Mom's Idaho Garden

It is spring - even if it doesn't feel like it!

2010-06-06T15:13:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd post a few photos of our backyard. We had a patio built for our hammock. We also had a firepit built. Joel and I spent most of the afternoon, yesterday, laying down landscaping fabric in the backyard around the firepit and along the back flowerbed. We will put bark over it. When that is completed the yard will be "done". Obviously there is plenty of room for flowers and bushes that will find their way home with me from the greenhouse in the months and years to come!

Signs of Spring

2010-03-17T13:27:00.001-07:00

I went on a walking tour of my yard yesterday. The sun was shining, and it must have been close to 50 degrees. The sun felt so good shining down on my face! I actually found signs of life in the garden. The Delphiums were growing. They were up about an inch. The Silver mound was starting to show signs of growth. When I checked for signs of life on two of my roses, I was so happy to see that there were still some green stocks left on them. Just the top of the roses were frozen an ugly brown color. Spring is such a magical time.

I was looking through my gardening photos from last fall. Here are some of the last photos I took before the frost hit. The Zinnias and Sweet Peas were so beautiful! My sister, Joan, gave this Aster to me. It was georgeous.

Another Quilt

2010-02-28T13:11:00.000-08:00

This quilt is the one that I originally bought the cute vintage fabrics for. As you can see, it didn't take many squares to make it. So I made the Vintage quilt. Then I STILL had more squares, and I made another one.
I seem to do that a lot. (I still have enough fabric for another tractor quilt) What can I say?!
Notice that my quilter put bunnies, butterflies, flowers and ducks in the quilting pattern.

Tractor Quilt for Crew (My new grandson)

2010-02-26T08:21:00.000-08:00

I wanted to make a tractor quilt in honor of my son-in-law who is a farmer. The other quilts I made for his son weren't very masculine, so this is for Abe! (And Crew) My quilter sewed tractors into the quilting pattern. I really like her work.

Cross Stitch

2010-02-26T08:17:00.000-08:00

I wanted to finish some projects that have been in the works. I don't even remember when I started this cross stitch. I know that I got the pattern while we still lived in Virginia, but I think I started this in about 1991. It is very detailed. It has tons on half, three-quarter, and quarter stitches. Then it is all very detailed in the backstitching. I'm so happy to have it done. Now I just need to frame it. I love all of the vibrant colors. I will hang it where I can enjoy it everyday.

Anne's new jumper

2010-02-26T08:13:00.000-08:00

Anne wanted a new jumper to wear to the February Stake Dance. She chose this one. I lined the whole thing so she wouldn't have to wear a slip with it. I think next time I will just buy a new slip! It has 8 yards of fabric in it. I really like how it looks on her. The shoes are very cute. We found them for $5 at Wal-Mart.

Another Vintage quilt

2010-02-26T08:03:00.000-08:00

I had enough squares left to make another Vintage quilt. I wanted to show a photo of the grid that you draw on the fabric. It shows you where to place each square. I pin each square in place, then sew all of the vertical lines. Then I turned the quilt and sewed all of the horizontal lines. If you have a desire to make this quilt you should try it. It was very satisfying to make.

If I can't garden, I'll create something else!

2010-02-01T19:06:00.000-08:00

I thought I would share with you some of my recent "winter creations".

Quilts I made for baby Schank

2010-02-01T18:51:00.000-08:00

This duck quilt was introduced to me by my sister, Valine. It is sooo cute! But it was a bear to make! I threw out the pattern when I finished it.
This minkie quilt is very soft.

Baby Schanks blessing clothes

2010-02-01T18:47:00.000-08:00

I made this jumpsuit, hat, blanket and booties for my soon-to-be-born grandson. I can't wait to see him in them!

Dresses made for Tracy's grandbabies

2010-02-01T18:46:00.000-08:00

I made these dresses for a wedding at the Rick's. They were much more challenging than they look.

Winter Projects

2010-02-01T18:43:00.001-08:00

This is a quilt I made. It was fun.

More fountain photos

2009-08-11T18:14:00.000-07:00

Camille sent these pictures of the fountain. I thought I would share.

Progress

2009-08-10T18:33:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of the gardens' progress through July. We haven't been home much this summer, but we managed to get quite a bit accomplished when we were here. Enjoy. I have!

