Inspiration

This is a picture of my grandma and grandpa, mother, and my sweet little boy. All of them have been apart of my inspiration for my life. My grandma shared her planting knowlege with me and showed me a wonderful world of differnt plants. Grandpa was always into nature and took us fishing and hiking in the mountains all the time, he also has a lot of knowlege of plant and their care. And my mother has always been there no matter what, supporting me in everything I do. Philip keeps me on my toes and shows me new ways to look at the world around me.

Hot Hot Hot

It has been extremely hot lately. Boise broke a record today at 101 degrees. I am ready for fall and cooler weather. I think that all of my plants are ready too. This weekend is suppose to cool down a little so maybe I will beable to get outside more and enjoy it.

Love August

Well I have been enjoying the month of August. It has always been one of the best month's and not just because my birthday is in August. It has always felt like the last true month of summer, maybe that stems from all the years of going to school. The best part of the whole day is right before the sun goes down, there is always a beautiful sunset and the temperature starts to drop. So far this month I got to go home for a visit, Philip got to be in the Little Buckaroo Rodeo. That was the highlight of his year. I also had my birthday, got way to spoiled by everyone. And now I have another trip to look forward too. Yeah, August is a good month.

Plant of the Month Pick-August

Well for the month of August I decided to go with Idaho's State Flower the Syringa or Mock Orange. It was offical adopted as the state flower in 1931. This has to be one of my all time favorite plants. It has very showy flowers that smell wonderful. They bloom in early summer and are white in color. There is a couple different varities, one with double blooms. Syringa is a great plant for drier areas with lots of sun. The get to be about six feet tall so make sure they are planted where they can spread a little and be beatiful and full.

Plant of the Month Pick-July

Rose of Sharon, one of the pretties flowes around. This shrub also comes in a grafted tree form, which makes a great patio tree. The shrub gets to be about six feet tall and wide. They start blooming about now and continue into late August. There come in different colors from the pink you see left to blue, white and a peachy pink. They attrack butterflies which is a quality that is always welcome in my garden.

Plant of the Month Pick-June

Sweetgum trees have beautiful, glossy leaves, brilliant fall color, and are easily recognized by thier star-shaped leaves and its woody, spiny, ball-like fruit. Sweetgums are one of my all time favorite trees, they give you great shade and can do well as a street tree. Easy to maintain and easy to enjoy.

In pioneer times the sweet, balsamic resin was used as a treatment for sores, chest colds, and even dysentery. It also was made into a type of chewing gum. In the past, Sweetgums had commercial value in the making of soaps, adhesives, and pharmaceuticals. Today its wood remains valuable for lumber and veneer.

Add Some Color

Plant perennials and shrubs that you can easy cut flowers from and beable to bring some of the wonderful color and fragrance indoors. These are peonies and coreopsis from my yard.