O Come, O Come, Emmanuel , Spider plants, and Trees tops..

(I did always prefer it spelled with an E)

Well, while there is not a lot of gardening going on, I am keeping an eye on my several indoor plants, and a few spider starts that are creeping out of their plastic glasses in the window sill.  My Ivy has been growing up and wild. My mature spider complained about getting watered to much, so I'm leaving her alone.  The smaller ones are turning out nicely, and my other plants are coming along just fine.  I have one that I think is nicknamed "Butterfly wings" (I have no idea) that is doing quite well.   

The main worry is keeping the grand Christmas Tree watered!  Sometimes he drinks quite a bit, and other times takes it slower.  I think he will last through the holidays though...and then maybe we can cut off the top, put it in water for a while, and replant it somewhere.  My sister's professor (from university days) does that every year, and it sounds like a nice idea.  Shall I try?

As none of you know, I play the guitar and perform occasionally.  Most of the time it's my own original work, but I was asked to play at a church Christmas Party a few weeks ago.  The song of choice?  "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel".  I sang and played on Astrud, my guitar (named after Astrud Gilberto, the bossa nova singer) while my sister accompanied on Violin.  It was fun, and sounded nice, considering I had had no voice all week long because I had been sick.  

I love singing Christmas songs...and here are the lyrics to that one, and a painting of Isaiah.  Don't you just love Isaiah?

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

Rejoice! Rejoice!

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer

Our spirits by Thine advent here.

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,

And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Refrain

Lo, How A Rose

Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse’s lineage coming, as men of old have sung.
It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.

Isaiah ’twas foretold it, the Rose I have in mind;
With Mary we behold it, the virgin mother kind.
To show God’s love aright, she bore to men a Savior,
When half spent was the night.

The shepherds heard the story proclaimed by angels bright,
How Christ, the Lord of glory was born on earth this night.
To Bethlehem they sped and in the manger found Him,
As angel heralds said.

This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere;
True Man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us,
And lightens every load.

O Savior, Child of Mary, who felt our human woe,
O Savior, King of glory, who dost our weakness know;
Bring us at length we pray, to the bright courts of Heaven,
And to the endless day!

Frozen Pansies

All my pansies are irrevocably frozen.  Not even a vacation to Hawaii could help them recover.  They served me well, and have been pleased.  I know that after their second year Pansies are considered annuals, but should I just cut them back and see if they peak up in the spring, or are they as good as gone?  

I felt like I was on a posting roll until I ran over and killed my landlord's dog a few days ago.  That kind of derailed my intentions as I sought solace in several books and a few warm baths.  That story is still to come...sigh.  

Merry Christmas!

New Years Resolutions aka Re-Potting

This is the time of year that people start thinking about resolutions, goals, etc.  They think about changing something, or many things, about themselves.  Well, I have had many fiascos in my own life trying to do this, but I think re-potting my plants has proven even worse!  So, a very patient friend of mine, who I like to call Sir. Bob, (and I've always wondered if that nickname ever irritated him, because I've never asked if I could use it.  One seldom does with nicknames.) has done an entire post, pictures and all, on how to effectively repot a plant.  I am telling you, you don't want to miss it.  It's great!  It will make you want to repot everything in the vicinity whether they need it or not.    So, zoom over here and see for yourself!

Thank you, Sir Bob.  

And by the by, do spider plants do better with less room or more room in the pot?  

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Time At Red Clover

Merry Christmas!  

Seeing as how this is Red Clover's first year, and first Christmas, it is something to celebrate!  Now, while those of you who are in the southern hemisphere you are swinging into full summer garden season, those of us in the north are having sort of a freeze in these activities.   The last couple days Red Clover has been in council, and this just means I have been talking to myself.  The month of December will be full of Christmas!  And there are enough plants around at Christmas time to make it still worth a gardeners while, and enough joy to make it worth a person's while.  (Not that gardeners aren't people, they are just an extraordinary breed of persons.  Ha ha.  Maybe one day I will come close to that title.  I assure you I am not gardener yet.)  So, this season will be a festive break out!  Yea!  

