LIFE'S A GARDEN

By the time this article hits the mailboxes it will be February 20th. It already feels like spring is here, although I’ve been fooled before. I’ve been looking at that ten day forecast, and I just don’t see anything that says otherwise so far, but as we all know here in Mississippi we could be dancing in ice by next week! I know this is supposed to be a gardening article, but I’m just not finished with my Uganda trip yet. I am trying to at least incorporate some about the flo

Last weeks article was about a portion of mine and my mothers adventure to Uganda. We had experienced our first few game drives, some on foot and some from the vehicle. We were full of breakfast and had enough coffee running through our veins to get us to the next rest break on our 6 hour journey. We were heading towards the national park called the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, one of a few habitats suitable for the 400 remaining Mountain Gorillas left on the planet. We were s

Last week Mom and I had arrived at our first night in the capital of Uganda, Entebbee. We woke up the next morning feeling no pain from the flights to get there. We had a need to get our legs moving so we took a walk around the gorgeously landscaped grounds of our lodge. We had a fresh fruit breakfast and found out then and there that Uganda was serious about their coffee. I should have known since Uganda is Africas leading exporter of Robusta and Arabica beans. Robusta is na

I have a story to tell. The story is one the wildest rides I’ve experienced yet. On the afternoon of January 11th Mimi dropped my mother, Rita Martinson, and me off at the Jackson International airport. We were bound for the East African country of Uganda. As any one from the Northside knows the airport is one of the most awkward places to kiss your main squeeze goodbye. They give you about 30 seconds to get your bags out of the car, get a smooch and a hug before they start h

I DO LIKE TO challenge myself. I get a kick out having some private goals that seem laughably impossible to reach. These self competitions are usually nothing major, just a list of things that would be satisfying at the end of the day or week or month if completed. I prepare for these lists as if I’m packing for a trip. I’ll have everything prepared in order to have a chance of getting to the end goal. I also count steps up flights of stairs. For some strange reason I’ve know

I told Mimi last night that I sure do get myself into some crazy situations. She looked at me like “Really”? We have only known each other for 40 years so she’s been a part of most of the nutty stories. This will be the beginning of one of the nuttier ones only this time she won’t be wit h me. By the time this Northside Sun reaches the mailboxes it will be my birthday, Friday the 16th, I will also be deep in Uganda on the equator. Yep, I am off on another life changing expe

I can see how people can get themselves into trouble shopping online. Scrolling through the mega sites with all their gadgetry and fun stuff is so tempting especially when it comes along with photos of the gadget being used by happy, smiling people. The photos make it look like just owning one will make you a better person and that your family might even like you better if only for a day or two. I wish I would have never looked for something on Temu. I got what I wanted for a

I CAN REMEMBER when I was in the third grade and going to St. Richard’s catholic school my father came home with the news that we were moving to the country. Until then my family lived in Jackson on Reddoch Drive which is about five minutes from Green Oak Nursery where my father started his day. I say started his day because he didn’t stay at Green Oak all day. He was chasing landscape jobs, sod jobs, hydro mulching, logistisizing the route for the florist delivery guy and no

WELL, HERE WE COME down the homestretch. By the time this edition reaches homes and businesses we will be a few days from Christmas. Hopefully everyone has found a great Christmas tree and poinsettias from their favorite local garden center. I imagine gifts are wrapped and, if need be, sent away to the people who won’t be coming. I wonder sometimes if people realize how the Christmas tree and poinsettia thing works as far as buying them from a local garden center. At the big

On the day that I wrote this article I wasn’t quite sure where my inspiration would come from. There are the happy holidays that seem like the obvious thing to write about. It seems like everything that can be said about that has already been said. Next week, the week of Christmas, I will write about some of the places I have spent some of my Christmas days in the past. We are decorated and plan to have the entire family together for Christmas Eve brunch. My family has grown

The saga from my trip to India continues this week. I was at a point of the story where I was steadily climbing up towards a pass I had to get over at 18,000 to 20,000 feet in elevation. I was 10 days into this climb when I mistakenly chose a path that shot up so far and so fast I wound up in a predicament. I ran low on water needed for cooking my meal that night and I recognized signs of altitude sickness. I had a burst of adrenaline that allowed me to get very high in eleva

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us it is time to focus on December. At Garden Works we got our Christmas trees in 2 weeks before Thanksgiving. We call everyone who got a tree delivered last year to remind them that it is time to come and pick one out. We put those trees into stands and let the trees drink up some water so they will stay fresh. We have delivered a lot of the trees that got bought early but mostly people wait until after Thanksgiving to get them delivered. The