In the dreary depths of winter, garden lovers console themselves with visions of gorgeous plants that will soon fill their landscapes with glorious color and heady fragrance.

If you are in need of a little moral support to lift your spirits out of the winter blahs, I can point you in the direction of a few plants that might not immediately spring to mind, but could be just what you need to treat your eyes and nose a few short months from now.

Regular readers know that, in spring and summer, Cheryl and I like to start our day by taking our first cup of coffee out to a garden bench where we quietly take in the colors and aromas of the plants as they begin to wake up and stretch towards the morning sun.  Somehow, it is a time that is both calming and stimulating, and it sets us up for the hustle and bustle of the day ahead in the nursery.

Dear Ginger:
I have been single for several years after the death of my dear husband. We had such a joyous life together—such intimacy (and not just the physical kind) that I cannot imagine ever finding that with someone else. My friends tell me I am holding myself back and that I should try to have another relationship, but I just don’t think it is in my future. Do you have any ideas about this? - Madge

Dear Madge:
It sounds like you and your husband had intimacy in spades. I’d love to pick your brain about how you were so fortunate. I bet you would tell me that you never took each other for granted and you always found time and opportunity to relate 1:1 no matter what other pressures there were in your life.

By Sherrie and Charlie Funk

For those of you who know us, you know that some of our most incredible trips have included our grandchildren. A few years ago, we were at my brother's house for his 50th birthday. My granddaughter, Maeve who was four at the time, climbed up into my lap and told me she was going to Disney World. "Oh!," I exclaimed, "With Mommy and Daddy?" "No," she said, "with you and Pa." Well, this was the first that Grammy and Pa had heard about this.

Fall colors ! For me, those are two of the most evocative words in the English language. The moment I hear the words “fall colors,” my mind is filled with visions of gold, yellow, copper and red. I have a mental image of eye-popping colors that adorn everything from majestic trees soaring into a crisp autumn sky to humble groundcovers that form a glowing carpet beneath.