A Tribute to Auntie Edna

This is Aunt Edna, my most beloved houseplant. I get all silly about her, every Christmas.

A gift from my Mom, back when I was in college. The poor dear drank a lotta beer* back then and, apparently, developed a taste for it!

She's graced me with gorgeous flowers every holiday season since we lived in the dorm.

Edna was a cutting off my Mother's Christmas Cactus. Who was born from a cutting off my Grandmother's Christmas Cactus.

She's a more important holiday tradition (for me) than a tree, having brightened up many a crappy apartment during my younger years.

Try as I might, I cannot capture a great photo of Auntie Edna from afar. Making me wonder if her beauty is an optical illusion based solely on sentimentality? She has mesmerized me for 25 years. And, shows no indication of slowing down.

Growing Tips:
* No more beer for the old gal. These days she's content with groovy, organic tea.
* Cool temps, bright sunshine and turn her loose every once in awhile. She plays outdoors in my garden (under a shade tree,) all summer long.

Follow @Kate_HAGardens

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wordless Wednesdays: Splish Splashin' Freestyle

Summer practice session for the U.S. Ski Team ~ Freestyle Olympic Aerials. (I live on that hill off in the distance. :)

For more Wordless Wednesday participants click here.

Summer Celebration

Sensation Lilacs

Tomorrow summer officially begins. 

Do you suppose my Lilacs have their eyes on the calendar, too?

President Grevy Lilacs

 One day before the official start of summer, my Harbingers of Spring are finally blooming. And if that seems super late, dig this: I still have tulips flowering.
 

Long Live the Lupines!

But, so are a number of other little lovelies. Like these too cute for words Lupines, who continue to redefine themselves. This year, showing off some polka dots.

Stunning Lilies, transplanted from the indoor garden and, so far, coping well with our chilly nights.

Dame's Rocket

Wild Dame's Rocket ~ which has drifted into my neighbor's yard. He crabs at me constantly, hiring people to remove it. I guess these pretty purples are messing with his monochromatic Kentucky Blue Grass world.

Alyssum and Allium

Ah, summertime. It's such a relief to see the gardens filling up with color. To know that most of my favorites survived. Winter kill wreaked less havoc than I originally thought: RIP one Pear Tree and ALL of the Knopfia. :((

Progressing past the complaint stage, mostly just curious, I'm kind of enjoying this crushed together season, where Lupines and Tulips are gettin' bizzy at the same darn time.

Mountain Lilac Legacy
When properly selected, Lilacs regularly outlive the gardener who plants them. And, they love, love, love the mountains.

Beauty of Moscow Lilac

Popular at 8,000 feet altitude
- Syringa x persica 'Persian' Lilac

Popular at 9,000 feet altitude
- Syringa x prestoniae 'Donald Wyman' Lilac
- Syringa patula 'Miss Kim' Lilac

Popular at 10,000 feet altitude  

- Syringa x chinensis 'Chinese' Lilac

- Syringa vulgaris 'Common Purple' Lilac

Tinkerbelle Lilacs

- Syringa vulgaris alba 'Common White' Lilac
- S x prestoniae 'James MacFarlane' Lilac
- Syringa meyeri 'Korean Dwarf' Lilac
- Syringa x prestoniae 'Royalty' Lilac

Popular at 12,000 feet altitude
- Skiing and snowboarding on the 4th of July

Fancy Flowering Fruits

Apple Trees

 I'm learning a lot about the resiliency of plants during this odd, rainy springtime.  Perennials are struggling, fruit trees are ecstatic.

Flowering Almonds

Lilacs are simply confused. And, way behind the curve. With any luck, I'll be showing off plentiful Lilac blossoms on the 4th of July. 

Finally. First Lilac. (Pay no attention to those Dandelions.)

But, it is finally starting to feel like summer. Everything is lush and lovely though I feel completely out of sync with the rest of the gardening world.

During a normal season, I'd be bragging up peonies and roses right about now. Not coaxing lazy little Lilacs to get with the program.

Pears

The weeds, of course, are the most delighted members of my little gardening community.

Two weeks ago, I fractured my ribs in a freak accident. It's difficult to bend down or pull at the Bermuda Grass.

