Last weekend (February 18-19) was, yet again, unseasonably warm in Wisconsin -- over 60 degrees! This gave me an opportunity to check out all my plants and see how they fared over the winter. As I walked around the yard, I had to tread carefully to avoid deer droppings. Gross!

After some online reading regarding how to collect and dispose of the droppings before mowing season starts, I learned that deer feces can carry dangerous strains of E.coli. So, worse than finding droppings in your yard or flower garden would be finding them in your vegetable garden, or say strawberry patch. Food-related outbreaks of E.coli have definitely been linked to deer droppings. (As if the deer ticks aren't bad enough!)

Deer waste should be handled carefully. Try to remove as many droppings as possible, using a shovel to bury it elsewhere, and be sure to disinfect your shovel before you use it for any other tasks.

It's hard to believe this cute little fawn can cause such dire problems. I'm getting out the deer deterrent, and ALWAYS wearing gloves!

Fawn photo from pixabay.com Creative Commons-public domain photo.

When I watched HGTV (Home and *Garden* Television) it was the gardening and landscaping shows that I liked the best. Over the years, the 'G' in HGTV has all but vanished! No more "The City Gardener," "A Gardener's Diary," "Curb Appeal," "Urban Outsiders" and other used-to-be's. I miss the valuable ideas and tips I learned from these shows. When I drive around in just about any neighborhood, gardening and landscaping is very much alive and well. So just call me puzzled. Where are the gardening shows?

HGTV needs a new, more correct identity acronym; something like RETV (Real Estate TV).

I took this photo at the Chicago Botanic Garden. The shrubs were enormous, but the statue was epic!

The 2017 garden seeds have arrived in the stores, the winter clothes are all on clearance and summer ones have replaced them on the racks. We've had lots of icy driving lately, but last Friday we were gifted with a warm and sunny day -- almost 50 degrees according to our outside thermometer. In Wisconsin, a 50 degree day is a sure signal to to put your shorts on!

And I've been dreaming about dirt. I miss the smell of the dirt, the feel of the dirt, the warm breeze, and the sound of the birds. I long to simply dig in the dirt, void of any thoughts whatsoever; just the experience of being in the now. It's truly my therapy, and about this time of year I miss it very much.

There's a raft of research-based articles out there substantiating garden therapy and healing gardens. Digging in the dirt has been proven to lower your heart rate, improve your mood, and reduce stress.

So there are six more weeks until spring, and I'm patiently/impatiently waiting. I need my therapy!

Pictured: Daylily 'Dream Candy' (just keeping the 'dream' theme)

If you don't grow 'Bela Lugosi,' you  need to! No drama whatsoever with this beauty! Just day after day of beautiful big 6" blooms. For a dark purple daylily, it is incredibly sunfast and mine grows in 100% sun. The fans multiplied quickly and in 2016 it bloomed steadily from July 4th through August 8th. The deep purple color of the flowers really pop with the complementary vibrant green foliage. In this photo you can see the velvety texture of the blooms.

Bela grows 33" tall and was introduced in 1995. Curt Hanson's no-fuss daylilies (that I have) grow wonderfully in my Wisconsin garden. Bela Lugosi is a multiple award winner and received an Award of Merit in 2001, an Honorable Mention in 1998, and the Lenington All American Award in 2007. The Lenington is awarded annually to one daylily voted the best performer over a wide geographic area.

Another plus -- Bela's been around for a while, so you can probably purchase this stunning plant for around $10.00 or less!  Caution: Sometimes big box garden/landscape center plants are tissue-cultured and you may be getting a lesser plant. Consider directly purchasing a division from a daylily vendor.

Blog on tissue-culture- 12/15/15