Bogie! I saw a sign at a nursery in Florida, saying they were selling KNOCKOUT ROSES! I wouldn't have known what they are if you hadn't mentioned them.
I was in the grocery store/pharmacy today, picking up a few items to get us through the weekend, when I discovered a huge display of seeds! I'm SUCH a sucker. I bought two large packets of mixed seeds for plants that butterflies like. I hope to scatter sow the seeds in an area along the north end of the driveway. I'll have to see if dear husband will till a strip for me over there so I can be sure the seeds are in contact with soil.
We had a rainy morning, with temperatures rising to the 50s. There's lots of melting going on. I was taking down the Christmas swags and bows when I discovered that four pots of Iris are drowning. The pots are sitting on the soil in an arm of the garden that is next to the opening of the garage door. The ice that covered the top of the pots from Sunday's storm is melting, but there's nowhere for the meltwater to go, because the bottom of the pots are encased in ice. I dug one of the pots out, but I think we can safely say that these Iris are kaput. Still....I'll leave them, just to make sure that I am right.
I have dozens of plant and seed catalogs flooding my home. I think it's time to look for romaine and spinach seeds. I used to plant a wonderful French bean, but the bunnies and deer all feel that the bean starts are a delicacy. They leave me bare stalks. I'd have to wrap the garden with chicken wire for the first month or so....and they still might eat the beans!
I bought morning glory seeds! Remember last year, when I discovered that the reason I couldn't grow morning glories was the bunnies? I have several rings of chicken wire already in place. I'm going to plant LOTS of morning glories and see if I can get them to climb like crazy. Now that I know what was eating them, I might be able to get some to grow.
Are any of you going to attend Flower and Garden shows? We have one coming up in Chicago on Navy Pier. It's always so jammed with bodies that you can't stand back and see the effects the designers had in mind, but you get to see some wonderful new plants. Maybe we'll get there this year.