She doesn't look so ferocious.

I can't remember if I've told the story of how Madeleine got her nickname, and if I can't remember then I'll assume you won't remember if I'm telling it again. She'll be six this summer and to this day, we just call her Moo. The week before she was born, my sister warned me that my niece was going to call her Maddy Moo Cow. They had a friend with a daughter named Madeleine who went by that nickname, and Sawyer was excited about calling her that. We sort of chuckled and said 'Yeah, sure' and didn't think much of it.

And then Madeleine was born. When the nurse handed her to me in the recovery room, Madeleine screamed at the top of her lungs and the nurse's response was 'She's ferocious'. We had always planned on her nickname being Maddy, but for some reason in the fog of sleeplessness, we just started letting Maddy Moo Cow roll off of our tongues. And it stuck. First we shortened it to Maddy Moo. Then just Moo. Now it's become such a habit to use that nickname that we use it almost exclusively. 'Hey Moo what are you doing?' or 'Good morning little Moo.'

A special note.

So far, she doesn't have a problem with it, but I figure at some point down the road, the cute little nickname won't seem as cute to her anymore. Fortunately, I've got a note from her that I hope I'll always keep with me. (I use it as a bookmark now.) It was a note that she left on my desk one day and it says 'Love you, The Moo'. Notice that it isn't signed Moo, but The Moo. Ferocious and unapologetic for who she is, she is a lonely extrovert in a house of introverts. To me she'll always be The Moo. The one and only, an original. When she tells me that she doesn't want to be called Moo anymore, I'll probably shed a silent tear and remember when she was my little Moo. And at least for now, she still is. I'm going to hold onto it for as long as I can.

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Keep your new plants watered.

Garden Tip

All that hard work. The sweat, the backaches . . . don't let it go to waste by not watering your plants properly. So grab a cup of coffee, uncoil the hose and let's water.

Water Consistently - Plants hate it when they get water one day, then a few days get skipped and then oops, better water lots again. The inconsistency doesn't allow them to grow to their full potential. Kerby's general watering instructions are as follows: Daily for the first month (always in the morning, usually with a hose), Every other day in the second month and twice a week for the third month. After that, plants will need one to two good soakings each week, and of course, hopefully Mother Nature will help.

Water Deeply - Just spraying a little water on the roots each day, or wetting the leaves is not helpful to plants. They need water soaked through their entire root system and into the soil beyond to encourage roots to keep growing down. Consistent deep waterings are the best way to develop strong plants. Even drought tolerant plants aren't drought tolerant until they have established a strong root system.

Water in the Morning - Plants want water when the sun is up, so all plants, landscapes and lawns should be watered in the morning. Here's what often happens. Each day when you return home from work, the plants are wilted, so you water. They perk back up and in the morning, they aren't wilted. By the time you get back from work, they are wilted again, and the cycle continues. This wilt and recover cycle slowly weakens a plant - it spends all of its energy recovering, not growing. Switch your waterings to the morning and you'll be amazed by the difference.

Hope for Rain - A good soaking rain is still the best way for plants to get water. Even with a hose, we can't saturate the ground the same way that a rain shower does, so let's hope for the rainy season to get here to make sure that all of our plants grow healthy and strong. But don't forget - just because it rains one day, that doesn't get you off the hook for watering the next day. Water consistently, water deeply and water in the morning and your garden is sure to be a success.

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