2012 - Pail No!

Really?  $139.95 for a Watering Can?  Really?

I have been following a blog called Garden Rant and they have some really good info on their site and pointed out something interesting.  They have a good point.  Copper Spades and Forks that cost hundreds of dollars are not for the everyday gardener.  Williams-Sonoma's Agrarian line is ridiculously priced, but so is everything on the site.  Don't get me wrong.  They have some beautiful items and I would like something for me to admire and never use, because I would be too afraid to break it.

If I were to go to my garden and attempt to use one of those items made of copper in my hard clay soil, they would be ruined and a real waste of a lot of money.  So my thought in this whole Agrarian line is for the people who have so much money to spend, they could buy these beautiful tools and keep them on their wall.  Being that they are beautiful, they are ornamental.  Too beautiful to put to work.  All show.  These people have people who bring their own tools to tend their garden, while the pretty tools sit on the wall shinning in the sun.

Now I know where all that stolen copper went to.  Let alone, why would I want to display some copper tools to be stolen.  They may as well be made out of gold.

2012 - Powell Gardens

Every time Evan and I make our way out to Powell Gardens it is always hot.  It was April 1st and almost 90 degrees out.  March 2012 beat out so many highest temperature records throughout the country that it wasn't surprising the first day of April would present a little taste of that as well.  This garden hosts a bounty of variety in species of plants.  My favorite is the Editable Garden.  I like to see what kind of plants survive this strange climate we live in and get excited about growing it in our own backyard.  Last year we checked it out in August to see what kind of vegetables survived the very hot summer we had.  Okra was the most memorable.   It was so beautiful too.  Deep maroon veins as if they were blood vessels within the gorgeous green leaves.

The Sunflowers were also my favorite memorable plants that were scattered all over the editable garden.  As well they should be.  After their huge flower show is over there will be LOTS of seeds for everyone to enjoy!  If the birds don't get to them first!  Ha!

Enough of last year's great display!  This spring was all about the millions of blooms that arrived early this year.  Even though it was the first day of April, it seemed like we missed so many blooms already.  The Daffodils, Crocus, and the many other first bloomers of Spring were done.   Nonetheless, we still saw so many beautiful displays and smelled all the breath taking aromas that they gave off.

Last year, - I know, I know, I said enough of last year, but - Evan and I signed up for the $50 membership level that gives us unlimited visits for a year, minus festivals and trolley service and we received a butterfly bush just like this one.  Only our bush is almost a square foot in size and is not producing quite a display like this one.  Hopefully, ours will one day be this big and happy if the deer leave it be and it survives the harsh life in our back yard.  So far it has it has survived the dry winter we just had, so it's a start.

Being that it is early spring, the lettuce at Powell Gardens was in full display.  It was very delicious looking despite the heat wave in March, as it looked incredible.  Hopefully, it is not too late for our lettuce we planted a week ago in our own yard.

The Fountain is Evan's favorite spot.  When it is hot, like it is every time we come out here, he tends to jump in and cool off.  He didn't do it this time.  I was surprised.   It's always fun to sit there and watch kids run around in it and have fun and it makes Evan feel like a little kid, too.

 I think purple flowers or the color of purple was the theme here this time around...

After moving from the Editable Garden, we trekked our way towards the Perennial Garden.  There is quite a walk in between the two. A great place to rest is in the Monet inspired Pond that is a garden on an island.  The spot where we sat, the Marjorie Powell Allen Chapel could be seen from a distant.  From this picture it looks like it is a bird house in the tree.  It was amusing because it was not the intention when I took it.

This Papyrus plant was an unexpected species to see.  It sat in a large pot of water with hundreds of blossoms that fell from the tree above.  Very neat to see.

Another really neat feature of this Pond Garden is the Living Wall.  The plants cling to the rocks all splayed out with their thousands of blooms.  From Herbs to Succulents to mystery species that I have no idea what they are named.

I'll spare the pictures of the Pond as it was recovering from the winter, but everything around it made up for it's loss of beauty.  Once we left the Pond, it was a short trek through the Prairie to the Rock and Waterfall Garden in the forest.

Once in the forest, the waterfalls could be heard.  They were as refreshing as the shade from the hot sun.  Bursts of red highlighted the garden in the new green leaf growth in the forest.

