Boo Boos, Bachelors & Baskets of Gold

Alyssum Basket of Gold

Some years, it's timed just right. Alyssum bursts into flower and cascades down the old railroad ties. Hot pink tulips peek out of the yellow blooms, creating quite a show. This spring Alyssum is early and the tulips are AWOL.

I'm installing a drip irrigation system over the whole yard and boy do I have the blisters to prove it. My lofty goal was to never schlep another hose around the gardens but I had no idea how hard it would be on my hands.

So, I'm out there doing battle with my irrigation system and I look like an absolute wreck. When who comes up the driveway but the cute guy that asked me to design a garden for him.

I swear I don't even know why I bother to buy hair brushes and lipstick. They're never around when I need them.

Bachelor Buttons are often called Straw Flowers

His landscape is getting a whole bunch of Alyssum. If all goes well, it will cascade down the slope toward his driveway. Naturally, I think he needs a huge section of Bachelor Buttons.

And, since I suspect he doesn't know a darn thing about gardening, I'm planting some of these for his boys!

Big Max Pumpkins tip the scales at about a hundred pounds each. Won't he be surprised? (Gurney's Seeds)

Alyssum comes in a few varieties. I'm fond of Basket of Gold because she reblooms. Both Bachelor Buttons and Alyssum seem to thrive in poor soil and dry conditions.