Black Petunia

Last spring I blogged about my attraction to purple. There is just something wonderful about purple.

So when I saw this *black* petunia clearanced at Home Depot on the last day of May I snapped it up!



Frankly I have to FORCE myself to buy other colors to come live in my garden. I could easily have an all purple garden.

This pretty pet resides in my flower bed the runs along the PAW-th at the back of the house. It is joined there by some lighter purple petunias, some lighter-purple-yet mums, the lilac bushes and a newly planted lavender...

SEE! I told you I have a purple addiction!

My Tiered Planter...

You know how we pin things to our  Pinterest boards thinking *someday* I will do that fun thing? Well, I DID IT!!

This week I ran across this tiered planter post on Pinterest and knew I had to make it.



I made a trip to Home Depot for terra cotta pots and saucer, a half cinder block, 2 bricks (to raise the two inside pots), paint AND some bargain clearance plants. After the hot week we've had most of the outside plants were either-

1. Wilted
2. Clearanced or
3. DEAD!

In original post by Amy she used spray paint... frankly, I've never been a fan of spray paint. I always feel like I just end up killing my precious brain-cells by inhaling it! And I also wanted some very specific colors! Home Depot's selection of spray paint colors is slim, Wal-Mart is better, but neither of them had the turquoise I wanted! So I got those dandy little 8 ounce custom-mix colors from Behr! OMSH! I think I'm in love! They were only $2.87 for 8 oz! I can't even buy acrylic craft paint for that price!

I painted the pots with two coats of base paint, even though this is paint and primer in one. Then it was time to paint the polkie-dotties! I LOVE POLKIE-DOTTIES! I used 3 paper circles to trace my random dots on the big pot but I just free-handed the dots on the two smaller pots with a 1" foam brush. I created a stencil in Photoshop for the address number area, printed it on a full sheet label (no Cricut for me) and used a Coluzze craft knife to cut it out. I used Pauline's trick of applying a thin coat of the base paint over my stencil (and let it dry) before painting with the black paint (which has to be 20 year old!) to get those nice crisp edges for the numbers! Then I rummaged in my furnace room for some wipe on clear polyurethane to seal the outside of the pots.  I used Thompson's water seal on the inside (cough, cough... it was the spray variety!  I can't like it!)

So here is my cast of characters. (You can see the gerbera pot, which had to get demoted one stair, and my old polka-dot pot. They were both happy to be getting a new friend on the front porch!)



Amy suggested using some filler to reduce the weight of the pots. I used a half cinder block- I had to clunk off the corners on the bottom with my hammer to make it fit in the bottom of the pot. I added the bent soda cans (thank you, Gordon) as filler but also found that they helped stabilize the cinder block in the center.



Another Pinterest idea was using a coffee filter in the bottom of the pot to keep the dirt from leaking through! I love it... especially as the second pot's hole is right over the big hole in the cinder block. I used two bricks placed on end in the second pot (apparently I didn't get a photo of that).



I carefully unearthed and separated all of the plants from the $5 hanging basket and remembering what Margee taught us about removing the big root ball, and planted them on the two bottom tiers. I have a $1 geranium for the top pot. The *filler* looked a little thin so I went and *borrowed* some alyssum from my island planter in the front yard.



Can I just say how happy this make me?

Hollyhocks for Joanie

I love nostalgic flowers... you know the kind... you see them and they take you back in time. Hollyhocks are one of those flowers for me. For as long as I can remember we had hollyhocks growing along the wall in our backyard at our little Greenville house. I will even admit to being one of those kids who had to taste everything... I can tell you that the inside of hollyhock stems resembles packing peanuts! (Although I haven't TASTED packing peanuts!)

JOANIE'S 6TH BIRTHDAY- NOTICE THE HOLLYHOCKS IN THE TOP RIGHT (I'm on the far left)

I've tried planting them in my yard at previous homes, but never had much luck until we got to our house here in Springville, where I had red ones already established.  I've learned an interesting thing about hollyhocks, they don't look so hot the first year... but if you are patient with them they will reward you greatly... guess that's just how  it is.

The other thing about hollyhocks is that they attract bumble bees! Again with the weird personal facts, but I love bees, especially bumble bees. We have a mutual understanding... I don't hurt them, they don't hurt me.

Honeybees come for their share of the pollen too... look how the bottom guy is covered with it!

