IN like FLYNN {the garden of 2015}

sean's cousin tiffany 

{we joke she's MINE b/c i see her more than he does} 

came up last thursday to help my heavy with child self get our garden in the ground.

god bless tiff!

it was sunny and the redheads all needed sunscreen.

she's a redhead.

her little boy is a redhead.

and then there's my redhead.

so with our three of our preschool aged children 

we passed out bowls of seeds 

and told them which holes and little trenches to drop them THEIR seeds into them.

after about twenty minutes of that

tiff and i sent them all off to the tramp and sandbox 

and spent the next half an hour thinning out the corn they planted all in one row, 

to make it become corn of four rows.

all over some good old fashioned girl talk.

{we were having such a ball in fact, that at the end tiff was making pb&j's for the road for my kids while i was SCRAMBLING to get max in hair and makeup for her dance pics in 15 min flat. 

great team effort believe me YOU, and all thanks to tiff we made it. phew.}

tiffany is my go to garden EXPERT, so i love having her around this time of year,

helping me decide where the sun is going to hit the right stuff the best, 

and what parts of the day it's going to do it.

thrilling!

we did edgy things this year like planted pumpkins into the grounds without their little mounds,

and didn't soak our corn seeds the night before.

stuff like that.

just to see if it even really matters.

i'm telling you, we are garden ladies that live on the edge.

the most scandalous thing that happened in my garden this year though 

is the {ehem} kale/broccoli plant.

let me whisper this next part, because apparently,

last summer when i planted the broccoli next to the kale,

they got a little naughty down under the dirt,

without ANY of us knowing,

and have now rebirthed as the kaleBROC,

as i've started to call it.

usually i would have pulled my kale plant out with the rest of the garden in the fall,

but this year was so warm that it just kept producing WELL into december, so i left it there.

then when we had a week of winter after christmas,

and 7 days of a frozen tundra,

it finally turned brown,

and i just never got around to pulling it out.

well, to my surprise, sometime in february, i don't know really,

it started back producing kale again,

and throughout the spring i've watched it become a full blown kale producer!

let me tell you, i was bursting with gardener's pride over this entire thing.

never will i pull a kale plant ever again!

then, with what did my wondering eyes did appear 

over the last month but BROCCOLI sprouting out of its top.

BROCCOLI OUT OF THE TOP OF MY LAST YEAR'S KALE PLANT!

i know, i know,

i can barely believe it myself.

SHOCKING!

and all going on in my very OWN yard without me knowing it.

their roots did the tulsa tickle all secret like under there,

and gave birth to this amazing little red headed green headed illegitimate garden child.

ladies and gentlemen,

i give you...

THE kaleBROC:

kale at the bottom,

broccoli coming out the top.

it's like the mullet of garden produce i say.

{insert angel choir singing here.}

stay tuned this summer for this excitingly new cross pollination 

of the most unexpected of couples!

to be continued...

i'm so ready for juicy ripe tomatoes, towering sunflowers, 

slip and slides and baby pools, and 500 Popsicle sticks all over my grass,

i can almost taste it:)

25 cloves of garlic, 2 tbls chili powder, 7 cups water, & 3 squirts of dawn

MAYDAY

MAYDAY

MAYDAY

my tomato plants are in bad shape.

completely and utterly infested.

we are talking black beetles, white beetles, white mites, worms.

you name, our tomato plants have 'em.

so this morning,

an hour before church,

i walked out to my yard in my pajamas and morning breath,

and in my horror of discovering how many new bugs had multipled over night,

went swiftly to pinterest for a homemade rememdy.

25 cloves of garlic,

2 tbls chili powder,

7 cups of water,

and 3 squirts of dawn in the ninja blender later,

i had the most repulsively smelling homemade fertilizer on the planet.

after i doused my five tomato plants,

i had andrea pass me some cornstarch over the fence,

which i sprinkled around each plant to ward off vampires and such,

and we both ran inside to make ourselves presentable for church in thirty minutes or less.

we are so good:)

and now we pray.

that the bugs and worms will go away.

also, that the spray and cornstarch won't kill my plants overnight.

anyone have experience in this matter?

green thumb help

STAT. 

you, you, you otta know

we're canning green beans once a week over here.

in the pressure cooker.

just thought you, you, you, otta know!