 There were lots of places to sit and relax to take in the sounds of the forest.  Or just sit and enjoy the view.


These Summer Snowflakes were a joy to see.  They remind me of Lily of the Valley with their bell shaped flower.  A reminiscent of a crocus plant is seen the the foreground.

Another delight, Hellebore.  Though not as pretty as I'd hope to see, it was really awesome to finally see it in person.

To the point of this whole post, this next bunch of pictures are the real reason we went.  The Arbor Garden sits next on the edge of the pond and has this most outrageous display of Wisteria covering the majority of it.  The billions of blooms buzzed with the hum of bees that filled the air while they pollinated in a dizzy of floral nectar aromas.

Ah Ha!  Caught you in action, Mr. Bee!

Quite amazing.  The sunfish were all standing by waiting for someone to feed them, too!  I just wish I had a fishing pole to catch one, but that wouldn't be fair.

 These last blooming Buttercup Daffodils were pleasant to take in.

Taking our walk back to the garden's visitor center, Evan stumbled upon this very fast moving and fat caterpillar. 

Out of the heat and into the tropical room, contrary to the name, it was nice and cool inside.  Lots of Orchids and Amaryllis where in full bloom.

Please check this garden out if you are in the Kansas City area.  It truly deserves your attention and is worth the visit.  Anytime of the year is a treat.

2012 - Lawn Mower Update

The Fix-a-Handle came in the mail finally on Thursday, after I corrected the info with the billing address.  I mowed the backyard again with the chopsticks earlier in the week as we waited for the part. 

I opened up the package and I used our hacksaw to take off the end of the handle that needed to fit inside the part and it fits snugly.  Now, I wait for the sun to go down a bit to test it out.

 

 

These are not my good chopsticks that we bought in Korea, but ones we found at a local Korean store that have some grippers on the ends that hurt my teeth when using them.  I was glad to have them to get the job done and they did well.

 

 

 

Now I need a new blade.  The edge is dull and chipped.  It will have to wait for another day or season.  The grass still cuts and I can't ask for more.

A new handle wrap would be nice, too.  Other than that, I am satisfied with this Homelite Cordless Mower.

2012 - Street Tacos - Lent Style

Happy Easter!

Evan and I made Street Tacos Thursday night or in Christian terms on Maundy Thursday.  Tilapia is a really good choice for tacos.  Evan breaded the meat with flour, red pepper and sea salt, then quickly fried it in a hot skillet with enough oil to keep it from sticking.  We used corn tortillas, fresh cilantro, cabbage, onion, Mexican four cheese blend, salsa, and fresh squeezed lime.  MMmmm. Mmmm. Mmmm.  The sides were black re-fried beans and taco rice.

It was not our Last Supper, but it was the last supper that has been oh so good and something we made that was not from a box or bag.

Evan's tacos.  He added Louisiana Hot Sauce.  He says, "It was super Good!"

My tacos.  Cheese under the meat to help it melt.

2012 - I Couldn't Resist

I absolutely LOVE this store.  Planters Seed and Spice Co. has a good variety of transplants, a vast assortment of seeds (the only store I have found that has SOY BEANS), and a great collection of tools and supplies to keep your garden in awesome shape!   Evan and I picked up a four pack transplant of Vates Kale that I planted these in the empty Radish spot in the raised garden, I couldn't resist.  After eating a Brussel Sprout and Kale salad at Christmas, I was hooked.  It is supposed to be a hardy plant that I hope will take hold and give us a bounty of healthy greens.  They are full of cancer fighting flavonoids.  We also picked up a pack of Spaghetti Squash and Soy Bean Seeds, along with a 1/4 lb. of Basil and Ginger Spices.  It smells so wonderful in this store as you walk around with all the aromas of individual spices.

It helps that it is in a wonderful location in Downtown Kansas City, MO in the City River Market.  Check it out one day if you are in the area.

Earlier in the morning we raced down to Shawnee, KS to check out the Food Circle of Kansas City's 14th Annual Exhibition of Farmers.  They had a small set up so you could get to know the Local CSA farmers and had LOTS of beautiful transplants to put in your home garden.  I wish I had pictures.   I was too overwhelmed by the assortment of plants to think about documenting.  We narrowed our plant buying down to one single beautiful, hopeful transplant, The Lily of the Valley.  Evan's birth flower.  I have searched high and low for this small wonder.