The day of my accident... I hobbled up the walkway... and I swear! I heard a happy cheer from those pesky Dandelions who knew they'd be getting a free pass this summer.

Plums

There’s never a time to rest. I notice this when I’m sore. If I sit down I instantly see something that requires me to get up and move again.

I'm taking it slow, gobbling Advil, waiting for life to get back to normal. If not that, at least some painless days in a flower-filled garden.

Crabby Appletons

I've not been very good at visiting blogs lately and for that I apologize. Seems there just aren't enough hours in the day.

Mostly I'm just giving you the silent treatment 'cause your roses are blooming and mine are not. :)

Wordless Wednesdays: Wasatch Wildflowers

Locals: Have you hit the trails? What are you waiting for??

Our plentiful rains have inspired an amazing celebration on the lower elevation hiking paths in the Wasatch Mountains, Utah. 

Find these pretties along the Strawberry Narrows.

For more Wordless Wednesday participants, click here!

Flower. Power!

Three cheers for the well-established garden.

Not well-planned, mind you.

Just, sort of, well-established.

I was thinking about that as I slaved away, prepping the garden beds for a brand new season. Man! I'm outta shape. Muscles squawking mightily this morning. I'd intended to clean up one, maybe two, areas but I got in a groove and just kept on going.

Plus, I wanted to stay ahead of the weather. Spring doesn't really happen in the mountains. We vacillate between summer and winter, and back again, quite often in the same, darn day.

I lack that gene, commonly known as self-control, so my yard is home to 11 different flower patches, the first of which was planted in the summer of 2003. (AKA, the 'well-established' one.)

At some point, this crazy mess might merge into one gigantic garden. Like you see in those jungle movies. Where The Rock, or Schwarzenegger leads the way, wielding a machete  ~ should you have the hutzpah to go for a stroll.

But, right now, they're just separate, sunny flower beds. (Mild-mannered enough that you don't need a macho guide.)

The oldest garden is the last place I visit and the longest place I linger. Not so much to admire. Mostly to catch my breath.

In spring, I'm so exhausted by the time I reach that flower patch, it's nice to just plop down and inspect the perennials peaking out of the muddy soil.

These perennials are so big and bossy, that after 7 summers, they are super self-sufficient. Making life easy as pie for lazy little me.

Heck, they even weed themselves.

Mostly because they're packed in like sardines.

I know... I know... I should thin them out a bit. But, I highly doubt that's gonna happen. I'm likin' this dense pack. It's so crowded in there, most weeds don't stand a chance.

* My dense pack flowers are just tiny green shoots this early in the season. Bulbs are squeezed into what little soil is left in these over-crowded gardens. They keep things colorful while the long-blooming perennials wake up and start growing.

Wordless Wednesdays: Sundance Film Festival

I live in the tiny town where this guy hosts his Sundance Film Festival.
 
You never know who you might see. Though I can pretty much guarantee they'll be shorter than you'd expect them to be.

Local's Tip: The best 'gooking on stars' window is NOT in the evenings. It's early afternoon when they sneak into the No Name Saloon for one of those legendary Bloody Marys.

Okay... a 'somewhat' wordless post.. it seemed to require explanation. :)
For more Wordless Wednesday participants, click here!

'As I Lay Dying'

Two things have always perplexed me about exercise classes:
1) Why we even bother.
2) Why we suffer in silence.

I started my new workout routine this week and I seem to be the only one crying out from the back of the room: Hellooo, I'm dyin' here!!!

Admittedly, it was a long, busy holiday but as I was passing out drinks this morning, I noticed my poor houseplants have been screaming the same dang thing. Rest assured, I'll show more compassion than the perky little brat teaching my body sculpt [as if that is even possible] class.

In 3 short weeks, I hop a plane. Off on an adventure that's been on the 'wanna do' list for quite some time. When I get there, I'll be meeting up with Little Miss Never Gains a Pound. Or, should I say Missus (nearly newlyweds!)

Oh, how I have missed our coffee chats. She is one of my dearest friends. Though I will confess that after a 60 minute torture session with weights and bands and God only knows what's next on this workout agenda -- all in a grand effort not to slow her down once I arrive -- I started wondering... Just how hard would it be to make some lazy friends?