This particular stand of hollyhock lives in my raised garden area. They are volunteers! I use grass clippings to mulch my garden area and they must have tagged along! Last year, as described above, they were sad. This year when I was laying out my drip system I ran some drippers to these hollyhocks. wow, WOW, WOW!

To paraphrase a song... hollyhocks as high as an elephant's-eye! These are about 9 feet tall!

I love these happy flowers, they just make me smile...

One last photo... a digitally altered bumble bee... well, the photo, not the bee ;)

Paperwhites for Christmas

About six weeks ago when I was shopping for a de-thatching blade for my lawnmower I saw some paperwhite bulbs (Narcissus papyraceus). They had various quantities, some even already planted in a glitzy-silver pot. But I'm not too much of a silver-pot-kind-of-girl so I opted to buy my own pot... a beautiful pearly black square pot that would look *just so* in my kitchen!

I brought the bag of 10 bulbs and new pot home, immediately read the directions and set about potting my bulbs. I've never *forced* a bulb before, but there were clear instructions about planting the bulb with the top showing and putting it in a cold place (under 50 degrees... hmmm wonder if I could find somewhere like that in November! HA! The garage! It's a second refrigerator in the winter) for two weeks and then bring it inside to a sunny spot (aforementioned kitchen window) and watch it grow.

Boy they weren't kidding! I could literally watch it grow! It sprouted up a couple of inches each day. Then last week the blossom heads started to appear. Now, just in time for Christmas, here they are in full bloom! What a beautiful treat!



I love their delicate fragrance. It tickles my nose each time I walk into the kitchen.  They remind me so much of their cousins in the Narcissus family.

texture info-
kk_wonderfulmagic_scripted- blending mode screen 100% with selective reduction.

Confusion of the Seasons

In northern Utah we frequently experience sudden drastic climatic changes. I can't even count the number of times we experience *the warm before the storm*! Yesterday was a lovely fall day- high almost 70! Beautiful weather for the little trick or treaters!

Today?... yeah, take a look...



This photo says it all. You see the petunias buried under a blanket of snow, leaves from my Japanese maple and snow on the pumpkin! Gordon went out about noon (the snow started here at 9:30 am) and knocked the very wet snow off of our trees. Good thing too, several of our neighbor's trees have broken limbs from wet snow on branches still in full foliage. The good news is that here we didn't lose power like the folks back east!



Texture Tuesday stats-
kk_and then some - blending mode darker color 82%
kk_stained linen- blending mode vivid light 28%

Last Day...

(boo-hoo-hoo-hoo... sniff!)

The weather-guesser is predicting our first freeze for this evening... sniff, snuffle...

That means that my beautiful fall flowers are going to be a thing of the past. I just love what happens to my flowers in September and October! The heat of the summer is over and they rebound with an extra wave of color. I had no idea that these petunias and mums would make such a beautiful combination when I planted the petunias back in May!



So, sad, sad, SAD... tomorrow these will be all wilted and sorry... sniff...



kk_and then some- color burn 62%
kk_dream- darken 100%

Jessica's Poppy

Several years ago I was at Jessica's house and saw the MOST BEAUTIFUL poppies ever! They were tall, huge and PINK! I knew I needed some of those.



Funny thing about poppies, they come with their own little pepper-shaker-seed-dispenser! So Jess kindly gave me a couple. I brought them home, put them in my kitchen drawer and then forgot about the until this spring.



Mine aren't tall, their stems are all disfigured like an osteoarthritic old woman but when you look at their happy little faces you see that they are trying to gladden just one corner of my garden. Maybe next year I need to find a sunnier place for these beautiful flowers.

Red Gerbera

One of my favorite summer flowers is the happy little gerbera daisy! These live on my front steps.



AND... an update on my hands- they are healing slowly. You wouldn't think that having your hands operated on would be such a big deal, but apparently it is.  I didn't think it would take this much out of me... but, again, apparently it does.  The Doctor's instructions were- use your hands but don't do anything that hurts.  I found out trying to tuck in my shirt wasn't a good idea.  And who knew that opening car doors would be a problem?  Bathing, fortunately, has been fairly easy... after discovering that I wouldn't be able to find any rubber or latex gloves large enough to fit over my already-large and bandaged hands I found that a produce bag and rubber band work just fine.

One more thing... our sweet daughter-in-law, Jessica, hosted 3rd Sunday *Grammie* dinner and it was delicious. We are so lucky to have so much of our family here with us.

Hole-in-the-Rock: Flora and Fauna

I realized that I had so many photos from our trip down to southern Utah that I would need to break it up into several posts. And anyone who knows me and my photographic habits recognizes that I can rarely pass up a photo of flora or fauna... they just make me happy!

