Call for Cutting Garden Tips

I'm always looking for new gardening ideas. This year, I've settled on planting a cutting garden. The idea of flowers at my fingertips with which I can fashion informal and inexpensive arrangements appeals not only to my creative nature, but also the part of me that hates to spend money when I don't have to.

Currently, I'm researching the basics of planting a cutting garden, but I'd also appreciate a few tips from my readers.  Have you planted a cutting garden before? If so, I'd love to hear from you!

Five Hundred Trees

"Five hundred trees stand in a row,
over the years in the sleet and the snow.

The longer they stand, the older they grow.
The five hundred trees that stand in a row."

I wrote this short poem when I was in elementary school and for some reason, I've never forgotten the verses. I mention it now as Christmas fast approaches and trees, both real and fake, stand tall in family rooms and foyers, delightfully adorned with bulbs, tinsel, and enough lights to create an airstrip for a small plane to land on.

And while I appreciate all of the traditions associated with the Christmas tree, my soul finds its strength in the trees adorned not with decorations but with bird nests, squirrels, and the like - in the five hundred trees that stand in a row.

The Great Escape

When I was a kid, my grandparents lived a mile or so back in the woods, or as they say where I'm from, back in the "holler."

My uncle tells the story of when he was a teenager still living at home and my sister and I came to visit our grandparents.  When our running and playing and overall childishness became too much for him to tolerate, he went to his bedroom, opened the window, crawled out, and made his way down the hill and into the woods for a little peace and quiet.

When I hear this story, I am reminded of why I love the solitude of my garden so much. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for running and playing and overall childishness. However, when I can bear no more, the garden is where I'll be.