I went on a hike with my two wacky brothers a couple of weeks ago. We went up to the hot springs up Diamond Fork Canyon. It was a good hike to the springs, and then we had hot dogs for lunch and soaked in the hot springs. The pools we were at weren’t that hot, so Peter got to join us. He had lots of fun kicking and splashing in the water.
Mishaps
So, Joe and I went Frisbee golfing one evening. There’s a course not too far from our house I discovered on a walk with Peter. When we got there, it was a little windy. Now the advice for the day…Don’t go frizbee golfing when it’s windy. We were okay until hole 5, although our disks tended to fly quite far and in the wrong direction if you through it up to far. Joe throws his with his muscular power, and it flies away to a think a new record distance for him, although not towards the hole. He went to go find it, and I throw mine. I threw it into some bushes, but at least not over the fence. Upon further investigation, I threw it right in the middle of this monstrous wild rose bush.
So I go to get it, trying to bypass the thorns, and the boggy mess surrounding it. I stumbled into the boggy mess, and instead of getting my show muddy…I ended up stepping in a big hole and fell up to my chest in mud and water. It was cold, and wet, and gross. I also scratched up my arms due to the roses and getting out. But I did get out. And Joe got my frisbee. Some other people finally found his, very far from where he was looking. We stopped playing, and I walked home.
Here’s how I looked:
Another funny story: I went to do some hand dishes, and got distracted. I come back, who knows when later, and there was soap a foot a half high and water spilling onto the counter and floor. I felt very I Love Lucyish.
Final thing: Peter finally figured out he could roll from his tummy to back. Strange little kid, glad he’s figured it out.
Invasive Species
A post at garden rant got me thinking today. And then I went and read another article that they pointed me to. The whole subject is weeds again. Those horrid things that we would all like to get rid of…or do we?
In my weeds class, we spent an entire lecture going over the definition of a weed. There is no easy answer. My favorite is a plant in an unwanted place. It’s one you want to get rid of. But do we really want to get rid of all our weeds? The post pointed out that many weeds provide the benefits of plants in places that would otherwise be bare–like a dandelion in a sidewalk crack. That is a good thing, really. And I’ve always been a fan of things like clover in lawn. It fixates nitrogen, and can reduce the need for the tremendous amount of fertilizer we like to put on our lawns. It forms a nice, symbiotic relationship with the grass.
But I thought they were drawing the line a little too far going on to say that tamarisk is a good plant. It’s drying up our stream beds, and replacing other, better species. I know there is an endangered bird nesting in them. But there were nesting trees before tamarisk–ones that didn’t dry up the stream beds, and create a monoculture of a single plant.
Where do I draw my line? If a plant helps biodiversity, it’s good. So a dandelion in a sidewalk crack–good. The hordes of maples planted as street trees–not so good. Invasive, like purple loosestrife that take over acres of previously biodiverse wetland–horrible. We need as many plants as we can get, but they should help encourage a nice, biodiverse ecosystem. Biodiversity means everything works better, it survives better, and it looks better.
We need diverse plantings in our yards if we keep replacing wildland with them too. So try not to fill up your yard just with Kentucky bluegrass.
Garden Centers
Recently, I went to a wonderful garden center up in Willard, Utah, Willard Bay Gardens. It’s really not close to where I live, but it is close to where my in-laws do. This is on the fruit way, a highway filled with fruit stands. Great place to go when peaches are in season. I had seen the owner of the garden center give presentations on perennials, and he knew his stuff. My expectations were pretty high, and it was a nice place to go.
They did have a large selection of perennials, the largest out of any garden center I have been to. Plus they were sold in four inch pots. I see perennials sold in gallon pots a lot of times. It really doesn’t may a difference if they are in gallon pots or four inch containers, and you usually save money buying them in four inch. They were a bit on the pricey side (4-6 dollars for a plant), but I think completely worth it, due to the high selection and good quality plants. I bought three coral bells, and had a hard time choosing my three plants out of 10 or more varieties available.