This is Dance Hall Rock (about 35 miles along our trail) were the pioneers camped for a LONG TIME while scouts went out to decide what route would work best. They had nightly dances to break up the time. You have to admire their tenacity.



This is also where I viewed the illusive, and sometimes violent, rock monkey. These treacherous primates often masquerade as human-adolescent males... but don't let their appearance fool you. As soon as they return to their native habitat (large rock formations, the higher the better) rock monkeys become wildly daring and refuse to listen to their trainers. YOUTH LEADERS- BE WARNED!

LOOK OUT OF THE WAY!

Observe the rock monkey's propensity to play right on the edge of the precipice! (Stupid monkeys!)



I was also able to capture the shadow of the long-legged rock gazelle, but this mammal is invisible to dSLR's powers.



Now... these little creatures! HA! They had no chance against my superior powers! I could have squished them like an ant. I love his little antie (or is that auntie?) foot-prints in the sand.



And look at this little worker's shadow! I see he hasn't learned magic powers yet. Whew!



OK... this is more my speed! That is the nice thing about fauna... usually it isn't moving away from you at a high rate of speed. I love the deep orange/red color of this delicate desert wildflower.



I'm not familiar with southern Utah wildflowers so I don't know the name of either one of these pretty little flowers.



And speaking of tenacity! Look at this sweet little buttercup growing up from a crack in the slickrock! (Is this where I burst into song? My little buttercup- has the sweetest smile!)



On the ride out (did I mention that it was 55.5 miles of dirt, wash-boarded, bumpy road?) I saw cacti on the side of the road, so I was pretty happy to find one when we reached Hole-in-the-Rock.



But I was even more excited when I found this little lovely, still in bloom!



You know, it makes all the bumps worth it when there are beautiful vista, dangerous fauna and delicate flora at the journey's end.

Let's Hear it for Purple!

"Purple? PUR-ple! PURRRR-PLE! That's a stupid name! Why don't they just call it BOINK!?!" 14-year old Stuart.

We've laughed about that conversation for years!

But you know? Purple Boink just makes me happy!

What caught my attention this morning was one of my beautiful, late-blooming, *black* tulips. How can you NOT love this color?



Now don't get me wrong... this wasn't an epiphany this morning, I've known I love purple for a long time... but take a look at the rest of my garden.

There are my happy little spotty-dotty violets (they grow like weeds! Lucky me!)...



Purple salvia, mud splattered from all the spring rain (a lovely perennial)...



Ooh, ooh, and one of my favorites- ruffled petunias (I found these a couple of weeks ago at Carpenter's Nursery in South Provo with DeLoris)...



Regular purple petunias (these are from Home Depot's nursery)...



My purple bearded iris on the *island* with purple salvia in the background...



And purple snow clouds, WAIT A MINUTE!! WHAT ARE THEY DOING HERE ON MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND?

Hmmm, welcome to life in the mountains... reminds me of Greenville.

Iris for Elsie

Today is one of those bittersweet days that come around too often at my house. We all know that it is Mother's Day. The sweet part, and I hate to break it to the rest of you- I have the very best mom in the world! The not-so-sweet part is that she's been gone for 34 Mother's Days now! I can't like that part too much!

But as my sweet-niece-Cindy reminds me, "The veil is only as thick as you make it!" So when I look at these beautiful purple iris that grace my garden I remember my Mama!



But Elsie, my Mom, didn't just have the purple iris like these. Oh no! She had such an array of bearded iris as anyone would love to behold: cream, peach, bi-colored, blue, fragile Dutch iris... it makes my heart happy to think of them.

She loved flowers so much. Our funny little yard in Greenville was thick with flowers: daffodils, iris, gladiolas, violets, lilacs; those lovely perennials!



And petunias... don't forget the petunias! That was my standard Mother's Day gift. I would go to Hunter's Hardware down on Main Street and buy Mom a flat of petunias (usually with her money) and then I would help her plant them.

So this year I valiantly remember the happy, sweet memories of my wonderful, loving mother who sacrificed her life and desires to raise her girls!  And I try not too let too many tears fall with missing her!

Smells Like Heaven

One of my favorite things about spring (oh, let me count the ways!) is my lilacs blooming. I think heaven must smell like that!

I've always enjoyed spring, but I think it is an even happier time this year because it has been so slow in coming. My sweet lilacs stayed in the bud stage for the better part of April!