I hope to make it interactive, in the sense that many traditions, stories, carols, etc., are shared.  Like the previous post about the Christmas Tree!  That was fantastic to hear what you all prefer and how you do things.   

Welcome to Christmas at Red Clover!

Real of Fake? A Red Clover Survey...

Tis the Season, and so I ask this question of all of you out there!  Yes, You.  Right there.  Do you prefer Real or Fake Christmas trees? Do you boycott them altogether?  Seeing as how this is a garden crew, etc., I am curious as to your thoughts and views.  

I'll start with mine.  I adore real Christmas trees.  One of my favorite memories was going with the entire family to the Christmas tree lot, and grand negotiations taking place as to which tree would be going home with us.  My oldest sister in particular was always very animate.   There was nothing like returning home from school, a few days after the tree had been set up, to find that mom had been vacuuming, allowing the pine scent to hang in the air even clearer.  My younger sister and I would sit on the couch in the living room on the couch by the big front window, and watch the tree, and the snowy streets outside,where all of the fairies were dancing in the trees, on roofs, and in the shrubs.  To this day, Christmas lights  always strike me as small family clans of fairies bustling about in bursts of light.  Now, you may be saying that some of those things might have been experienced even with a fake tree.  You might be right, but it has been an emotional part of the Holiday Season for me, and therefore part of the unexplainable magic. 

 I also loved being up early enough in the morning to see my dad throw his tie over his shoulder and water the tree every morning.  

This girl is all for real Christmas trees.  Kip and I have a beautiful one up right now.  What about you?  

The Holly And The Ivy

I brought my Ivy in after fall was quickly sliding toward freezing temperatures.  He is now sitting on the window sill above my kitchen sink.  Part of me is tempted to twist a hanger into an upward spiral, and grow Mr. Ives that way.  The other half of me wishes to just let him grow any which way, because that is what I would prefer God did with me sometimes.  But He usually has better things in mind.   Have any of you tried to grow your Ivy plants into a pattern of sorts?  What is the best way to go about it? 

 I should get a holly plant and name him Currier.  

And now, since it is December, here are the words to one of my favorite Christmas Carol.  It is an English Carol from the fifteenth-century and apropos on a blog about plants and gardening.    

The Holly And The Ivy

THe Holly and the Ivy, 

When they are both full grown

Of all the trees are in the wood, 

the Holly bears the crown.

The Holly bears a blossom

As white as any flower;

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

To be our sweet Saviour.

The Holly bears a berry

As red as any blood;

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ 

To do poor sinners good.

The Holly bears a prickle

As sharp as any thorn;

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

On Christmas in the morn. 

The Holly bears a bark

As bitter as any gall;

And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ

For to redeem us all. 

The Holly and the Ivy

Now both are full well grown:

Of all the trees are in the wood

The Holly bears the crown.  

Autumn Feast

Today is The Day before Thanksgiving!  This year we are going down to visit Kip's Mother, several Great Aunts, and a random array of people that we are somehow related to.  It should be fantastic and I am looking forward to it, although I do miss being home with my many siblings, nieces, nephews, parents and the all important Thanksgiving Day Basketball Game which injures at least one of us every year.  

Seeing as how it is The Day before I have a long list of things to do.  One of which is figure out how to get my pictures off my camera...so, I am sending you to a link that anyone who loves autumn, or nature, will enjoy!

You see, my brother-in-law, Kevin Winzeler, is a photographer.  He's very good, and I think that some of his Autumn Pics are captivating.  

Kevin did my wedding pictures.  

Please Enjoy.   And then feel free to zoom around the web-site if you like good photography.  

If you want to see one of my favorites then this is my other brother-in-law at the salt flats.   I don't know how many of you have been to the salt flats, but this is quite the picture.   

