I spent the early part of this past week in Southfield, Michigan for my “day job”. By the time Wednesday evening rolled around, I was exhausted. Not because of the work, but because of my complete inability to sleep comfortably in a hotel room.

I don’t know if this lack of solid sleep is from the fear of oversleeping, missing my own bed or the effort to fight off the onset of claustrophobia in a stale and dank hotel room. Probably a mix of all three.

By the time I then navigate back to the airport, drop off the rental car, take the shuttle to my gate, check in and slog my way through security, I just want to crawl into the fetal position in my impossibly small seat on the plane and doze off.

Of course, there is always “that guy” sitting next to you on the plane who wants to chat. As I stuffed my 6 foot 3 inch frame into my seat Wednesday night and awaited the arrival of my way-too-close-for- comfort neighbor, I could sense immediately that the dude walking down the aisle was going to be one of the “them”.

Anyone who is playing air guitar while entering a plane is going to want to talk. That is a well known fact. And that is exactly what my soon to be companion on the flight was doing as he navigated the aisle on the plane. I could see him counting the rows of seats in advance and then when he realized where row 26 seat D was, he gave me the slightest smile that said “Hey roomie”. Son of a …

As soon as my new plane pal sat down, I gave him my best “friendly greeting but understand we are not talking” nod and tried to look occupied. It didn’t work. I could feel his glare and his breath on my neck hairs, just waiting for me to initiate conversation. I needed to send the message at that point that would put this conversing thing right to bed.

I pulled out the latest issue of Fine Gardening Magazine (December 2014) and while reading it, also literally used it as a shield. I could tell that Sir-Chat-A-Lot was reading the ad on the back cover and was commenting to himself, but I wasn’t taking the bait. I flipped through the pages and allowed myself to get lost in the world of plants.

Ahhhhh ….

It worked and I began to feel comfortable and relaxed for the first time that day.

My mood was only enhanced when I turned to page 18 of the magazine and saw Stephanie Cohen’s write-up on Sneezeweed ‘Short n Sassy’.

And even more jazzed when I read Michelle Gervais take on my beloved Flame Grass.

I love both of those plants as well and I was transformed back home to my own garden. Daddy’s coming home soon …

I received a sample of Sneezweed ‘Short ‘n’ Sassy’ two years ago from Skagit Gardens and it delivered from day one.

As Stephanie mentioned in her write-up, this Sneezeweed blooms much earlier than the species. I checked my records and the blooms started around June 24th this year (zone 6B).

And it is still loaded with blooms as we speak. The deer and rabbits never touched it. A winner for sure.

Just like Michelle mentioned in her brief synopsis, I am moving away from Miscanthus and towards more native ornamental grasses. With one honking exception – Flame Grass.

I have three of these Miscanthus purpurascens in my garden and plan to divide them in spring to further the fun. The foliage color in conjunction with the silver blooms is an absolute must in the fall garden.

Thank you Fine Gardening Magazine for inspiring me, confirming that I have damn good taste in plants and most importantly, for shutting up passengers on planes. Don’t ever change.