The property around my home is quite shady, thanks to several old, giant trees. So growing flowers is a challenge. I don’t have enough sunshine for most of the summer flowers to thrive. We have a few lilies and some roses, but the lilies have a short season, and the roses do well at the […]
Flowers thrive in summer sun Read More »
One of my favorite summer activities is reading—preferably beating the heat near a pool or beach with a bar and waiter attending my cold beverage needs! I’ve found that my Kindle is great outdoors. The lighted screen is easy to read and it doesn’t add too much weight to my beach bag. I’ve read several
Reading Poolside Beats the Heat Read More »
Summer is my season. I don’t mind the heat, as long as it doesn’t come with high humidity and inch toward the upper 90s. I love almost everything about summer—vacations, long days that allow me to enjoy the evenings outside, warm temps, summer flip-flops, reading by the pool, tropical iced tea, the flowers in bloom,
Bring summer–skip the bloodsuckers Read More »
It’s June, so naturally, thoughts turn to weddings as this is one of the most popular months for them. And what leads to weddings? Romance, of course! My romances tend to feature engagements more than actual weddings. But they all include the warmth of a little flirting, the heat of that first touch, and the
June…month of romance and weddings Read More »
Father’s Day is coming up, and in honor of the occasion, here is one of my favorite stories about my husband’s role as father: Our son was about four or five. I know it was after our daughter was born, but before she could communicate well herself. So it was in about 1986 or ’87.
Happy Father’s Day to the Boss! Read More »
It’s always fun to watch something I’ve planted grow and thrive. At my house, it’s a struggle. We have many big, beautiful trees, which I love. But those trees house a lot of squirrels and provide a lot of shade–things that often work against me in my quest to grow a few flowers. We’ve got
And now the payoff begins Read More »
On one of the spring vacations my family took, we were in a gift shop full of tchotchkes. Neither my husband nor I am fond of tchotchkes, and I was ready to move on. Nothing in the store looked interesting to me. But our children wanted to browse, to find some small mementoes to take home from
Mother’s Day Memento Read More »
After years of being disappointed by lilac bushes that produce great, healthy-looking foliage but no flowers, it appears I finally have a variety that blooms every year — at least two in a row. 🙂 I have no idea whether it’s the type of lilac, the quality or the placement or if it’s just a
A lilac bush that blooms! Read More »
I spent a few minutes in Kauffman Gardens yesterday. I try to get there a few times every year. The groundskeepers were cleaning and resealing the fountains, so the water wasn’t running. But someone had lovingly planted pansies. It looked like more spring blooms might be around the corner. Theresa HuppTheresa is the award-winning author
I recently returned from a trip to Seattle. I’ve been in Seattle in February before, and I noticed on those trips that spring seems to come to that area sooner than to Kansas City, even though Seattle is farther north. It must be because the temperatures are less extreme and there is more moisture. This