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Repotting Abraham

I was repotting in the kitchen the other day and made quite the mess.  You see, our new apartment does not have any outside storage, so I put all of my potting soil into a five gallon bucket in the house.  When I opened it up the other day, and set about my task of repotting Abraham (a plant, not a person) I had a few topples, and balancing problems, etc.  Needless to say Kip looked over to find me in  the middle of a process that should have taken less time, with dirt all over the kitchen floor.  He raised his eyebrows and told the that "those things should be done outside."  Luckily, he's a good sport and I got him to take a picture of me.  

And now I have a question for all of you.  I have officially repotted all my plants twice.  Both times would have been humorous had anyone happened by, with me arguing out loud and practically killing them all.  These things should be done in a potting shed, with a stool perhaps, and plenty of space.  My situation was, um, less favorable.  No, I did not try it in the kitchen.  The question I have is when do you know when it's time to repot your plants? 

Any takers?

Curious Climber and The Near Death Experience

I stopped after noticing the ambitious pumpkin, and then screamed and jumped back when I suddenly saw a huge lizard.  Luckily, those large plastic types are rarely poisonous.   I thought that if someone had a chain link fence like this, they could create quite the beautiful show by getting pumpkins to grow all along it.  Who wants to try?

"G'Day G'Day" this is for you!

My internet has not been working for several days, and so my ability to post has been...nil.  I have a few flowers to report on, and questions to ask, etc.  Jannette, "G'Day G'Day", asked for the recipe of Rice Crispy Treats!  

Albeit this is a gardening blog, I would love to leave the recipe until I post a "Real Post" in the morning.  It's late.  I am tired.  My jaw dislocated itself a couple of days ago and I still can't shut my mouth all the way.  If those aren't good enough reasons for me to not get you a "Real Live Red Clover Post" then I don't know what is.  

Now...This is how I do it:

Buy 

1 Box Rice Crispies 

1 16 0z Bag of Marshmellows

1/3 stick of butter

1 bag of Chocolate Chip Cookies

Get a big pan and heat about three table spoons of butter until it is melted, then add a whole bag of those big marshmellows!!!  Once the marshmellows are all melted then take it off the burner/heat and add about 7 cups of rice crispies (that you had already prepared into a bowl.)  Then you stir them all together, just enough to make a real sticky mess, drop in about a half cup of chocolate chips, stir just a touch more, because you don't want the chocolate chips to smear, and then dump it all back into the bowl.  Then you sit down at the table with a fork, a place, and a glass of milk and dig in!  I don't put it into squares, no, I prefer a big messy pile of chocolaty-marshmellowy-goodness.  

Did that make sense?  You may have to fiddle with the measurements depending on what part of the world you live in.  

Surprise!

After I picked Kip up from class I asked him if he had seen the new member of our family.  "No" he had not and didn't know what I was talking about.  When we pulled into our little gravel car spot I grinned and said I had a surprise.  His interest was peaked until I told him it was another plant. 

 "You bought another plant!"  

"I needed a plant to teach one of my kids yesterday, so I bought two."   

He sighed with a smile and when we entered the apartment I made him walk around trying to locate the new arrival.  "Is it that plant?"  "What about that vine?"  Until his eyes fell upon the small flash of green and orange above the kitchen sink.  "You bought a cactus?!"  

Yes, and he is adorable.  I once swore I would never own a cactus, alas, it was almost love at first sight.  The charm he possesses will soon be explained via picture.  Once that darn camera turns up. 

After Kip admired our new plant he turned to me and said, "I thought the surprise was that you had made me rice crispy treats."  I laughed, cried out, and gave him a hug simultaneously.  He gets home from work in about forty-five minutes, and I am planning on making some rice crispy treats, while talking to my cactus. 

By the by, the dark green plant, covered in a galaxy of yellow stars?  I named him Abraham.  

I Am Alive...

