joined together in a wildflower project for Southeast Texas, according to an article in the Beaumont Business Journal. The city and county prepared the area and the city planted a mix of 12 wildflower seeds.

The plantings are along Interstate 10 west into Beaumont. Past attempts have been spotty, since weeds tend to take over. The scalp cutting the crews did should help with that this time around.

This photo is of wildflowers in Western Jefferson County, planted by Jan and Travis McCall of Hamshire in a huge community project a couple of years ago. If you want to read more about Jan's project, check an earlier blog I posted.

Pruning frost-damaged ginger

One of the features of blogging is the ability to see what search phrases readers are using to find answers to questions. Lately, a lot of readers have been asking what to do about pruning back frost-damaged ginger plants. There are many types of ginger, like standard, variegated and dwarf gingers. Dwarf ginger does not bloom, but produces beautiful, full clumps of green leaves that provide impact. Mine (shown in the lower left corner of this photo) has grown so rapidly that it has filled in one whole end of a bed, circling around a tree that was damaged by the hurricane and needs a lot of help now. Each winter, at least some of the plants - those on the outermost edges - are damaged by frost and turn brown. In early spring, I trim those back mercilessly. If a leaf shows any damage, I cut it at the stem. By summer, the clumps are lush and green again. The key is to resist cutting the ugly damage back now. WAIT. If any more frost comes, the dead leaves will provide protection to the more tender inner and lower leaves.

The same is true of standard, blooming ginger. Many varieties are easily damaged by the cold, though some varieties are relatively cold-tolerant. Like dwarf ginger, most standard gingers (like the popular shell ginger) will come back the next warm season. So be patient, wait until the danger of frost is past, then trim back and wait for a renewal.

Garden of Evil

This gardening blog celebrates the joy of the earth and its bounty - but Mother Nature can be as cruel as she is generous. For the people of Haiti, there is little to feel joyous about after the earth shook beneath their feet and their homes, workplaces, grocery stores, hospitals and public places collapsed. The numbers are almost impossible to comprehend - possibly more than 100,000 people dead, many more thousands injured and in need of treatment, and millions homeless. The grief and despair are palpable in the photos of parents holding a dead child or kneeling inconsolably in the rubble where their loved ones lie buried. How hard it must be to find hope in the midst of such pain.

And then comes Pat Robertson, who dares to use the pulpit to spread a message as far from the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as evil is from good. Robertson's vile statement that the Haitians are being punished for transgression is inexcusable. For a person who professes to be a man of God, Robertson is as empty of grace and compassion for those he deems unworthy as Jesus was full. We live in a natural world, a complex planet full of volatile materials and surrounded by forces of nature that are unpredictable. God didn't "send" this earthquake.

People like Robertson who call themselves Christians and then preach a message of hate and exclusion - which is not what Jesus preached - hurt all people of faith and give ammunition to those who are distrustful of Christians because of what they read or hear said in the faith's name. The Christians I know are nothing like Robertson, just as the Muslims I know are nothing like Osama bin Laden. I hope all people of faith will join in praying for the people of Haiti, and offer help to all who suffer. While we cultivate a garden of food for those who are hungry, we also need to cultivate a spiritual Garden of Good, not Evil.

I wonder if when Robertson comes face to face with his God, he will receive far more compassion than he was willing to give.

May God comfort the people of Haiti and hold them in His hands.

Prune frost-damaged plants now - or later?

The frigid temperatures are gone now, but they left behind a lot of damaged plants. While it might be tempting to get the pruners out and cut off all that sad-looking, brown plant material, you'd do better to wait until late winter or very early spring.

Don't prune until the last danger of frost has passed and you can get a better idea what is damaged and what is healthy. You can check by making a small incision in the bark of the plant. The layer just below the outer bark is the cambium. Dead tissue will be dark. Healthy tissue will be green or a lighter color than the dead material. By early spring, some new buds might appear, which will show healthy tissue. Remove all dead tissue at this point.

Don't forget to keep watering regularly until then. It's not true that you don't have to worry about water during cold temperatures.

Will club soda kill fire ants?

An email making the rounds right now offers hope to those plagued by fire ant mounds. Opening a bottle of club soda and pouring it down the mound will kill the entire colony, it says. How? The carbon dioxide is heavier than oxygen and depletes the mound of air, asphyxiating the ants.