I’ve recently moved areas, and I find that it’s quite hard to get used to the selection of garden centers in the area. My community is larger than my last one, so there’s more to choose from. But here are a couple of tips I’ve found out over the years:
- Good garden centers have staff that can answer your questions well–and they won’t always direct you to their product.
- Big box nurseries often have good plants from local growers. But they can also have non-adapted plants from who knows where. Just be careful, but often the prices are better and its easier.
- They are all a little different, and depending on what you need one might be better than another.
- It’s worth traveling to go to a good store.
- If you can’t find a plant you want–ask. Many times, they will be able to order it in.
- And saying that, go knowing what you want. Don’t just go because your garden looks bare.
I’m planning on getting to know all the garden centers around me, but it’ll take awhile. That’s fine though–their a joy to visit.
Someday
Someday I will no longer waste my time on useless things because my day is not working out quite right.
Someday I will actually have clients, and my buisness will be succesful.
Someday my little son will not be afraid of all vacuums and I will be able to clean properly.
Someday I will be content with who I am, and who I am will be better than what I am now.
Someday my husband will have a regular, well paying job.
Someday we will have two cars.
Someday we will have a house with a garden.
But now…
I have the best little son ever.
I am learning how to be a better person.
My dear husband works hard, and is miraculously going to school to have a great career.
I still can do yoga, and keep my house pretty clean, and read books, and go to bed before everyone else usually does.
I have a small garden that takes only a little time.
The weather is very nice, and I can take long walks around a neighborhood I love.
I am just where I want to be.
Walks
Here are some pictures of Peter before going on walks. It shows the variance in weather we’ve be having.
Cold Day
Way Fun Sunglasses from Grandpa
Walk
So Joe suprised me for mother’s day and made me a neckalce. I was expecting anything much, and it made me tremendously happy. He’s started school now, and all is going well. Peter fell and hit his head pretty hard–I think the first of many bruises. Still not trying to crawl, but I’m okay with that. He doesn’t get into things.
I started my garden, and wrote about it at my gardening blog. This week, Joe and I have been married two year! It’s been a busy two years too. We’re going out for sushi tomorrow…yum.
And Peter started to clap his hands. It’s very cute. We went out for the evening, and he was with his Aunt Riss. We came back and he was clapping his hands. Kudos to Riss for accidentally teaching him. He loves to, and does it all the time.
My Garden
This is the start of my garden…
Just a little patio garden off the back of our apartment. I think it is just about perfect for the amount of time and money I have (very little of both). It’s on the north side of the building and is mostly in the shade all day long. I was a little disappointed because that means it severely limits what I can grow. But I’ve got great plans for it. The only thing that was in the garden when I inherited it was some daffodils and another unknown bulb. It has flower buds on it, so I should find out what it is soon, but I’m thinking it’s Star-of-Bethlehem.
This is my plan: (and sorry, it’s not big enough to worry about good graphics)
Today was my first day of digging in the dirt, and really getting my hands dirty. I dug up the old daffodil bulbs and started planting perennials. I planted the three Heuchera (coral bells) plants I bought: ‘Dolce Creme de Menthe’, ‘Blackout’, and ‘Midas Touch’ . Previously, we had seeded some mixed leaf lettuce next to where I planted Heuchera. In my garden last year, I ended up with leaf lettuce almost all season long, and I’m hoping for the same this year.
There is two other storage containers I’ve drilled holes in and filled with potting soil. I seeded some greens into one, and want to put herbs in the other. They aren’t that deep, but I’m hoping the herbs and greens will do well in them. It’s a very cheap experiment. Still lots more to do.
Best thing about this, is with all the rain lately, I haven’t had to water anything! I don’t think there is a hose bib anywhere near, so it’s going to be a chore in the summer.