...Infact, the living room is now properly organized, now that I assembled the new bookshelf...and we only have two stacks of books on the floor now, instead of three or four significantly higher stacks.  My plants are happy!  They are each taking their time to decide on their "spot".  Kip and I just bought a new little guy.  He is a gorgeous galaxy, with blazing yellow stars scattered in glorious nightscape across the keep green leaves!  Will introduce you to him...as soon as I find my camera.   Love you all.  Still sane.  Just a little more moving, and a lot more organizing, and then our regular programing will continue!  This novice gardner is not to be derailed, no!  I will persist.  And I will water my spider plant (hen and chicks) before madam and all her offspring expire.  (She shouldn't complain, for she was placed upon the much envied blue bookshelf next to Mr. Tuttle, the golden toad, a ship, and a few pirate books, Treasure Island not being the least. Arrgg!)

"The measure of the little while that I've been long away."

Posting has been at a low point the last several days. The main reason is that Kip and I found a new apartment. It has seven windows. Seven! Four of which are all the way above ground. Heaven. It is a fair amount bigger then our other apartment, too. And there are closets.

It has been on our mind for a while, getting into a place with more light, (That has become my rallying cry when ever I craved change) and space...and closets. So, Thursday I casually got online and browsed some classifieds for our area, with one particular road in mind. "Straton" Road. Now, I live in a city, good size, three large high schools, a couple hundred thousand I think, etc. It's twenty minutes from the mountains, and thirty minutes from the capital city. Perfect. And I grew up in a neighborhood next to a long street called Fourth South. If you follow this road all the way down, it eventually turns to the right onto an old farm road. It is down by the lake, and surrounded by fields. This was where I had decided I wanted to move. Close to everything, with a slight country feel. About a week ago I made Kip drive down there after work one night looking for "For Rent" signs. Considering there are about ten houses total on the old road, that was a far cry.

Well, I always tell Kip I lead a charmed life. I jumped online and, lo and behold, the first apartment that came up that day was on "Straton" road. It had been posted that day. After a phone call or two it was arranged for me to come down and see it before three other couples were supposed to look at it. It was perfect.

I loved the landlords; they are great and have five really fun kids. They liked us, too. And within twenty four hours we were offered the apartment, our landlords worked out a deal in our own apartment, and people were looking to move in. As Kip said "That was the fastest move of my life." I just smiled. He knew what he was getting into when he married me...I think.

So, I am spending this week moving while he is going between full-time university and full-time work. The yard is beautiful! I will take pictures. It is very large, and has a gate in the back that leads to a large park. My plants are excited as well, because the window sills are deep, with room and light. We are all thrilled. Leaving the neighborhood will be hard, because we have grown close to many of our neighbors, and I have been teaching the 14 year old Sunday School class. But, as I said to Kip the other day "We can't live in the "Jones'" basement forever." He ageed, though, as we lay on top of the bed talking, Kip looked over and said, "It just feels like we're leaving home."

Sorry for the break. Glad to be back. - Red Clover

P.S. Still to come...Pumpkin Land Pics, Farmer Grant, and more Fall Pictures! The yellows are in their prime!
P.P.S. That title of this post is from one of my favorite poems by Robert Frost. If you want to read the whole thing, here it is. It's a beautiful read.

Out Numbered!

That's it.  It seems I have been out numbered and can't possibly resist.  The Red Clover blog will now officially spell the word color, with a "u".  It is a practice I am not opposed to, seeing how my husband and I occasionally do it for kicks, and I insist on spelling Grey with an "e" instead of the American "a".  It's just that most of my blog friends use that spelling, and I have been overruled.  

Please await my next fall blog, in living colour.  

with love to all, 

Red Clover

While were on the subject...

In retrospect I realized that my last post, while it dealt with vines, was really a subversive Ode to Fall.   It obviously was a biased commentary, and the potato vines, which are still a light green, were completely passed over.   I was like the media covering a political campaign; giving my favorite candidate a lot of positive takes, and sending in a really horrible picture of the other to that skeptical story.  Not that I want to give you the impression I wasn't paying attention to the vines...I was, I just noticed that, well, all the vines had one similarity; Appreciation of Autumn.  Oh, well.  I might as well continue in the theme of fall and share with you a picture that gave me so much delight, I figured it would be good for your souls, too. 

