Melanie, Melanie how does your garden grow?

We moved my garden last year and it was a discovery year.  A lot of things were eaten by animals but I did have some things make it. Next year I'm trying liquid fence.............
The arugula survived and we loved it, baby tricolor carrots were sweet and tasty, rhubarb made it, marigolds thrived, nastursiums thrived (made pesto from the leaves, never got around to stuffing the blossoms).

Deer , squirrels, and rabbits love sunflowers, zinnias, peas, spinach...............

Herbs - basil did poorly, cilantro did well, and parsley did well in a pot except for 1 attack by some odd worm. 

Dream Garden

This is Val and Eric's garden. Everything is flourishing and we were able to enjoy lots of lettuce, basil, and a couple of cucumbers.  It is absolutely beautiful.  We  had such a fun time.  The guys golfed and Val and I got some projects done. Chops and Turk are such fun too.

Garden Update

I'm having a little bit of a better year this year with my flowers.  So far the voles have stayed away and I've added a load of triple mix (topsoil, compost, and manure).  My columbines are doing really well this year and have lots of blooms.   The snapdragons I planted are also doing well.  Even the lupine are ready to bloom.  On the veggie side of things it's not too great.  I put a wagon with pots in a full sun area and they have yet to sprout.  I don't know why I can't just resign myself to going to the farmer's market.  I am going to try some lettuce seed and see what happens.

I Can Grow Something! Sambucus Nigra

Our Black Lace Elderberry that I planted a couple of years ago is thriving.  It must like acidic soil.  I really like elderberries (a memory from my childhood) but Arn really dislikes them.  When I bought this plant @ Tagawa (a wonderful nursery north of Parker) the specialist didn't even know you could eat the berries.

The bush has yet to produce berries.  Ususally with the monsoons (now here), it will get destroyed by the hail (had some last night) and I'm not sure if that is why it has never produced fruit.  We'll see this year......if not, Meredith knows some secret places (not really secret, people just don't know or like the berries) in Boulder.  Right now I have two bottles of Elderberry Syrup which I'm using to sweeten tea and use on pancakes. 

Off to see Val and Eric in North Dakota

Val and Eric's great garden.

Chops, Mr. Baby, Baby Dogger, our granddog.

On 9/7/11 we decided to take a quick trip to North Dakota to see Val and Eric before the weather changes and while their garden is in full swing. We left on Thurs. afternoon and stayed the night in Deadwood, South Dakota. We had dinner at Kevin Costner's bar and grill (not outstanding). On Friday we headed to ND but since they were working we stopped to play 9 holes of golf at Boulder Canyon in SD outside of Sturgis and then stopped at Bear Butte State Park for a quick hike. Bear Butte is sacred to several tribes and the colorful pieces of fabric are prayer requests. It took us an hour to get to the top and was a 4 mi. total hike. While we were in Dickinson, Val and I did an Alzheimer's walk, went to a few rummage sales, the guys golfed, we all did yard work, and ate plenty of their vegetables. We also hit the Dairy Barn a couple of times. Val and Eric have a few things that I would love, love to have.....a garden, compost bin, rain barrel, greenhouse, and loads of garden veggies. Thanks for a really fun weekend Val, Eric, and Chops!

Garage Sale Goodies

Here's my latest garage sale find this past Saturday. We've had lots of big black birds (ravens?) this year. This is a swinging rusty bird garden art thingy that I found at Stan's neighbor's garage sale. Maybe it will keep those birds away. Original price - $40.00, my price $8.00. She said if she had known I was Stan's sis she would have given me a better deal. I also got a free garage organizer for tools which Arn put up that day, a rolling pin, and 2 great walking sticks (from Stanie's sale).

Dutch Heritage Gardens

This past Saturday I made a trip to Dutch Heritage Gardens. It was overwhelming but fun. Next year will be easier since I'll have experience. It's east of us about 5 miles with a great view of Pikes Peak. A young guy who's 28 (dutch heritage)and his wife own the place and have a 2 day open house on Memorial Day weekend. Everything is very well priced (about half the cost) and it's very well organized. I got a whole cart of plants for just $109. It included perrienals, annuals, variety pots, herbs, patio veggies (more to come on that, we'll see if they produce), and a hanging basket. The place is huge and well worth the wait in line. This place supplies all of the King Soopers stores so I'll have to do a price comparison soon. I think next year I'll make Arn go so he can be in line while I run around and get plants!

DenBot!

Last Sunday AM I met Meredith at the Denver Botanical Gardens to check it out. We don't know why we haven't been there before. It is beautiful. Good thing we got there early since it was pretty hot by the time we left. Mere knows alot about plants so it made it even more interesting. Enjoy the pics.