I’m bone weary after spending five hours preparing two front yards for fall overseedng.
Heritage Hills Maple Reds
I didn’t expect to handle this chore for another few weeks. But already, the leaves are beginning to turn in our neighborhood. Over on Fifteenth Street, between Harvey and Hudson, a few Maples are already showing off their fall color. And at the County Extension “Hope Desk”, one gardener brought in some yellow leaves for disease diagnosis; he may have left a little embarrassed when told the disease was called autumn. But in my mind, there’s no need for embarrassment. It’s backwards strange that autumn has arrived before the calendar pronounced it so; usually, it’s the other way around.
So waking up the fact that fall has really arrived, I decided I best get my lawn seed up and Adam, before the heavy leaf drop over at my Cinderella house suffocates my tender grass seedlings. Even wearing gloves today, I got a blister on my thumb, a sure sign that I’ve grown soft over the summer. Fall is my heaviest gardening time of the year, as it invites me to make new beds, reseed grass and plant perennials, shrubs, trees and fall bulbs. And of course fertlize my fescue lawn, trees and shurbs and water when God forgets to.
Fall is the absolute best time to create a new garden in Oklahoma. One of my neighbors next door to “Cinderella” asked me this very question today. And now with his newly acquired knowledge, he may begin his long awaited landscape project. He’s even invited me to help select plants, so maybe he’s serious. I’m thinking blues and purples since his brick is yellow-orange. But we’ll see if his plans comes to fruition — we humans have bigger dreams than time or money.
I know all about big garden dreams. I’ve been dreaming about installing new gardens in the front yard of the duplex next door for almost a year now. Yesterday, I finally got up my courage to call Mr. Duplex Owner. Of course, he was a little surprised by my offer. And my boldness. But I made my pitch and he’s thinking about it.
Black-Eyed Susans Galore
If Mr. Duplex Owner says yes, I’m going to plant flowers and foliage featuring yellows and grays and tans and rusts in front of his rust colored brick home. Because I’ve got plenty to share, his garden will receive many Black-eyed Susans. And then I’ll purchase some silver Wormwood and tan Native Grasses because they are hardy plants for Oklahoma. And maybe some silvery green Lambs Ear. And white and yellow Coreopsis because these little airy fairy daisies add a bit of whimsy. And if there’s any money left in the measly budget I allowed myself, maybe a few Daffodils. Because I just love Daffodils. Or some sweet little Pansies.
Soon, it will be time to wake up. Because once Mr Duplex Owner renders his decision, there’ll be no more time for duplex dreams. Either they become reality. Or not. My dream now rests in his capable hands. And because I’ve finally shared my dream with the right person, I can rest. Well….at least until the phone rings.
And in this old neighborhood where I am grateful to live, the grandest dance of all took place on the grounds of the Overholser Mansion.
The Overholser Mansion is not host to any scandals of note, though apparently the Mansion is no stranger to ghosts. With more than a few reports of paranormal activity floating on the Internet these days, who knows but that maybe Henry heard his own mysterious voice while looking across his own field of dreams; for sooner rather than later, this “Father of Oklahoma City” built his dream mansion…and the invited citizens of Oklahoma City came.
where they danced above dusk-tinted lawn between an old Model “T” clothes line and the tree-lined sidewalk.
And why not? There’s simply no better place in the neighborhood to gather than this place that has long been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. And just as fireflies are anything but a typical guest of an Oklahoma summer, the Overholser place is anything but a typical house museum. As noted by the 
an everyday life 