If I could only pick one reason to have a white wall somewhere on the outside of my house, this would be it.  The picture is significantly brighter on full scale, and presents the most delicious orange dripping down into itself.  I was enchanted.  

A Study of Fall Vines

Bliss Carmen once wrote "There is something in the Autumn that is native to my blood" in her poem Vagabond Song.  I have loved that poem growing up, perhaps because I felt a kinship with what she was saying.  The pageant of colors that we pass in life during the fall is breathtaking, and when you add air that feels like it was cased in ice just long enough to break into your lungs, well, then you have the perfect fall day.  

I decided a week or so ago, on my daily walk down to the university to meet Kip, that I would study what kind of vines I liked for their fall coloring.  Now, the downside is that I won't be able to give you any of the names.  The upside is that you all probably know the names.  If you don't we can figure it out together.  

This is the very tree that started it all.  I passed this one morning and loved the idea of a vine turning red in the autumn against a white tree trunk.  I mean, can't you just see a bright red vine mixing with a yellowing aspen?  

On campus I came across these vines on a wall.  I love the alternate between red and green, and hope they stay that way, because it adds some nice style.  This would be a nice thing for someone to do in their yard against a back fence or something. 

A close up. 

I forgot to turn this picture right side up, so just lean your head to the left.  This bright red vine had jumped from the fence and climbed significantly into the tree.  I loved the colors against the dark trunk.  Here are a few more shots of that spectacle.

Perfect!

Ta da!  Here is your aspen with the red.  Very festive, don't you think?  It would be nice to plant a small stand of aspens in the corner somewhere, and help this vine twist it's way upward, so when October came around, bang!  You had a sight to behold!

Last, but not least.  I adored how they let the two vines climb up the white fence.  It adds such a richness to the yard.  

You may have guessed that I am indeed a fan of mixing the red/orange and green vines.  All my pictures seem biased to that combination.  Well, what can I say, when something works...   After my short study I have decided that when you plant vines in your yard, you need to know what color they will be in the fall.  You might find yourself with some easy pigment for those months when the world is slipping into frost. 

Apocalyptic Gardening with Bob; Geranium care and Dahlia tubers!

I thank you all for you comments about my geranium!  My goal is survival through the winter and with your loving support we should make it through. 

  I hunted up Bob's (dreadnought) comments that mentioned geraniums and thought the whole thing was informative for those of use who are very inexperienced.   Thanks Bob, please sue me after I've made my millions, since I didn't ask your permission first.  Smiles.  

"Geraniums will stand being dry more than they will being wet, especially in winter when its best to keep them on the dry side as they are prone to rot if too wet. For this same reason if you cut them back I would do it in the spring or early summer that way they will heal before the rot sets in. Your Dahlia will like plenty of water through the summer, the water needs to be able to drain away though. I see you have a saucer under the Geranium which is okay to catch any stray water but lots of plants don't like to be stood in water for a long time. The Dahlia will have its foliage killed by the frost which is okay, just cut this off 4 to 6 inches above the ground, tip it out of its pot and clean the dirt from the roots which are called 'Tubers'. They will look a bit like Potatoes and feel firm to the touch. Leave them upside down somewhere frost free to dry for a couple of weeks and then they need to be put in some sort of container filled with moist peat or compost and kept in a cool, dark but frost free place for the winter, the peat/compost only needs to be very slightly damp, you're not trying to grow them just keep the tubers from drying out. If that seems too much trouble throw it away and buy a new one next spring! By the way, the spider plant looks good. Bob."

Thanks again, Bob.  You are like the patron saint of gardening, or something.  And next year I won't throw out my Dahlia tubers.