At the same merchant, we purchased a bag of Mixed greens that included Mustard, Broccoli Rabe, Mesclun, and Arugula.  It was so good!  We added Strawberries, Walnuts, Parmesan, Pink Lady Apple and a Raspberry Hazelnut Vinaigrette from our local HyVee.  It tasted like a salad you would get at a really fancy and expensive restaurant.  Mmm.  Mmmmm.  I just wish I had my greens growing already so we could be enjoying it everyday.

2012 - The Plans

Our raised garden was planted on Monday, March 26th and here's what I set in it.  I have more plants to plant, but ran out of room.  How surprising.  It is mostly herbs.  The Sweet Onion is from an onion that sat in our fridge and had some growth coming from it.  We will see how it does.  The Lemon Balm, Spearmint, Oregano, and Chive Onion is from the previous herb garden.  My Mom gave me the Brussels Sprout, Kentucky Pole Bean, Carrot, Radish, Beet and White Bunching Onion Seeds, while the rest is from the store.  I left two spots open to space out the carrots and radishes to have throughout the season.

The week before, I planted the rest of the Daffodils from Walmart and put in some Sunflower seeds into the clay pot I got while at Walmart.  The sunflowers have emerged and the Daffodils seem to peek further out of the dirt, or the rain has compacted the dirt  making them look taller.

In the meantime, a surprise flower has popped up and is quite beautiful.  Either it is a weed or some transplanted seed from a bird, it is very interesting.  I had some come up last year, but it was before the grass got too tall and noticed more.  This year, with all the rain, this one is the only one I found since I have mowed all the other areas where they came up.

2012 - And the Seeds are Out!

The six white and orange tulips are so beautiful!  They were well worth the $18 for the lot even if they don't make it much longer.  I can't remember having tulips growing up and watching them grow and bloom has been really neat.  My preconception of tulips is the closed cup and the droopy stem.  These guys are wide open and can see the true beauty inside the cup.  Amazing stuff.

Meanwhile, Monday was seed planting time for me.  I wanted to plant on Friday as the moon was new, but so much for that.  Moon experts say to sow seeds at certain phases.  Above ground seeds are to be planted with the new moon to help drawl them up out of their shells and the root vegetables seeds are sown during the new moon to help pull them down farther into the ground, making healthy roots.  All very interesting stuff.  I missed the phase I needed to plant the seeds for the above ground items and didn't think I would be able to plant the root vegetables on the full moon, so I just planted everything I planned out in the raised garden.  I squared off the garden into sixteen 11.25" sections and got to work.  I have some old seeds and new and hope they all come up.  We will see.  I've got back up seeds just in case.

After planting, I worked some more on the path around the garden.  Eventually, it will have a mulch path that is surrounded with grey stones that will hold in the mulch and keep me out of the mud. While money is the ongoing issue, the path will be put on hold until we have a little more funds to complete that.  Oh, and that green little planter in the top left is full of sunchokes that I missed when digging up the garden!  Unbelievable!  I am going to have sunchokes choking my new garden.  Bummer.  Those suckers are so hard to get out of the ground.  I will have to dig them up every year I guess.  So much for that.

Last week, Evan and I got a new toy for the garden/yard from Evan's sister as a belated Christmas present.  It is quite beautiful and very fun to sit in during the evening.  However, the morning and afternoon sun's position is high and hot.  Once the sun passes over the house, it is wonderful to feel the breezes and watch the evening pass and the stars come out.  The P's absolutely love sitting under it when the sun is out.  It is a cool lookout for them as they guard the backyard.

The butterfly garden is coming along very well.  It is so hard to believe it is still March.  Our average last frost date is April 15th here and worry that this early growing season will be halted with a blast of cold air and ruin everything for us.  We will see.  I am taking what I have and going with it.  No regrets.  I have extra seeds if that happens.  Disappointing as it maybe if it happens, I will take this early growth time with heart and enjoy it.  I still have lots to do before I am done with this garden to let it go for the summer.  I am glad to get this early start.