This lilac lives just outside my back door and is ruffled. I've blogged about it before it is called My Favorite Lilac (which is so true!)



I also have the un-ruffled variety like we had in Greenville when I was growing up.



When we moved here 6 years ago I added the three lilac bushes that are along the back of the house. Imagine my surprise when I found that there were 4 other lilac bushes in my little 1/4 acre of heaven! The ones not pictured here are a variety I'd ever seen before. They are very frail... that's the only word I can think of that describes them. They still are in the very beginning of bud stage.

The other beauty that caught my eye when I was out on my photographic explore was my back door neighbor's pear tree... just beautiful. (I can already taste their luscious, juicy fruit.)

Narcissus for Mom

Today my Momma would be 98 if she were still alive! (Sadly she's been gone for 34 years.) But as I've looked out at my happy-daff-o-dillies this spring it has reminded me of her.

Narcissus were one of the *perennial* flowers that lived in Mom's yard. (I'm using the term perennial loosely here, I know that narcissus are bulbs.  They were a constant.)  I love them with all their varieties. Growing up I thought only the all yellow ones were daffodils and the multicolored ones were narcissus. But last year I learned from Wikipedia that they are all narcissus, that is their botanical name.



This happy specimen is like the ones Mom used to have in the planter bed between the house and driveway. They were always my favorite.



How can you not love these three happy little maids?



And here is a nice daffodil, not the honking kind like Professor Sprout has!

Remember, Remember...

(MY WHITE *DE-LOR-EE-US* TULIP- SHE GAVE ME THESE BULBS LAST YEAR)

I’ve been waking up early- 7:30 to 8 and appreciate having these hours to think, work and be obedient to the injunction, “Arise early that your mind and body might be invigorated”. I know that when I sleep in I wake up tired, not the least of which is from stupid dreams, and stupid-headed.

Yesterday morning while I was mowing the lawn and was being assailed by negative thoughts. I hate that! Then I recalled to mind one of my favorite scriptures which I have memorized and stored away like nuggets of gold. As the words of Helaman 5:12 passed through my mind I could feel the power of the adversary with “all his hail and mighty winds” being blown away and replaced with sweet peace. I AM built upon the Rock of my Redeemer! Satan will NOT drag me down to that gulf of misery and endless who!

How grateful I am for the scriptures and the sweet peace they bring into my life.

Dead Fish

My dad use to have a saying... Company is like fish; after 3 days they stink! Whereas this is not always true I have found that I would rather have a visit end with all of us saying, “This visit was too short!” as opposed to “Oh, schmack, I wish I’d left yesterday!!” My visits this trip falls into the previous category. It just wasn’t long enough.


[THIS PIC HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS POST EXCEPT IT IS A POT OF TINY BULBS BY BEK'S FRONT DOOR. THE DAFFODILS ARE NO LARGER THAN MY FINGERNAILS!]

I had a lovely week with the Flynn family and on Friday they all got a big treat! Uncle Stuey flew into Fresno to surprise them when they all got home from school. Those boys just idolize their *St'rt*.

And speaking of dead fish... Curt and Bek treated Stuart and I to an excellent sushi dinner on Friday night (the boys decided they’d pass on that one!) We sat right at the bar and watched Wan prepare all of our sushi rolls and sushi. I’ve decided that eel is a new favorite. Wan is a master at the art of sushi.

Saturday we drove back to Palmdale where Stuart dropped me off at Auntie P’s then hot-footed it down to Brea to visit a friend. He stayed there to hear her speak in church on Sunday.

I went to church with P in the Palmdale 4th ward (sniff, no more Palmdale 2nd ward!). I got to see old friends, some of whom I haven’t seen for years since they were split into 4th ward years before we moved from Palmdale. P told me that Glenn Tong was now on the High Counsel so when I saw him I told him I’d love to hear him speak someday. My wish is his command! By coincidence he was speaking in the Littlerock 1st Ward which meets right after 4th ward. I ditched out of 4th ward’s Relief Society and sneaked into the back of the chapel. Imagine my surprise to find more old friends!

We ended up sitting in the chapel for nearly another hour after sacrament meeting was over visiting! The happiest news is that both Ann Keelan and Pauline realized they were quilters and now we have a new quilting friendship. Happy times.

So today, Monday, finds us winging (fly little Beatrix, fly) our way home with another perk... I have Stuart to share the driving. (FYI- the trip took 8.5 hours!  It usually takes me 9.5-10.)