My Geranium's Plight

My geranium is doing weird things.  Since this is my first geranium I suppose it's normal for me to be surprised by this or that.  It's just that with all the gardening books on the market, no one writes about how to deal with the important growing stages of the geranium.  I am a first time geranium potter, and don't know how to handle this.  You see, over the last week my geranium has slowly began to change color.  It's not drying up, not at all, it's leaves are just turning this beautiful red and orange.

  I am charmed on one hand, and slightly worried on the other.  Am I killing it?  Is this going to to do irrevocable damage to my geraniums psyche?  Will he blame me for things all his life, because I neglected to do the correct thing in this stage of his development?  Or do I just have a gifted and artistic geranium that needs understanding, no fences.  Was he really meant to be planted in a real garden instead of just a pot?  Nature vs. Nurture?  Sigh.  His blooms are doing quite well, the coloring is normal for fall, and I know that dreadnought left some comment to me about how to winterize geraniums....I think I will go hunt it up  

Until then, Happy Autumning.  

- Red Clover

Ten Thousand Tulip's

My sister is an amazing landscape designer.  A lot of her time is spent on a home up in Park City.  It is beautiful.  

This last week she was been working very hard, planting ten thousand tulip bulbs.  

Next spring will be a wonder. 

The Pond

I called my Aunt Marjorie the other night to say "thank you" for allowing me to use her garden for my blog...you see, she didn't know about it because she was in New York City ;)   She was pleased and wished you could see it in full bloom.  I also learned a few things I though you would all enjoy.  

Do you remember the pond in her back yard?  Well, my Aunt and Uncle were hosting an open house in their backyard for a departing missionary, and decided a week before to build a water feature.  (You must understand that my mom's family is a little crazy.  Whenever my Dad goes out of town my mom goes to town redecorating the house.  He is currently in Japan.  Yeah, you get the picture.)  They spend the week moving giant rocks, digging more of them out of the ground, digging, digging, digging, arranging everything, setting up the mechanics of it, etc.  Did I mention that, although it was May, it snowed during the week?   She said they got it in on Friday night and tweaked it during the day on Saturday and walah!, they had a water feature!  

The net over the coy was to protect them from Blue Heron. 

 Jennifer asked how long it took them to put the garden together?  My aunt said it has been a work in progress over many years.  Each year she thinks of something different she would like to do.  

dreadnought remarked on the sun.  The week before had been freezing, with a few fluries of snow, and then this last week made warm weather the victor.  We had gorgeous high 70's.  The transition of season's always brings similar yo-yo effects here in the west.   It's very sunny today, but rather brisk outside.  These are my favorite days of the year, with the trees all aflame. 

My aunt also sent me these pictures.  I guess some elk decided to hang around their front yard for awhile.  !!!

Pots: Charmed Pumpkin

charmed pumpkin pot

  

 Every Tuesday I am invited to the "Official Game Night" at my best friend's grandparent's house.  (Whew!)   Rose and I have been friends for many years, and she lives in Washington D.C. right now, so I spend every Tuesday night with her grandma, grandpa, aunt Jan, mom and dad.   I noticed this great pot a few weeks ago.  It is very bright, but the orange works so well with the dark green plant that it's quite charming, and makes you think of a pumpkin vine.   

Tuesday Night Game Crew

Trees

A week or so ago I was at an elementary school to work on first grade spelling; I am a mentor for kids who are in custody of the state.  It's a great job, and I love my kids.  I happened to have my camera on me, and showed up a few minutes early, so I took a "garden tour" of the grounds.  This was my favorite tree.  I love trees.  I think trees are inspiring, and the word itself is awesome.  This tree I think was a crab apple.  He looked created for a grade school, I mean look at those branches.  Climbing is optimal.  Kids were born to climb trees.  It has a red ribbon around the trunk because it is "Red Ribbon Week."  I don't know if you all have that where you are from, but here it is an anti-drug week!  (GO RED RIBBON WEEK!!!)  As you can tell, I am for it.  