Oh, that it were true. According to the Aggies over at Prairie View A&M, the chance of killing the ants by drenching the mound with club soda is "slim to none." It is founded on a fact, however; club soda (in large quantities) can kill lots of organisms. But fire ants build mounds 12-15 feet underground and even further horizontally. It would take more club soda than the local bar dispenses to reach that far. There is one bit of good news, though. A club soda drench very well might make the ant colony move, since they don't like to be disturbed. Hey, if they want to pack up and move down the road, I'll happily supply the luggage. - but I'm keeping the Campari.

You can find an explanation of the theory and its debunking at the blog Insects in the City, under "Club soda for your ants, Sir?"

Did the Farmer's Almanac predict the freeze?

My grandmother was a firm believer in planting by the moon - and her favorites source of weather-related gardening information was the Old Farmer's Almanac. There are two farmers almanac, by the way. The first is the Old Farmer's Almanac, which is the original, dating back to 1792, and 26 years older than The Farmers' Almanac.

Both the almanacs predicted a colder-than-normal winter. In fact, they say this will be the case for the next decade. They attribute the extended cold winters to a low-activity solar period. Both almanacs use solar activity, the position of the planets and tidal information as part of their weather predicting. Regardless of the formula, the almanac was accurate enough for my grandmother to place her faith in its gardening advice. She always kept it nearby during the planting season and followed it faithfully. Since she was one of the gardeners who could stick anything in the ground and it would grow, you won't hear me question their value.

Thyme for Herbs Society

The Thyme for Herbs Society will host its January meeting at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 17, at the garden center of Beaumont Botanical Gardens in Tyrrell Park.

Ann Wheeler of Arbor Gate nursery in Tomball will present a program on landscaping with herbs.

The program is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Janis Prestridge, 866-2503.

Learn how to keep bees

If you've ever wondered what it takes to become a beekeeper, you can get all the basic information at an Introduction To Beekeeping seminar on Saturday, January 23 from 9:30 am until noon at the Texas AgriLife Extension Service, 1225 Pearl Street, Suite 200, (corner of Franklin and Pearl) in downtown Beaumont.

For a $10 fee, you will hear talks on: Why keep bees, skills and equipment needed to get started, bee biology/lifecycle, and the basics of handling bees. If the weather permits, you can join in on a field trip to a local beekeeping operation. The speakers are Gretchen Horn of Southern Gold Honey Company and a Jefferson County Master Gardener, and Jeff McMullan of the Ft. Bend Beekeepers Assn.

Even if you don't think you want to become a beekeeper, I think it would be interesting to learn about bees just for the general knowledge - and $10 is a bargain. This is another excellent example of the numerous educational programs our local Agri-Life folks provide.

About the wonderful photo: this is a stamp collecting sheet from 2001 in the Ukraine, where beekeeping is an ancient tradition. According to www.beekeeping.com, one in 1,000 persons in the Ukraine keeps bees. The six stamps show a bee collecting pollen, Apiculture, the study of beekeeping, a worker bee, a queen bee, a beehive and a drone bee.

It's cold!

Right now, it's 28 degrees outside. Tonight is supposed to be worst - as in lowest - temperature of the four days of cold that threaten plants and pipes.

We did what we could for our plants, taking some inside the game room and covering others. We also did what we could for the pipes, but when you live in an old wood-frame farmhouse on piers, you face the almost certainty of frozen pipes.

So tonight we'll be up several times running water through the sinks and bathtubs to try to keep them as open as possible. The next few days will be a challenge, for sure, but as long as we don't lose electricity, Joel, me, Ellie and Barley should be comfortable.

I hope your family is as well.

How to protect plants from freezing

If you haven't yet covered your plants, this morning is the time to do it. The coldest weather yet is headed our way - and the danger to plants come from the length of time we're expecting the hard freeze to last. Just 3 hours at 28 degrees can damage plants - and we're expecting weather in the teens to low 20s for 3 days.

The most important thing to remember about covering plants is to use a breathable material - NOT plastic or vinyl. The damage comes when cold temperatures freeze the moisture in the plant's leaves and buds. A covering like an old bed sheet or a burlap bag will let the moisture evaporate while keeping freezing air from making direct contact with the moisture in the plant. When windy conditions are predicted, as they are for Southeast Texas this week, anchor the sheets down with bricks, rocks or other anchors. Try to keep the fabric off new growth; support it with sticks or plants stakes. We use the metal shepherd's hooks we keep for hanging lanterns and bird feeders.

If plastic is all you have available, use it, but take it off first thing in the morning when the sun comes out. For smaller plants, covering them with clay pots work well. Commercial blankets also are available, like the one pictured here from Megagrow.

