What's Blooming in My Garden - July 30

I know I'm a couple of days late...it's been a crazy week around here! We do have a couple of new bloomers to talk about this week though - borage and nasturtium!

• Borage - I don't eat it or make tinctures out of it, I just grow it for the bright blue star shaped flowers. They are gorgeous! It's funny that I don't really like blue unless it's in a flower, then I'm sold. I'll have to get Mr. Photographer to take some pictures of it so you can see it. If you are so inclined, you can eat the blossoms. They are supposed to taste like cucumbers but I think they just taste like flowers! Cucumbers are more of a textural thing for me - crunch - and borage flowers are more like baby lettuce - tender.
  
• Nasturtium - You can also eat these pretty blossoms, but I don't like them one bit! If you like spicy, peppery things like radishes (which I don't) you might think they are tasty. I don't like the smell of their "juice" when you pick them either. So why do I grow them...because nothing else has a blossom that looks like a nasturtium - they are tropical and bright and oh-so-lovely in the garden. Bugs don't like to eat them, at least not my bugs, so I plant them around my veggies. They come in lots of colors and range in size from short bushy window bow varieties to 5 or 6 foot long trailing vines. These are also great for kids to plant because the seeds are about the size of a garbanzo bean.

• Miniature Hollyhocks
  
• Knautia
• Lemon Mint
  
• Bee Balm
• Sunflowers
  
• Hollyhocks
  
• Four-O-Clocks
  
• Cupid's Dart
• Cilantro and Dill
• Zauchenaria (Hummingbird Carpet)
• Echinops
  
• Miss Wilmott Potentilla
• Blue Ensign Convolvulus
  
• Hen and Chicks
• Perennial Black-eyed Susan
  
• Daylilies
  
• Zebrina
• Lambs Ears
  
• Purple Coneflower
  
• Snap Dragon
• Evening Primrose
  
• Mexican Hat
  
• Annual Coneflower
• Coreopsis
  
• Nicotiana
  
• Wine cups
• Oregano
  
• Lavendar
  
• Fever Few
• Chicory
• Calendula
  
• Bachelor Buttons
  
• Yellow Primrose (Sundrops)
  
• Indian Blanket Flower
  
• Yarrow (red, yellow, and orange)
  

What's Blooming in My Garden - July 21

A few plants are just beginning to bloom this week, many are just past their peak and most are declining. The hot temperatures and drying winds only speed up the process. July is usually that way...and August is seed ripening weather. But come the cooler weather in the fall, we'll have a flush of new bloomers!

• Miniature Hollyhocks - I can't remember what these are "really" called, but they look just like hollyhocks, only shorter, more bushy, and with smaller flowers. Mine are pink and I think they have a nicer texture (and prettier leaves) than regular hollyhocks.
• Knautia - This is another one of those plants that is next to unheard of, yet grows beautifully here and looks great in the garden. I have no idea why knautia is so hard to find at the nursery. It's basically a red-violet scabiosa or pincushion flower. The flowers are held high above the foliage which lets it blend in with neighboring plants in a friendly way. I first met this lovely plant at Red Butte Garden.
• Lemon Mint - One of this year's experiments. The flowers are very interesting...I'll take a picture when they open up a little bit more. It sort of looks like bee balm, only fuller.
• Bee Balm - Hot pink salvia type blossoms which, big surprise, attract bees! My plant isn't doing too well this year...I think it got too much water and not enough fertilizer this spring because it's yellow and scraggly. Oh well. Better luck next year.
• Asiatic Lilies
• Sunflowers
  
• Hollyhocks
  
• Four-O-Clocks
  
• Cupid's Dart
• Cilantro and Dill
• Zauchenaria (Hummingbird Carpet)
• Echinops
  
• Miss Wilmott Potentilla
• Blue Ensign Convolvulus
  
• Hen and Chicks
• Perennial Black-eyed Susan
  
• Daylilies
  
• Zebrina
• Lambs Ears
  
• Purple Coneflower
  
• Snap Dragon
• Evening Primrose
  
• Mexican Hat
  
• Annual Coneflower
• Coreopsis
  
• Nicotiana
  
• Shasta Daisy
  
• Wine cups
• Larkspur
  
• Oregano
  
• Lavendar
  
• Pike's Peak Purple Penstemon
  
• Fever Few
• Chicory
• Sedum
  
• Calendula
  
• Bachelor Buttons
  
• Yellow Primrose (Sundrops)
  