Rock Fountain

2009-08-10T18:09:00.000-07:00

We have been looking forward to having a rock fountain installed in our backyard landscape. When I was at my physical therapists I learned that her husband owned Cascade Landscape and Design in Ammon,Idaho, www.cascadelandscape.net. They helped us find the rock that we wanted. They drilled the hole through it and installed the water feature in our backyard. Joel and I had gathered rocks that we liked, and I placed those around the fountain. We are really pleased with it. We wanted something that kids can play on. It met all of our expectations.

2009-06-07T13:33:00.000-07:00

Hauling Gravel into the garden paths

2009-06-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

This first photo is of Abe, my son-in-law, helping me mix the soil for the vegetable beds.
Wednesday afternoon I had 7 cubic yards of gravel dumped on my driveway. By Thursday evening it was in place in the backyard. I put weed barrier under all of it. It was very labor intensive (10 hours) but I think it made it look nice and finished.

Results of May's work

2009-06-03T18:59:00.001-07:00

Photos for May happenings

2009-06-03T18:52:00.000-07:00

May's happenings

2009-06-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

We worked a lot in the yard this last month. Abe (my son-in-law) helped me mix the soil for the first three vegetable beds. We used the recipe from the Square Foot Garden book. Joel helped me mix the soil for the last two vegetable beds and the long flower bed at the back of the property.

Joel worked very hard to get the drip systems in. Now we just set the time and just like magic - it gets watered!

I love the back flower bed. Joel gave me money for the flowers for a birthday gift. Bless him. I had so much fun in the green house picking out some of my favorite flowers.

The little garden by the fence (with the three white trellises) is planted with Zinnias and Sweet Peas.

I decided to try growing tea roses - again. I hope the Idaho winters will spare them! I planted those in Southern exposures, next to the house. Hope it is warm enough.

I had so much fun planning this yard. Joel is a sweetheart to execute all of my dreams in this yard. Thank you Joel!

Keep checking back. I will be putting gravel around all the vegetable beds and under the trampoline. We are going to put in a water feature soon.

Joel gave me a lounge chair for my birthday. He said it is a place to sit and enjoy my gardens and yard.

Front Yard

2009-04-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

We added a lot of peat moss and steer manure to the front garden.

We planted a Red Canadian Cherry, Camperdown Elm, Frechia, red twig dogwoods, yews, burning bushes, rose bushes, lupine, ladies mantle, Russian Sage. I'm sure there will be more plants put in over time.

Square Foot Garden Vegetable Beds

2009-04-28T08:19:00.001-07:00

Joel has done a fine job of planning and building the raised vegetable beds. We used Pecky Cedar 6X8's. We will fill them with a mixture of Peat Moss, Vermiculite, and compost. I can't wait to garden in this fine soil!

Back yard

2009-04-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

I have started a back corner perrenial garden. The Hollyhocks are planted against the house. There are also some Oriental Poppies planted here. I want to make this a vibrantly colored garden area. The Weeping Pussy Willow on the corner will mark where I turn the color pallet to softer hues.

So far, we have eight trees planted in the back yard: Honey crisp apple tree, two Prarie Fire crabs, Deborah Maple, Canadian Red Cherry, Plum, Weeping Pussy Willow, and if I can find one - a Corkscrew willow.
We also planted ten Lilac bushes around the trampoline.

Progress through April

2009-04-27T07:06:00.001-07:00

I set out the path through the back garden area. It will be lined in brick and paved with crushed gravel, with stepping stones down the middle.

Landscape borders and grass in

2008-12-10T07:14:00.000-08:00

We were able to get the grass planted by mid September, after installling the steel landscape borders. Since we had a mild autumn, the grass came in pretty well.

The second to last photo shows where we will install the stream in the backyard. Joel and I collected the pile of rocks. We are excited to install it in the spring!

The canvas is set, and ready for flowers and trees in the spring. It will keep me dreaming all winter.

This last photo is a picture of my lemon tree. It grew seven lemons this last year. They were all deliciously sweet! (Thank you, Valine)

Trenching for Sprinkler Systems

2008-12-10T07:08:00.000-08:00

I think this step in the process of putting in a yard is grueling! Basically, a lot of the work you put in smoothing the yard, and marking borders is wiped out. But Joel did a fantastic job of installing the sprinkler system. It took him about 2 weeks of "after work" work to complete it. You will see in the next post the pipes and valves for the raised garden beds.

Back yard ready for trenching

2008-12-10T07:01:00.000-08:00

It took most of the summer to get the yard this ready. We also had the fence installed.