  Trees can be one of the most inspiring of natures gifts.  My ideal is to move into a house that has been well established, and has great trees, or to build on property that has mature trees.  I have decided I lean towards the deciduous.   I like change, and progress, color, movement,  and chasing autumn leaves in the wind.  If I were a tree I know it would be deciduous.  I'll have to narrow it down one of these days.  What kind of tree are you?

Aunt Marjorie's Garden

As many of you know I just returned from vacation in Colorado.  It was great!  I spent a lot of time looking at my aunt's garden, as she has done an excellent job with it.  Here are a few things I really liked; maybe you'll get a few ideas.  

Yes, dreadnought, this is a frog.  (Loved the story of your mom and frogs.  I have a picture for you.)  I like the grasses set up against the water feature.  

Another shot of the roses in the middle of the pond.  It's October, so they are not in prime condition, but you get the picture.  I loved it!

Her use of rock and plant really enhances the yard, especially considering the view is a majestic vista of the two.  

You already have seen this, but it's so nice. 

She had several lily pads in the pond.  I just love lily pads! 
Behind the pond is this fire pit.  At night, as you sit by the fire, you can hear the coyotes calling to the moon, and deer running past.  

 

At the very edge of her property my aunt has this small sitting area.  This is my favorite part of the garden.  The land behind her house is protected by the government, and cannot be built on.  Lucky them!

One of the patio sitting areas.

The fish.  I assume the net is so hawks can't take off with the gold fish.  

Green and red; a nice combination.  The step up to the deck is the rock I am standing on.  Using the natural habitat around you enhances the feeling of your garden.  My aunt did a great job with bringing the feel of Colorado into her gardening.   Please notice the painted toe nails, they took a lot of work.  

And at night there are lamps to give ambiance to the whole scene.  

I recall my aunt talking about one of the problems they have had with their plants, deer.  One thing she has mentioned is that if you make a mixture of cyan pepper with water and spray it on the plants the deer won't eat the leaves.  (They can't leave their cats out thought, or the coyotes will eat them:)  Thanks for joining me on this garden tour!  What did you like the best?

Happy Fifteen Month Anniversary, Kip!!!

I married the most wonderful man in the world.  A complete sweetheart and my best friend. 

We went on a hike to celebrate.   Love you babe. 

Miniature Roses In The Pond

This is a sneak peak with purpose, if you will.  I am staying at Aunt Marjorie's house, and planning on doing a garden tour of her backyard.  One thing that I have really liked is that she planted Miniature Roses in the middle of her water feature.   It's kind of a nice touch.  

Room With A View

This is where I sit to blog on vacation.  

Into The Wild: Hanging Lake

Yesterday we spent the entire day driving to Denver, Colorado to visit the Grandparents.  The crew consists of Me, Kip, Mom, two sisters, two brothers, one cousin, a nephew, and a niece.  Whew!  It's been fun so far.  On our way we stopped at a place called Hanging Lake.  The unique thing about this lake is that because there is travertine (I think that's what it is called) in the water it makes the water turquoise and the lake is very clear.  Beautiful.  So, I took some pictures for you.  

The drive through Utah and Colorado can be quite interesting as far as natural formations go.

A small cave we ran into on the hike.

Hanging Lake!  The sun wasn't shinning directly, otherwise it would be a bright, bright turquoise.


I loved how the grasses had grown out onto the log.  

This is the fall that feeds the fall that falls into Hanging Lake.  (Redundant, I know)  Do you see how it is coming right out of the rock?

Part of the crew: brother, brother, husband, me, nephew, sister, sister.

It was so beautiful!  There is something in the air that is wild about the American west.  It is so big, and because it has not been inhabited in the same way other parts of the world have been, there is a sense of clarity and space in these mountains.  No wonder the Native American's had such an awe and reverence for the land in which they lived.  

Another thought I had was that nature is a fantastic gardener.  I hope you enjoyed this one.  More to come!!!