• Indian Blanket Flower
  
• Yarrow (red, yellow, and orange)
  
• Blue Flax
  

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

Last night our family went to see the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. The temple was beautiful and our kids were fantastic. It's hard for them to be still at church, but they were reverent at the temple. I think that they felt the Spirit there. Plus we were walking around and I'm sure that helped. I hope that they will remember the way that they felt and the things that they saw. Their little faces were so peaceful and happy! I think it gave them a better idea of where Jake and I going and what we are doing when we go to the temple.

Here are their favorite parts:

Picasso - The sealing room, the baptismal font, and the cookies served after the tour.

Cowboy- The oxen under the baptismal font and the chandeliers. He was also fascinated by the gold on the Angel Moroni and wondered how far under the ground they had to go to find it.

Farmer- Also enjoyed the oxen and the beautiful lights. And the huge air conditioning vents inside the reception tents.

Miss Wendy - The pictures of Jesus, the lights, and the fountain outside. She also liked the way that her sing-song voice echoed in the stairwells!

Mom - I loved the stars on the windows, the chandeliers, and the beautiful sealing rooms. But most of all, I just enjoyed being in the temple with Jake and all of our children.

What's Blooming in My Garden - July 14

Sorry about the missing post last week...life was crazy and nothing much had changed in our garden! But this week we have some great new bloomers!

• Asiatic Lilies - I love lilies....and these are looking fantastic! I have pink, red, and a deep reddish purple type. They grow from bulbs and take care of themselves, multiplying every year. Mine came in a cheap-o package from a mail order place...most lived. A few were overrun, but that tends to happen in my garden.
• Sunflowers - The true heralds of summer! What kind did I plant? I didn't. These are all self or bird sown seeds and I love them all.
• Hollyhocks - In many shades of pink and red, also a yellow one I ordered in the mail. Hollyhocks are one of those plants meant to be enjoyed as you drive by! Up close, they have many imperfections, but they are full of cottage garden charm from a distance. Some of my leaves are showing signs of rust, and a bunch of obnoxious little bugs have eaten off many flower buds, but they still look really pretty from across the yard.
  
• Four-O-Clocks - Yellow, red, pink, and white trumpets. My mom grew these large annuals (almost every year) along the east side of our house. We used to sit out there and wait for them to open so we could see the "hummingbird moths" come and visit the flowers. Now I have some along the east wall of my home...I just let them reseed themselves there. I also planted a few in my garden, but they aren't big enough to bloom yet.
  
• Cupid's Dart - These are superb flower to have in your garden for several reasons: The translucent papery buds are very showy. The bright blue to purple flowers are beautiful. The seed heads are pretty like the buds. Drought tolerant. Fine textured foliage...I could say a lot more. But really you have to see them to love them!
• Cilantro and Dill - Yup. Some of my other herbs are already blooming. That's o.k. - I planted more cilantro because the tomatoes aren't ripe yet, and I can still use the dill. Besides, should I become possessed by some strange desire to make pickles, I'll be needing that dill seed.
• Zauchenaria (Hummingbird Carpet) - Another drought tolerant beauty, this one is low growing and has trumpet shaped red-orange flowers. It's very showy and has survived 2 winters here, so I think it's going to be a permanent resident in my garden.
• Echinops - Ornamental globe thistles...I've been watching and waiting for almost 2 years now and my patience has been rewarded! These are neat! The spikey grey-green pingpong balls are turning steely blue! I like the interesting texture and color. Too bad the earwigs are eating the leaves off. Earwigs are eating pretty much everything around here...they rank high up on my list of creatures I don't ever plan to include in my creations. Should I ever be so blessed to someday have a say in such things!
• Miss Wilmott Potentilla - This relative of the strawberry is a bit sprawly. It creeps between the other plants and shares it's cute ruffled blossoms where you least expect to find them. It really isn't a common plant, but I think it's a fun addition to my garden.
• Blue Ensign Convolvulus - This is a bush type morning glory bearing large bright blue flowers with yellow stars in the center. I really like them because they are well behaved in the garden. They don't take over everything, germinate easily, and don't reseed like weeds!
• Hen and Chicks - So these would fall into the "Whoa, those are strange flowers" category. But my boys love them, and flowering chicks are happy chicks!
• Perennial Black-eyed Susan - I've always like these flowers, but have had a hard time getting them to return year after year. Now that I have the easy to grow annual type, I don't think I'll bother with babying these anymore. The annuals have more flowers and bloom longer. Plus their foliage is much prettier.
  
