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!

Pretty in Pink

 Stargazer Lilies are lovin' some sunshine.

 There’s this old saying, “make hay while the sun shines,” but what’s an impatient gardener to do when it’s been raining cats and dogs? Every day! For 6 long weeks?

Getting Lilies (top photo) & Tulips to bloom at the same time is oh-so-easy!

Plant Lilies indoors, in the depths of winter. Quick cure for cabin fever. :)

During the soggy month of May, I took an opposite approach to that old saying, by starting a full-on veggie garden, by seed, in my sunny window.

With those little darlings screaming for more wiggle room, I devoted the whole, blissful weekend to happily transplanting enough vegetables to feed an army, come harvest.

Drifts of Wild Phlox carpet the pasture area of our property.

That is.. IF they survive. Given our bee-zarre weather patterns, it might too early to throw my precious little seedlings to the wolves.

Mother Nature, no doubt, has one more trick up her sleeve. But, I couldn’t wait a moment longer.

I not only want it to be summer. I need it to be summer! It’s just downright nutty that I should have my furnace running in June!

Last summer's Hot Cha Cha Geraniums are still growing strong. 

They flowered, indoors, all winter. (Thanks, Amy!)

So, let's say a prayer. Light a candle. And, cross our fingers that this glorious weather will hold.

* Veggie seedlings don't make the most interesting pictures so here's some of the pink pretties gracing the garden today. This is what I squished into the raised beds:

• Golden Beets
• Chioggia Beets
• Romanesque Cauliflower
• Walla Walla Sweet Onions
• Radicchio Rosso
• Sadie’s Horse Beans
• Pinto Beans
• Luca and Fariolo Italian Beans
• Scarlet Nantes and Parisian Carrots

Divine Little Moments

Feel like taking a hike through the Utah Desert? The plentiful rains that have made my own spring a misery, have given new life to these harsh surroundings.

Loco Weed

 Ages ago ~ long before we took the plunge and re-located to Utah ~ I visited the crazy friends who'd moved here first. Certain they'd lost their marbles. Fully prepared to talk some sense into them!

Primrose

We skied for 2 days and then set out to explore the southern half of their unusual state, a few hours and a world away from the snowy scenes of the northern half, in the midst of a high mountain winter.

At our desert campsite, I peeled off my heavy winter coat and spotted a curious little cutie waving in the breeze:

Globe Mallow

My first encounter with the desert wildflower, Globe Mallow. Isn't she a beauty? (If I had a better camera I could show you an entire field of them.)

'Twas those same dear friends who dragged me down there this weekend. And, I went, though I was in no shape to go. I'd had a freak horse accident, a few days before. Which just added to the unhappiness of this cold, damp, no-gardening-for-you-dear-Kate, sorry excuse for a springtime.

Which has the greater affect on your mood? 

a)  People? 

b) Weather? 

For me, it is most definitely the weather. I battled depression the entire time I lived in the Midwest ~ never realized until I moved to sunny Utah that it was a malady bright blue skies could easily cure.

Wandering through the soft sand of the San Rafael Swell is an ideal time for reflection. On what brought me here in the first place and why it's a fine place to be. Once again, all is right with the world ~ thanks to a stellar combination of great friends, a delicious bonfire and glorious desert wildflowers.

PS: Happy Memorial Day. Here's hoping the sun was shining wherever you pitched your tent.

* Find the San Rafael Swell about an hour west of Moab along I-70, in southern Utah. These pics were taken in Little Wild Horse Canyon.

The New Normal?

Wild Lupine

During this elongated monsoon season, I’ve been keeping tabs on my friends in New Mexico. They’ve not had a drop of rain since December and I watch the dust swirl beneath their horses’ feet as they canter through the back country.

Wild Milk Vetch

Our own weather guy has been trying mightily to take our minds off the fact that we’re getting New Mexico’s rain (and probably yours, too.) If his latest trivia tidbit ~ how this is the coldest, rainiest spring in 35 years ~ was a feeble attempt to make us feel better, it is absolutely not working for me.

I keep wishing things will 'get back to normal.'  But, as time drags on, I'm beginning to wonder... is this the new normal? As in no such thing as normal and all weather patterns are extreme?

Wild Buttercup

On this 26th of May I am ~ finally ~ seeing leaf buds on my Lilacs. Not flowers, mind you, just the lime green hint of leaves preparing to unfold for springtime. Isn't that astonishing?

The weather here, there and everywhere has been depressing the hell outta me. I'm one of those do-goody two shoes who likes to volunteer and feels guilty over the plight of others. I'm grateful that I don't live in tornado country and happily donated my garden budget to those that do. Which was part bleeding heart though, I'll confess, it's an equal amount of selfish frustration.

