Happy Father's day

What a beautiful day! Two of the things I love most: Time in my garden. Time with my father.

Matt and I had my mom and dad over for dinner and we ate outside in the garden. It was a beautiful night. We cooked on my new grill (thanks Matt) and enjoyed lovely conversation (of course not until the US open had finished)and food. I LOVE my dad the mostest! It was the best Sunday so far this summer. The garden is really growing in so be sure to check out the Flicker photos at the top, they've all been updated as of today. A little love, compassion, and devotion all make it possible to see my babies getting bigger. I spose it is the same my dad offered me, and look how I've blossomed. Thanks for all the love dad. And to my two amazing father-in-laws David and Bruce; Happy dad's day, thanks for weeding Matt so well, he turned out nice too!

A man's children and his garden both reflect the amount of weeding done during the growing season.

~ Anonymous

Oh Canada...

My sister Kelley and I went to Plants and Things today. Yes it is in Anok....I mean Canada, but so fun for us. We stopped and got Caribou coolers and had a lovely chat on our way out of the Country (or into the country).

This place did not disappoint. It was CRAZY! I wish I had taken pics, but alas I did not think ahead to grab my camera before our road trip (and to be honest, even though Kel said this place was insane, I didn't have any grasp on how much so until we got there).

We perused for a good hour before grabbing the goodies we both wanted. I had NO problem spending my $100 gift card that the fam gave me for my birthday, but proudly (this is for you Matt) I only went $20 over.

I got so many splendid things I can't even begin...so suffice with a pic (tho everything is kind of crammed together here so it is hard to see exactly HOW much I got; A LOT). And please notice that along with the annuals, perennials, and herbs I bought, I purchased a cute trellis (bottom left corner) that will soon be climbing with Morning Glory (also purchased today) and not pictured are totally cute herb stakes that I didn't get a shot of because it got too dark (I planted until 10pm).



The most fun of all of this was the time with my sis. She got baby sitters (thanks Ashley, Martin, Cassie) and we were able to connect, talk about our lives, and just be together.

Time is free, but it is priceless

Stay tuned for updated pics on flicker stream of the gardens, just waiting for dawn

Aches, Ants, and Amazingness

Just another day in the garden. It doesn't seem to matter that I am training for a kickboxing fight in August and am sore enough already, I must add more fuel to the fire. I spent the morning removing Chilton around the tree in our front slope and replacing it with the same granite rock that I added earlier this year. Well, for continuity I guess, but to say that it was challenging is an understatement. My tired and achy body is even more so now. After much heavy rock lifting (rock into the truck, rock out of the truck, rock onto the slope, Chilton off the slope, Chilton into the truck, and Chilton off the truck)I am sufficiently whipped. Before pic above and after pic below, please OOH and AH, it helps alleviate my soreness.




My lettuce from seed is sad at best, despicable at worst. Today I succumbed and bought a few lettuce plants from the garden center to fill in the space around the minuscule and depressed leaves that are already growing and when I began planting them I unearthed this. Perhaps I am not such a brown thumb as I thought. Anyone have tips for getting rid of an ant colony living underneath your lettuce?

This is my first year of vegetables. I have done herbs before and a few perennials but never veggies. Recently I have been bemoaning the latent growth of my tomato plants, but today I saw this, small and alone, but nevertheless AMAZING! Oh how excited I became, and this was all it took to make today; THE BEST DAY EVER!



Find joy in the small things in life, and you will find joy often.

A treasure of sorts, my treasure for sure

Last night we celebrated my birthday at my sister Kelley's house. She has recently caught the gardening bug (be careful, it is contagious) and it was so fun to see all she has done with her recently fenced in backyard. Her hubby Josh did all the labor on the fence and now Matt is waiting nervously for the moment I propose the same of him. It would go something like this...'Hon, wouldn't it be nice to have some privacy, with all your AWESOME skills, I bet we could do it on a dime". Doing it on a dime is my trick in since Matt can't resist the idea of saving money. Though he is often busy on side projects so he might not have the time...Sigh*



I love how gardening brings people together, and Kel and I had a little fun over the "tulips" that she dug up from her neighbor's yard. The house has gone into foreclosure and before the woman moved out Kelley pulled up some of her tulips. Turns out the tulips were actually day lilies...according to me. According to her...they were tulips. So we asked my dad, through the front window. "What is this?" (holding up a sample of the day lily foliage). "It's a weed", was his reply.
Well it is all in the perception of the individual. And so it is. One person's trash...another person's treasure. But they are still day lilies and you'll know I am right when they start blooming in a few weeks. Tulips don't bloom the end of June, day lilies do.