The second thing to do is add extra mulch, especially around the trunk of small trees and shrubs. Don't be stingy; pile it up.

January Birth Flower - Carnation

The spicy, clove-like fragrance of the carnation is distinctive, as is ithe multi-petal blossom. The carnation is the birth flower for those born in January.

Botanical name:
Dainthus caryophyllus
Type:
Herbaceous perennial
Light:
Full sun
Flowers:
Pink/purple, red, white and others
Blooms:
Spring through summer
Height:
16-18”
Soil Requirements:
Rich, well-drained

Christian legend says the first carnations appeared where Mary’s tears fell along the path Jesus walked to the cross. In 1907, Ann Jarvis chose the pink carnation as the emblem of Mother's Day. The flower expresses love (light red carnations represent admiration; dark red shows deep love and affection; white shows pure love and good luck).

Blessings for Gardeners

A Gardener's Blessing

May God grant thee
Enough sun to warm the earth,
Enough rain to make things grow,
A good strong back,
A wide brimmed hat,
And a good sharp goose-neck hoe,
Strength for a day of toil
And some quiet evening hours,
With a sip of tea
And a gentle breeze,
And may all your weeds be wildflowers.

Ralph Emerson Purkhiser

Happy New Year from Dig-It!

Will a poinsettia re-bloom?

Christmas is over. The decorations have been carefully packed away, the wrapping paper and bows are stored for next year and everything is back in its place. Only one thing still says "Christmas." The poinsettia that was so pretty for a couple of weeks now sticks out like a sore thumb. Anyone who loves plants faces the same dilemma every year. Do I try to keep the poinsettia alive or let it die the way God and Lowe's intended?

If you enjoy a bit of a challenge, by all means try your hand at keeping the poinsettia healthy for next year. But if you don't like to be bothered with regular care, you'd be better off buying a new one next December. Poinsettias need specific care at specific times. Here's a month-by-month description of what it takes to develop a "red" thumb.

January through March: Continue to keep the soil moist, but not wet. Avoid drafts and direct heat. If your house has low humidity, you might need to water almost every day. Don't let it sit in water.

April: Decrease water in stages; let plant dry between watering. Watch for a shriveled stem (the plant is dying). After 10 days or so, move it to a cool spot at around 60 degrees F.

May: Cut back to about 4-6 inches and re-pot in a bigger container with fresh soil that drains quickly. Water well. Put it near bright light and keep at 65 - 75 degrees F. Water when the soil feels dry. New growth should emerge; fertilize every two weeks with a complete fertilizer. Move the poinsettia outside to a partially shaded spot. Keep watering and fertilizing.

July: Pinch back each stem by about one inch to encourage branching and keep the plant from getting too leggy.

August: In mid-August, pinch back again (leave 3-4 leaves on each shoot) Bring indoors and back in a bright spot. Water and fertilize.

September: Keep temp above 65 degrees F.

October To bloom, poinsettias have to have 10 weeks with 12 hours or less of sunlight per day. EVERY DAY. Put the plant in a completely dark box or space for 14 hours every night. Give it a sunny spot for the rest of the day. Continue to water and fertilize.

November: Stop putting the plant in the dark the third week of November. Leave it in a sunny window. Flower buds should form.

December - Stop fertilizing mid-month. Keep watering and keep away from drafts.

Arugula and Parmigiano-Reggiano salad

The arugula I planted a few weeks ago isn't yet big enough to harvest, so I am spending time looking for recipes to use when it does. I can't wait.

If you've never had arugula, the slightly peppery green, you're missing out. I can eat it by itself, it's so good.

This salad (from about.com) uses lemon juice to balance the sharp flavor of the greens. The sweet, nutty cheese adds depth.

Arugula Salad With Parmigiano-Reggiano

Ingredients:
•3 Tbsp lemon juice
•4 Tbsp olive oil
•1/2 tsp salt
•1/4 tsp pepper
•One 7 oz. bag arugula
•1/3 - 1/2 lb Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
Preparation:
In a small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Drizzle the dressing over the arugula. Add the grated cheese. Toss lightly and serve

Leaf Peeping in Southeast Texas

OK, so we're not New England - by a long shot - but if you look around, you can find beautiful fall color in Southeast Texas.

Usually, it's a small island of red and yellow from a stand of ornamental pears, or a row of mature Chinese tallow trees. Standing beneath such a canopy of trees, you can be reminded of the glory of nature's changing seasons.