The yard is smooth and ready for trenching

2008-12-10T06:43:00.000-08:00

These photos show the front and back yard ready for the trenching for the sprinkler systems. You can also see the trenching for the landscape borders.

New House - New Garden

2008-07-31T08:02:00.000-07:00

We have moved to a new house. I will be starting all over with a new yard and gardens. I'm actually excited about new projects.

These new photos are pictures of my "blank canvas." I have already been raking and trying to establish grade before we begin.

We will have the fence put in August 15th.

I have included a rough draft of our yard design.

Check back periodically for progress. I should be done in a few years!

Winter garden

2006-12-30T08:26:00.000-08:00

December 30, 2006
We awoke to this beautiful winter wonderland. I couldn't resist taking photos of my garden.

End of August garden

2006-08-28T07:20:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share photos of the hollyhocks, zinnias, and sweetpeas. They were all so beautiful this year. I have really enjoyed the sights and smells in the garden this year.

Wedding Reception

2006-07-12T16:15:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a week now since the wedding and reception. It was such a lovely event. I wanted to post a few photos of the days' happeninings.

We've got baby Swallows

2006-07-10T19:08:00.000-07:00

We have been watching two Swallows swoop around our backyard for a few months now. The Mom will poke her head out of the hole on hot summer days, and rest it on the rim of the hole. Tonight I was watching her come in and out of the birdhouse, when we discovered there are at least two baby birds inside. The Mom and Dad kept flying around, catching bugs, and bringing them back to the little ones. They sure have been keeping the population of mosquitos down for us this summer. They are fun to watch.

July garden

2006-07-10T07:34:00.000-07:00

Well, we had a wonderful wedding reception in the backyard. The garden performed beautifully. It met all of my expectations. The sweetpeas were booming like crazy on the fence and trellis. The daisies were in full-bloom. The day lillies were out, and it all looked beautiful dressed with soil pep on every garden.

Sweet Peas for the wedding

2006-07-02T21:03:00.000-07:00

The Sweet Peas that were planted in containers for the wedding are growing and blooming. I think they will look great on the tables.

The Sweet Peas that were planted outside around the fence are performing beautifully. I just looked at them tonight and they are beginning to bloom. I was not expecting them to be blooming by July 5, but this was a pleasant surprise.

Visitor on Lupine

2006-06-12T09:10:00.000-07:00

I have not been able to successfully grow Lupine in Idaho in the past. But I decided to try one more time this year. I know that it grows in much harsher conditions because I've seen it growing in Park City, Utah. So I planted it one more time. . . and it grew! This bumble bee is enjoying it as well.

What a difference two weeks can make

2006-06-10T09:31:00.000-07:00

I wanted to show you how much my garden has changed in just two weeks. It is really filling in.

Plate size Poppies

2006-06-10T09:11:00.000-07:00

These are some Poppies that are blooming in my garden. I can't believe how big they are!

Bush sweet peas

2006-06-02T07:12:00.000-07:00

We are having a backyard wedding reception on July 5, and we wanted to use potted sweet peas for the table decorations. I found some Window Box Sweet Peas, Heirloom Cupid at "Renee's Garden" on the web. I planted them in #10 cans on March 14th. They just started blooming June 1st. They have a great fragrance, and they are only about 10 inches tall. I think they will make a nice addition to the docorations.

Ilene's garden

2006-05-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

This is my perennial garden on May 29, 2006. It is two years old. I have planted about 30 new plants this spring. The vegetable bed is 30X30 feet. The flower bed around the edge is five feet deep. I hope for a lot of new growth this summer. We top-dressed the garden with soil pep this spring.

Sweet Peas

2006-05-29T18:13:00.000-07:00

The cool weather is great for growing sweet peas. They were planted the first of May, and they are now about two inches hight. I need them to be blooming in 27 days. Do you think they'll make it?

Nickname

2006-05-29T17:52:00.000-07:00

The origins of my nickname hearken back to the early days of childhood.

And, mmmmm, are they good.

Go beans!!

Spring is Here!

2006-05-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

Gardening is my passion in life, that is, next to my family. I love to be outside and work in the soil. Life is beautiful and especially so in Idaho Falls, Idaho, where we are currently emerging from Winter into the beautiful rebirth of Spring.

My artist palette is a 3/4 acre plot East of Idaho Falls. I've been constantly improving the land for about 3 years now.