This sweet little birdbath was my birthday gift from my family. I love cats and though I will not be collecting cat figurines in my house, a little kitsch in the garden is perfect. I love it, Thanks! They also got me a gift card to plants and things, a garden center in Anoka (aka Canada). Kelley and I will bond once again when we head down there to spend my monies. Stay tuned for all the yummy plants and things I get there next week.

What you perceive, you will receive. Whether it is trash or treasure is up to you. You'll get what you see. Why not see treasure, it is so much prettier to look at.

The next Great Adventure

While I am contemplating what next particular plant variety I would like to include in my garden (I am loving the smokebush right now)my friends Blaise (aka Donna) and Bess are on to their next great adventure. A little background here... Blaise and Bess owned a beautiful Victorian in uptown and had one of the most amazing gardens in the city. They put time, money, love into their backyard that was featured in gardening magazines and many awesome parties they hosted. Last years breast cancer fund raising party was a soiree like no other and center court was their garden. Besides Bess's yummy cafe, when I think of the two of them, their backyard always comes to my mind. They have been dear friends to Matt and I, they've fed us, loved us, allowed us to partake in their endless beer fridge, and included us into one of the greatest communities of friends in Minneapolis. Because of the two of them our lives are brighter and better.

So with that background and a few tears I will continue...Blaise and Bess are on to their next great adventure. They sold their labor of love and bought a guest home in Austin Tx, and are in tow right now with their lovelies, dogs: Leo and Louie, cat: Ariel. They will take up residence in Austin and it will be a better city for having the two of them.

And here we are...yesterday I popped over to see them before they were off. I watched the movers loading up their too numerous to count boxes, and hung out one final time in their beautiful garden. Already devoid of their energy and love it lacked the luster is has always held for me and I realized, it never was the garden, it was always them. They are the ones that made that space so special. I will be missing them, not their garden. They gifted me with this beautiful pot of succulents that is pictured. A piece of their garden to take home to mine, and these splendid, warm weathers will be a nice reminder every time I look at them, that my dear friends are warm and happy in Austin.

It is sad to see your friends go...but also exciting. Blaise has an awesome blog, documenting her experiences in her amusing, personal, and over the top energy style, and I know it will help me stay connected. These two are an example to us all. It takes so much courage to see (and feel) when you're done with one adventure and then pick up and move on to the next (they really took this one to heart and actually MOVED on to the next) . Change is daunting, but necessary if you want to get the most out of each moment in life. I know they will thrive. They are the types that exceed all expectations, and go for the blue ribbon blossom.

With that I think I will move some plants around in my garden, that is about all the courage I have right now!

A life of effort for one crowning moment

This from my friend Donna,

"It’s actually pretty hard to kill most plants. It’s the other ones you’ll covet."

And it has already begun. I am coveting a plant that could be particularly difficult to grow in the Midwest. I know this not because of my expert gardening knowledge but because I found it as a regional pick in Fine Gardening. It was a regional pick for the southwest region, and that is not my area, BUT, and this is a very big BUT, the hardiness zones on the Century plant Agave parryi are 4-10 and Minnesota could be considered zone 4, maybe, if it isn't a hard winter for the next 10-15 years. Here is why I desire this plant so much.

From Fine Gardening: Century plant boasts a trance-inducing turquoise beauty. This plant remains compact for most of its 10-12 year life span. In its last year, it produces one of the most striking flowers on earth.

Imagine this, a life of effort for one crowning moment of glory. And it is all worth it.

A mass of dirt

Every moment a beginning, every moment an end.- Mark Salzman

I LOVE Mass plantings! I am utterly awed and inspired by gardens that have gorgeous blocks of beautiful plants growing together. And I find that in the space I am in (beginning my garden) this has been a difficult thing to display as plants take time, love, sunshine, and water to grow to the enormous specification of what I describe as "mass". Another thing, the more plants, the more money. And I have less of the latter. A lesson of patience has been bestowed upon me here as I split 2 of my larger Autumn fire sedums and bought 6 low walker cat mint perennials and placed them around my "dirt" rock bed that has been planted with annual seeds and gladiola bulbs. When I look at it I see a lot more dirt than I wish to see. And yet I know that this is a moment of beginning...beginning the growth and an end as well. Soon the dirt will be filled in with flowers, shrubs, and hopefully butterflies.

Here is the beginning...


And someday the end...

In the meantime I will take this from 'The Power of Patience' and live contentedly in the love I experience when I am in this dirt that I see so much of!

"Patience is the willingness to be in the now exactly as it is. Even if we wish or hope or pray that someday it will change, patience allows us to live as happily and contentedly as possible right now."