• Daylilies
  
• Zebrina
• Lambs Ears
  
• Purple Coneflower
  
• Snap Dragon
• Evening Primrose
  
• Mexican Hat
  
• Annual Coneflower
• Coreopsis
  
• Nicotiana
  
• Red Orach
  
• Shasta Daisy
  
• Wine cups
• Larkspur
  
• Oregano
  
• Lavendar
  
• Pike's Peak Purple Penstemon
  
• Fever Few (and some blue flax...I think it's a great combination.)
• Chicory
• Sedum
  
• Raspberries
  
• Calendula
  
• Bachelor Buttons
  
• Centaurea
  
• Yellow Primrose (Sundrops)
  
• Indian Blanket Flower
  
• Yarrow (red, yellow, and orange)
  
• Lady's Mantle
  
• Primrose
• Salvia
  
• Yellow Iceplant
  
• Dame's Rocket
• Columbine
• 'Walker's Low' Catmint
• Soapwort
• Blue Flax
  
• Lamium

Who's Growing in Our Garden

Gardening is a lot of work and teaches you many things. And as much as I love plants, THIS is what I really love about gardening. It's not only about growing plants, but about growing yourself. Here are a couple of pictures from last week that captured that perfectly for me. Sorry they are a touch blurry. I had to take them myself because my favorite photographer was busy irrigating his corn field.
When we were first married, he and I used to joke that it was a good thing that Jake wasn't planning to be a farmer. That he wasn't patient enough - that he'd finish planting the field, unhook the drill, and connect the plow to turn it under because the corn wasn't up yet. Here's proof that I was ever so wrong. He's much more patient than he was eight years ago - time, a wife, four and half kids, and such will do that to a guy. And our beautiful corn and potato patch, not to mention the rest of our fantastic yard, are largely due to his care. Jake's actually become a really good small scale farmer. He does a lot of yard work just because he loves me, and that makes me love him even more.
This one is my dad helping Cowboy and Farmer run the tiller. When I was a little girl, I used to spend a lot of time working with my Grandma in her yard. And here are a couple of our boys working with their Grandpa...Yes, I cried a little. I was really touched.

Thanks Jake. Thanks Dad. Thanks boys & Miss Wendy. I think we are all growing together in our garden.

Sunday Dinner Guest

We had a guest join us for dinner on Sunday. He was tall, dark, and rather handsome. Lucky for us, he was also a little bashful...

...and stayed outside of the fence!

And I had been worried about what the chickens might do to our garden! Ha ha! The gate was closed, not that he couldn't jump the fence if he wanted to.

Our boys were quite amused when he crossed the street and took care of his "business" on our neighbor's lawn. I was just glad I didn't have to clean it up! There's nothing quite like a visit from your friendly neighborhood moose!

Buck-a-Roo B-B-Q

We held our 9th Annual Buck-a-Roo B-B-Q last Saturday. Thank you to everyone who came and helped make it such a fun evening. We are so grateful for our freedoms, family, and friends. And since we are naming off blessings that start with the letter "F", the delicious food and fireworks!


This year's croquet champs were Jake and Ben. If they were typing this, I'm certain they would add "No surprise there." Such humility. Anyway, I'm sure that we'll be having a competitive rematch next summer, so practice up!

Farmer Rides His Bike!

A week ago Tuesday, Jake was fixing Farmer's flat back tire. As he was putting the bike back together, Farmer said, "Don't put those training wheels back on! I can learn to ride it!" So we left them off, Jake held the bike up while he hopped on, and then...

He rode off down the road! First try!

All smiles.

And didn't even look back!

Way to go Farmer! We are so proud of you! He made about four passes before Jake had to leave and everyone else had to go to bed. But in the morning, he wanted to ride some more. Cowboy offered to teach him how to start, stop, and turn around...I let them go and was pleasantly surprised about 5 minutes later when I peeked outside. He had mastered all three skills and was riding happily with his brother. Kids are amazing!