Veggie Planning Guide
Another garden blogger had me look at vegetable seed starting guide from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. (I would link the chart, but I can’t seem to find it). I liked the excel format, with the ability to change the last spring frost date. Previously, when I lived up in Logan, I had made a table listing all the dates for vegetables. I had when to start from seed, when to plant, days to maturity, and harvest dates. Quite proud of it, and I found it very useful. But…I moved to Provo, where the last spring frost is different. The dilemma was my chart was now a little bit off.
So I used the idea from the Johnny’s Seeds, and transferred it to an excel and reformatted it so I could change the last spring frost. Now I have a spreadsheet I absolutely love, and I must share it with the gardening world. Here it is: Veggie Planning Guide (Sometimes these links don’t work, or you might want it in a different format. If you do e-mail me (ginkgograss@gmail.com), and I’ll send you a copy directly.)
Now, upon looking at the actual last spring frost for my area, (if in Utah you can get the date from this site) I realized the dates weren’t that different. I could have used the same original sheet. But I would have missed out on all the fun of making a new spreadsheet, and being able to share it with gardeners everywhere.
If you think some of the info could be updated–please comment. Upon looking through the dates, I think they could use some improvement. But I do know if I’m going to lettuce and kohlrabi, I better get planting!
Peter
Peter is growing up. He’s over six month’s old now and gets smarter every day. He can sit up by himself and is starting to hate doing anything but sitting. He rolls from his back to tummy. (But not the other way. I thought that was supposed to be easier, but he just doesn’t get it.) He absolutely loves solids and is eating three meals a day. His favorite thing is jumping in his jumper and having lots of people’s attention. He is as big as some 1 year olds–22 lbs, 29 inches! I love the little guy, and his continually emerging personality.
Not Yet!
We went on our first spring hike, and I’m out of shape. It was a good thing we took a short hike to Battle Creek falls. It is my favorite hike, at least the one I’ve been on the most. Peter enjoyed it too. My grandparents live just down the street, but they had left for a trip to Israel that morning. Bad timing for a visit. Somebody did drop off some muffins on their doorstep-we thought it was a good idea to go ahead and eat them.
I also have my first garden coaching and design client! I need to do some more advertising–but I think one at a time is all I can take with Peter. It’s been a lot of fun, and I think I could do it the rest of my life. Check out my site that has been redesigned, and my blog that I actually add to.
Thanksgiving Point Gardens
I grew up around Thanksgiving Point, and actually had a season pass to their gardens one summer. This spring, I went back during the annual tulip festival with my husband. The day we went, it was very rainy. I saw three other groups out, and one bride taking pictures, who I felt very sorry for. Our umbrellas kept us out of the rain, and it was nice to go when the gardens was empty.
Now, a little background before I go into my description of the gardens. I went to school in horticulture, and worked at the Utah Botanical Center one summer. Good horticultural practices and sustainability are ingrained into me. When I go to a garden I don’t just go to see pretty flowers. I want to see interesting ideas, good gardening practices, and a bit of sustainability. Thanksgiving Point is a bunch of really gorgeous gardens. But no ideas, and lots of problems.
I did thoroughly enjoy my trip, but I also spent the entire time wondering why they couldn’t do things a little differently.
Here’s a picture of the prettyness:
Okay, now for a problem. Here is a hedge. I’m not a big fan of hedges, and this one is awful. They’ve planted yew and privet. They have grown into each other now and are quite hideous. The hedge is not flared out towards the bottom, and its resulted in a lot of die back.
I found this grove of aspen quite nice. Aspens are planted too often in places they don’t belong. They sucker, and can die back easily. Don’t put them near a lawn, and not in a little kidney-bean shaped bed in the middle of grass. This is done frequently when I live. Here, they have a naturalized garden. Suckers aren’t a problem. A disease tree can easily be taken out. The aspens can be enjoyed without the headache.
One last note on sustainability. The garden have lots of lawn, and its mostly perennial ryegrass. Utah is dry, and ryegrass takes a lot of water and other maintenance. (It’s one of the highest maintenance turfgrasses in our area). Not a sustainable choice at all. I would have liked to see ideally, not so much lawn, and at least a better choice of lawn.
Liz Braithwaite 