Enjoy these photos taken on Dowlen Road near Delaware.

What kind of fruit is this?

Kay wrote in to say she was driving in Beaumont when she saw this tree. I've never seen anything like it before, she said. Do you know what it is?

I didn't at first. I've never seen one, either. So I drove to the neighborhood she told me about until I spotted the tree. The family who lives there told me it is a papaya. They planted the tree more than a year ago, so it weathered our winter just fine. It's planted on the south side of the house, which undoubtedly helps.

Papaya trees can be male, female, or both. A male plant does not have ovaries, so no fruit. A female plant will set fruit, but when no male plant is near to fertilize it, it aborts the fruit. A male/female tree is self-pollinating. The papaya tree in Beaumont has three side by side, all with large fruit, so they either have another male nearby or are self-pollinating types.

Frost damaged plants

Last week, I shared photos of how beautiful something as potentially damaging as frost can be in a garden. This week, I'm sharing the ugly.

These photos are of a hibiscus, dwarf ginger and hummingbird bush. The good news is each of these will return as lush and green as ever this spring. The ginger will need a good shearing, the hibiscus will get gentle but firm pruning - and we will cut the hummingbird bush down to short, bare stalks, as we do each year.

Isn't Mother Nature wonderful?

Back on track

Hey...

It's been much too long since I've posted. But...sometimes, life gets in the way of the best intentions. The main reason I've been absent is the release of my book, "Grace, Gratitude & Generosity," a collection of columns taken from the 800 or so I've written during the past 17 years for the Beaumont Enterprise. That's a good thing, a very good thing, but it has meant book signings, which have taken a lot of my time. Again, a good thing. So I'll try hard to get back on track this week. And just in case you are interested the book, I will be signing copies today from 3-7 at The Enterprise in downtown Beaumont. Tomorrow I will be at the Art Museum of Southeast Texas, also in downtown Beaumont, from 11-1:30. The book is available at http://www.janemcbridebook.com/ as well.

How to care for poinsettias

To make the most of a purchase of a poinsettia for the holidays , begin by choosing a healthy plant. Look for a plant with strong stems and no signs of wilting. The freshest plants will have a tight cluster of yellow flowers in the center of the bract. Protect the plant from temperatures below 50 degrees while transporting home. If necessary, place it in a large shopping bag.

At home, place the plant in bright, indirect light (at least 6 hours a day). Don't put it near a draft, excess heat (like a fireplace or heater) or near heating or a/c vents. Water when the soil begins to dry. It needs moderate water but always pour the excess out that accumulates in the saucer after watering. The roots will rot if kept too wet.

Frosty garden

The light freeze we had last night left the yard a garden a study in frosty beauty.

Here are some photos of snapdragons, pansies, hibiscus, lettuce and citrus with an icy coating.

After the quick thaw already underway, I'll see how well everything fared.

Are poinsettias poisonous?

Contrary to what you've probably always heard, the beautiful plant seen around Christmas is not poisonous. While the milky sap can be irritating, it poses no threat to children or pets.

10 other things you might not know about poinsettias:

1. In nature, poinsettias are perennial flowering shrubs that sometimes attain 10 feet in height.

2. December 12 is National Poinsettia Day.

3. Poinsettias make up more than 85% of potted plants sold during the holidays.

4. Joel Poinsett brought the Mexico native to the US in 1825.

5. The Paul Ecke Ranch in California grows about 80% of the flowers in the US wholesale market.

6. More than 100 varieties of poinsettias are available.

7. Poinsettias are the top-selling potted plant in the US.

8. Women buy more of the plants than men - 80% vs 20%.

9. In Chile and Peru, the plant was known as the "Crown of the Andes."

10. The red leaves are not a flower; they are colored bracts (modified leaves).

Narcissus: The December Birth Flower

It's no wonder the narcissus was chosen as the birth flower for those born in December. The beautiful, almost iridescent blooms are reminiscent of a winter snowfall, and begin poking through the soil here as November wanes. Right now, the narcissus in my yard are bursting into bloom, putting on a display of delicate white flowers atop a pedestal of thick green leaves that provide a beautiful contrast.

While the mythic Narcissus fell in love with his own beauty and came to an unpleasant end (and legend says was turned into the narcissus plant we love so well), the narcissus flower now represents respect, modesty and faithfulness. In the Victorian era, it was given to a lover with the message "You are the only one." Photo by Wikipedia Commons