Now, this, of course, is all in jest. She's a wonderful person. But, I'll bet less active people (preferably ones who still know how to make homemade donuts) are wonderful people, too.

Thought for the Day.... If dry furnace air is making your skin feel all itchy and miserable, your houseplants might be unhappy, too. Plus, they're probably freezing their little tails off if they're sitting on a cold windowsill when you turn the heat down at night.

Unhappy House Plant Warning Signs:

• Yellow leaves - Too much light, fertilizer or water.
  
• Yellow spots - Dripping water onto the leaves. (Water from below.)
  
• Brown leaves - Not enough water.
• Dry leaves - Lack of humidity.
  
• All of the above - R.I.P.
  

Tips:

• The darker green the leaf, the less light a plant generally needs.
• Most indoor flowering plants do better in cooler temperatures.

* As I Lay Dying is a brilliant novel of human suffering, written by William Faulkner.

Cucumber Basil Salad and Crafty De-lights

My dear friend, Sandy, showed me how to make darling tea light candles for the gardens. (Vintage jars, sand and wire.) Finally! A crafty-type project that doesn't require skill or patience. Right up my alley.

My BBQ went off without a hitch. At least, I thought so until I looked in the 'frig this a.m. to discover I'd forgotten to serve the super fab cheesy potatoes. I may have to eat those high calorie goodies all by myself. Life can be tough some days but I'll find a way to muddle through.

So nice to take a break since I frittered away the entire week on such ridiculous chores it's kind of embarrassing. 

Moved all the flowers from one garden into another. Finally admitting to myself that cutting corners just doesn't cut it. On one side of the house, I amended the soil and things are hunky dory:

On the other side of the house I thought, "Oh, why bother?" I'm sure you know how this story ends. So, we're starting over and believe you me ~ this time I bothered:

Dedicated 3 mornings trying to reason with the horse. "Let's go in the barn." [me] "I don't wanna go in the barn." [her] "Go in the barn!" "I don't wanna and you can't make me." On the third day, I prevailed. Then she refused to come out of the barn.

So, she's got my number. And, sometimes I feel my daily life is so meaningless...

The Perp:
I was lost. But, now I'm found!

Oh, and I lost the dog.

I had half the county out looking for him. Six hours later he strolled up the driveway wondering what all the fuss was about. Toying with the idea of embedding a GPS tracking device in his brain. Plenty of empty space up there...

So that was my dumb week. On the up side, fancy heirloom tomatoes are ripe for the picking. And, so are cute as a button baby cucumbers.

I didn't grow these, but I picked them. Does that count?

As a grand apology for a blog post containing nothing the slightest bit newsworthy, here's the yummy recipe that got rave reviews at the BBQ!

Cucumber Basil Salad
Start with 2 boxes of couscous, cooked and cooled. Then add a few of your favorites:

• Diced cucumber
• Diced tomatoes (heirlooms, of course.)
• Fresh basil
• Fresh Italian parsley
• Snipped tops of fresh green onions 
• Pine nuts and sunflower seeds
• Squeeze a lemon over this mess and toss a bit.

* The whole process takes about 15 minutes but do like I do... act very harried when the guests arrive and they'll think you've been cooking for hours.

Glorious Gardens from the Pessimistic Gardener

If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you. - Anonymous Clever Person 

 Do you celebrate what works or dwell on what didn't?

As I upload these pictures from a glorious two days of weed wackin' and perennial putzin' I'm a little frustrated with my own negativity.

Pink Evening Primrose

A glass-half-full kind of gardener might be thrilled with how these incessant rains have provided plentiful moisture.

Happy flowers dancing for joy...

Big bumbles soar from one bright blossom to another.

Every summer, I anxiously anticipate the loudest and proudest of my perennials. The Kniphofia Red Hot Pokers show up like clockwork for the 4th of July, decorating my gardens like bottle rockets.

But, my beloved Red Hot Pokers are missing. Their sad roots rotting in the soggy soil. Replaced by a creepy crop of mushrooms.

On the flip side... Mom's wild roses seem quite delighted. So, I suppose I should be, too. Though I just can't shake this paranoid feeling that Mother Nature is out to get me...