Thanks Mr. Hood, for the Seeds

This afternoon I was privileged to meet Mr. Doyle Hood at Ross Seed Company, True Value Hardware in El Reno, 100 S. Choctaw.



He has a collection of bulk seeds that are way cheaper than any other source I've seen. Most of the seeds are stored in the tins and bins in the picture below; each with a photo and a typed, detailed description taped on.



Mr. Hood scoops the seeds and weighs them on the scale you can see in the top picture. Then he hand-writes the contents on the seed packet and seals it tight.

I bought cucumbers, lettuce, green beans, two types of squash, okra,and curly mustard.

Most packets were $.75. The bag of Blue Lake bush beans cost under $2.00



The product recommendations and gardening advice were free.

When you look real close...

It will officially be spring for me when the Henbit takes over the front yard and Hairy Vetch is a knotted mass of purple blossoms in my butterfly garden beneath the still brown Bermuda grass. Still weeks away, I'm afraid. But, just to convince myself that spring really WILL appear sometime soon, I paused today to take an inventory of all the native flowers I've become acquainted with since we took on this little five acre tract. Some I've planted, and some I've discovered growing wild.

Hairy Vetch


Henbit


Coreopsis


Sunflower


Butterfly Milk Weed


Russian Sage


Yarrow


Thistle


Echinacea


Daisy Fleabane


Snow-on-the-Mountain



Wax Goldenweed


Prickly Pear


Pokeweed


Blackeyed Susan


Ironweed


Blue Eyed Grass


Joe-Pye Weed


Not that all of these beauties are welcome. I rarely see a thistle in bloom on our property, for example, because I've learned to recognize them when they first come up and yank them out of the ground, double quick. But most of the others I encourage, gather a few seeds and spread them around a bit.

I've made it a habit through the years to get out in the dewy early morning or cool evening from spring to fall, and even sometimes on cold winter days when the sun entices me, to simply walk around and look. More than a few times I've found a tiny bud of yellow or purple under the grass, marked it with a bright fabric ribbon so I can find it again later, and cleared around it to give it light and air. Then I research it to discover its name.

Knowing what is growing here gives me a pleasant connection to the place we live.

Love in Bloom

My electronic bank account told me on Wednesday that I should be expecting some Valentine flowers, since there was a charge to the Piedmont Florist. Of course the Piedmont Florist also does dry cleaning, nails, embroidered clothing, tuxedos and occasionally local produce, but I figured the week before Valentines, flowers were a good bet. Still, it was a sweet feeling to walk into my office on a busy Friday and see lovely roses, daisies and lilies smiling at me from my messy office table. Now they're gracing my living room.

Also in bloom in my house is the Amaryllis that Dad and Sharron mailed me for Christmas. It's sitting up high on a shelf where the long stems reach up toward the tall ceiling and the red buds are opening one at a time.





Gene and I made the usual round of business and pleasure Saturday stops today: Red Velvet car wash (hand wash and dried the Element in about 10 minutes), Big Sky Bread Co., walking the path at Lake Hefner in the sunshine, Horn Seed Company (bought Chamomile seeds) and, of course, Sam's Club! We ended up buying some new dishes, one of the "one time buys" at Uncle Sam's. I'm a total sucker for pretty flower dishes.

We bought "Daisy Chain".



Subtle colors. Round shapes.

I love this one too. "Evening Sun". Bright. Cheerful.



These are pretty. "Patio Garden."



So I just have to set the table if nothing else is blooming in my house.

Grandpa Came from Compton

Gene(aka Hubbs) grew up in Compton, CA in the 50's and 60's. If you do an internet search now for Compton you best do it when the grandkids are out of the room, since the results might offend some. But back then he remembers his mom pulling him in the wagon downtown to Compton Blvd., Rexall Drugstore or to the neighborhood grocery store for bleach sold in brown glass gallon containers. Yep, folks, he grew up before plastic! The giant donut in the photo was called Big O donuts and Gene's favorites were the jelly filled.




His great grandpa came to Compton from Switzerland shortly after the turn of the century. He was a dairy farmer in his native country and in his new California home.

The family moved to Paramount in the 60's and then back to Compton. We started talking about this the other night because Gene was commenting on how his mom could grow anything and kept their yard looking nice. Their 60's house in Compton had a lemon tree in the backyard along with two apricots and one plum/nectarine grafted onto the same trunk which Gene and buddies climbed regularly to sample the sunny California fruit. The front yard had a sprinkler system with metal pop-up sprinkler heads. And Gene got a scolding from his mom for popping wheelies on the ride-em lawn mower from Sears Roebuck.

Still likes to ride the mower.