Prairie Primrose should survive. She likes to keep her feet wet.

Not terribly excited about adding new flowers when I no longer know what will grow here. There's standing water in my backyard and waterwise perennials rotting in those make believe lakes.

I filled my gardens with natives and xeriscape perennials because I wanted to do right by the weather. It's hot and dry here, made great sense at the time. (Plus, it's way fun to smile smugly at my next door neighbor who goes into debt, every summer, on water bills to keep his Kentucky blue grass green.)

Uinta Groundsel

But, now I haven't a clue what to do. Other than to watch and wait.

To see how my Grand Plan Gardens fair under the regimes of the new normal. Who knows? Maybe they'll love this cushy new lifestyle. Maybe they'll think getting watered every day is a good thing. Though, I kinda doubt it. And, I'm preparing myself to file this soggy mess under ‘damned if you do.’

Belated Bloom Day and Big, Big Plans

Freesia bulbs (flowering indoors)

I missed celebrating Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day ~ though I guess that didn't really matter. Seeing as how we've experienced one of the coldest, rainiest springs on record.

The meadow across the way has morphed into a deep lake. A still, quiet place with no wildlife sounds. Which is a little unnerving. I mean... if the frogs are depressed with the weather just imagine how us land lubbers must feel??

I'm grateful for some color, indoors, during this cold, wet spring.

We've been having big fun in spite of the cold...

My darling daughter is getting married! We just returned from Willamette Valley, Oregon, where we were scoping out wedding venues.

They found the perfect spot ~ this place:

Vista Hills Winery, Willamette Valley, Oregon

It may not look like much in the photo but the inside is designed to feel as if you're outside and it's about as perfect as it could be.

Here's where things became all kismet and spine-tingling...

Wine Country Farm, Willamette Valley, Oregon

This is MY favorite spot in Willamette Valley.

Freesia bulbs flowering indoors

It's where I'm gonna live just as soon as I win the lottery. (And, it won't be long, now, 'cause I bought a powerball ticket at the airport.)

I suggested we stay there because I'd always wanted to show daughter L this special place.

The following morning, when we visited the wedding venue (they hadn't told me which places they were looking at,) we discovered their most favorite spot is walking distance ~ right down the road ~ from my favorite spot.

Isn't that wild??

PS! This is a picture of me right after they suggested I pay for this extravaganza....

* Bloom Day: I do have a few stalwart flowers shaking off the rain, snow, sleet and misery of this tough, tough month. But I'm so delighted with the Freesias blooming indoors that I wanted them to take center stage...

The Bell Pepper Uprising

$1.94

That's 1 dollar and 94 cents for one bell pepper.

And, so begins the revolution.

I'm a little outraged by food prices. And, I imagine ~ unless you've been living under a rock ~ you are, too.

Before you reprimand me... may I just say I wouldn't be nearly so outraged if I'd purchased this pepper at some groovy organic farm?

At least, in that scenario, I'd be assured a lot of love and affection, not to mention safe practices, went into the growing of it.

But, I didn't. I snatched it up, while running errands at Walmart, 'cause I needed dinner on the table in about 40 minutes. Did you know that bell peppers rank #7 in the Dirty Dozen? The top 12 veggies that contain the most pesticides?

Truth be told, I'd much prefer to fill my gardens with beautiful flowers and leave the produce planting to farmers.

But, I guess, as a gardener, I'm feeling financially ~ and morally ~ obligated to buck this whole skyrocketing price thing and thumb my nose at the man. 

Because... it is kind of ridiculous, don't you think? That we gardeners can grow a basket of bell peppers, from seed, for the price of a single pepper at the store?

Save a Bundle ~ Quick-Growing Veggies for Mountain Gardens

• Bloomsdale Long Standing Spinach
• matures in 42 days
• Coronado Crown Hybrid Broccoli
• matures in 58 days
• Early Contender Bush Beans
• matures in 49 days
• Little Marvel Sweet Peas
• matures in 62 days
• Black Cherry Tomatoes
• matures in 65 days
• Fat 'N Sassy Hybrid Sweet Pepper
• matures in 65 days
• Scarlet Nantes Carrot
• matures in 70 days

Mountain Veggie Growing Tips
Most every veggie has a quick-growing cousin that does well during our short mountain summers. I choose a lot of veggies based on how quick they reach harvest. Growing them in containers, on the deck, often delivers better results. The soil stays warmer at night and it's hotter on your deck, during the day.