Wild Garden Update



I was walking through the backyard a week or so ago and noticed onions growing from last years salsa garden. I planted them from seed almost a year ago, and they didn't do well... they were weak and the tops eventually fell off and I forgot about them. To see them growing stronger and healthier than they did last summer is so strange! This gardening stuff never stops surprising me...

I learned a lot from last years garden and from the community gardening class we took this winter, and now when I go on walks with Dozer, or drives around the neighborhood, I can't stop looking at the plants and trees that people have chosen to grow in their yards. Some yards stand out among the normal yards looking balanced and lovely, with a flow to all the trees, bushes, and flowers. Yards like that take a lot of time and work, and I hope someday to accomplish that look. There are so many possibilities and personalities a yard can have, too much variety can mess up the composition.

You can have a yard with pinks and purples and whites... or yellows, reds, and oranges. Or a yard with no flowers at all... just plants with different textures and heights. For me it's hard to say no to any kind of flower, but to have a good looking yard you can't just plant everything you run across. Even though I love hollyhocks, they simply would look out of place with what I have going on. It's a fun puzzle to put together, especially because I want to win "yard of the year" from the city. And if I got the award while I was still in my thirties, well that would be a rad accomplishment.

My mom thinks I inherited my grandma's green thumb, which she is convinced skips every other generation. I sure hope so... I want to be that elderly lady kneeling in front of her house on her foam pad, weeding, while wearing a giant straw hat one day...

The book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver inspired this wild garden I have growing right now. I planted these cool weather plants under the scrub oak in the backyard, and I'm thrilled that they started growing.

kale:

bibb lettuce:

turnips:

and I got 4 kinds of tomato plants growing in the bathroom, according to the farmer's almanac I can plant these outside on May 12th, along with all the annuals I want to buy:

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Inspirational Links About Work & Pursuits

Hello! I have two lovely links to share with you today...

Ya know when you read something and it stays with you for a while, and you find yourself thinking about it again and again? That's how these posts have been for me, and since they were positive, thought-provoking, and helpful for me... I thought I would share them.

The first one I heard over the weekend when I was working on a quilt listening to some podcasts. Glenn Beck shared it on the air, I loved it so much I listened to it three times.

10 Reasons You Have To Quit Your Job In 2014, I thought #4 and #10 were the most thought provoking... and I totally agree. Money is not happiness, and working at a "job" does not create abundance... you need to pursue what will make your life the most enriched and satisfying. Not based off money, but based off being creative, and doing what you want to do. I believe that a simple life can be the most satisfying.

The second one is called My Secret to Work / Life Balance, written by a cool girl who runs a letterpress company in Heber City. I was impressed when she writes about the things that she wishes that she had time for (like going to concerts, staying up to date on music, or teaching), but made the deliberate decision to not pursue them... so that she would not be stretched so thin. And now she is more happy focusing on what her top priorities are.

Hope you enjoy reading those, since I don't haven anything of my own to post.... but here are some pretty pictures I took of two blossoming trees that have grown together, and now looks like one tree with pink and white blossoms.