{are you singing the alanis morissette song in your head now too? sorry 'bout that.}
also,
i have a strong yearning for 2 feet of snow to fall onto my front porch.
and all over my yard.
but not in an "i want it to actually snow tomorrow kind of way,"
just in an "i'm looking foward to the next few months kind of way,"
as the holidays all fold out in front of us,
without any of the rush b/c it's all just far enough away that there's still room to stretch out your arms in front of you and not touch any of them just yet.
but not the colds, and the flus, and the streps, and the pink eyes,
b/c i'm not interested in any of THAT kind of nostalgia.
just the kind that makes me want to pull up a spot on my couch in the big room,
with the shutters wide open,
and a fluffy blanket all around me.
the quiet dark streets of snow and slow.
with the hum of the furnace as the only sound running through my house at night.
and when i hear the wind outside,
my heart races a little,
but not in a scary way.
in an excited way.
and part of me goes to rush to the windows,
to check to see if there are any blustery flakes falling outside.
through the dim light of the street lamps.
and then i remember it's september,
not december.
and that THAT would just be rushing things,
so nevermind;)
because the perfect weeks of fall are here.
they are here,
and they are absolutely the most wonderful warm weeks of the entire year.
from now through the middle of october.
when you can wear jeans and a t-shirt with flip flops during the day,
and grab your extra layer by 5:30 at night.
where you can cool your house down with box fans as the sun goes down.
and leave your windows open to get your room into the 60's while you sleep at night.
and for a minute i can see why people want to live in sunny san diego.
b/c 70 and sunny is pretty great.
except there's just one thing.
i really love snow at christmas.
like i said,
i'm just a sucker for pomp and circumstance though;)

HAPPY FRIDAY!!!

welcome to the jungle {BIG RED SUNDAY EDITION}

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!

yesterday i walked out into my garden and there it was!

a burning red of fire on the inside of the last tomato bush i checked.

i screamed i was so excited.

doubled check to make sure that's really what i thought it was.

and it was.

it was!

all of the work,

all of the waiting,

all of the wondering if they really were ever going to change.

right then in that very moment,

it was like confetti was raining down from the sky in rays of sunshine all around me.

b/c no matter how many years i garden,

there's one thing that i know for sure:

you can never really know what your garden is going to do for sure.

and i stood there,

with max clapping and jumping down next to me,

repeating everything i was saying again as if she was saying it not me,

"we have to tell daddy!"

"red! red! red!"

like a little birdie.

it was so so cute.

and i was overcome with satisfaction and joy.

and i could have just laid there in grass soaking it all up forever.

.....

when your tomatoes grow out of their cages, 

and pull them from the dirt you've planted them into,

you improvise:)

i give you.................

exhibit A:

THE CHAIR 

exhibit B:

the metal stake

holding the plant back against the fence, 

as it is trying to lay on our grass.

boy i hope there won't be any wind storms anytime soon.

fat chance.

i just hope the green bean bushes aren't too badly hurt in the downfall...

exhibit C:

the sunflower field goal

aka "touchdown jesus"

{this plant will be named "touchdown jesus" from here on out. 

what? too apostate? offensive? my apologies in advance.}

okay, i can't REALLY take credit for this one,

as they did this all on their own,

but i was just so impressed with their natural ability to do their job.

the sunflowers and the tomato plant.

the sunflowers grew,

and the tomato plant grew up around them.

presto change-O,

built in tomato stakes.

vwallah!

i seriously couldn't get over this one.

i just think it's so awesome.

in the pictures below you can see in the back of the bush,

where the tomato plant has grown up and around the sunflower stalks to support itself.

UH-MAZE-ING:) 

the ice cream was pretty great too.

love where you live.

for there's beauty all around.

:):):)

sunflowers majesty

this has GOT to be some kind of sunflower record.

one is bursting it's yellow flair.

i am so so so very happy about it.

sunflowers.

big, 

beautiful, 

jack and the giant bean stock 

sunflowers.

jack and the giant...

come pick some.

we're bursting over here:)

when there's no food in your fridge.

when you get home from being gone for a week, 

and there's no food in your fridge,

it's really great to go out to your garden 

and get this to go with the frozen dinner you found buried in the bottom of your freezer.

oh happy day.

...

things we forgot at the lake house:

1. my car keys

2. Spider-Man shirt

3. Star Wars light saber

4. phone car charger 

5. max's giant coloring book

it was bound to happen. 

Dad--dont worry about the coloring book. 

we will get it in September. 

JACK-O-fruit

ATTENTION! ATTENTION!

1st pumpkin is growing!

overachiever pumpkin plant.

can you see it?!

can't wait for them to fill my back fence and pick them for our porch.

oh happy day:)

all hail kale {kale berry smoothie recipe}

the kale was literally bigger than her head this morning.

it is my favorite thing that i am growing right now.

i love that i don't run out of kale.

ever.

after we snap a long leaf off,

it regrows itself.

smart little kale.

we just walk out to our garden in the morning,

on the wet sprinkler soaked grass,

snap a couple of leaves off,

and throw it into our blender with all of our favorite mixin's.

no need to wash it off 

b/c they are perfectly organically clean.

{that's a mouthful.}

lush

dark green

and curly.

and it tastes AMAZING.

ALL HAIL KALE.

:):):)

kale berry smootie

1 cup greek yogurt

1 cup frozen berries

2 large kale leaves 

{or more, whatever you fancy}

1/2 banana

1/2 cup juice 

{orange, apple, lemonade, whatever you have in your fridge}

*if we have any fresh pineapple we throw a handful of it in as well,

but we rarely have it to throw in b/c we always eat it before there's anything leftover.

*we always make a double batch of this recipe. ALWAYS. it feeds our family of 5. 

*the ingredients above are for 1 large serving or 2 medium servings.

my kids fight over who got more than somebody else,

who is going to get more tomorrow,

and chase "ahhhhhh's" at us for more when his runs dry.

vegetables for breakfast.

CHECK:)

"i was just talking to the cornfield." -ray kinsella

I SPY CORN.

{it's time to dust off field of dreams.}

:):):)

me and my snip job.

yellow squash,

radishes,

pumpkins,

green beans,

and cucumbers.

all popping their pretty little green heads up through the dirt today.

SO exciting!!! 

every time:)

i still can't get over how strong those little seeds are.

breaking through the dirt to the light.

amazing.

every morning,

before i even get my breakfast,

you can be assured,

i'm out checking on our garden.

it's like christmas morning,

every morning.

thrilling!!!

i love the dump truck tracks every which way across my grass.

every little boy needs a tonka truck.

1 yr olds are the best:)

also...

i MAY have gone a little overboard on the pruning today.

it started out as a snip job for broken branches from last week's wind storm.

the peach tree even lost a few arms.

and then all of a sudden...

well, 

you be the judge.

BEFORE...

AFTER...

who knew there was a satellite dish under there?!?

ok, maybe we knew.

it just seems like i got more aggressive the further to the left i went.

i had no plans to prune.

zero.

but pruning i did.

everything was dead in the middle of what i fondly referred to as the trees on the side of the house,

so i just kept clipping.

and now they are bushes.

as they should be.

my arms feel like J-E-L-L-O tonight.

if they die from over pruning,

i'll plant more lilacs.

no biggie:)

my basement is DEFINITELY going to be brighter.

no idea what we are going to do with all of those clippings.

i probably should have waited for the bulk waste removal in the fall.

but pruning is like...

well, it's like...

it's like...

you know...

it's like...

look, you just have to do it when you're in the mood.

we'll leave it at that.

sean pulled out a massive tarp to pull it over to the garbage cans 

on the other side of the house. 

in one full swoop.

genius.

me and my snip job.

have mercy.

chase and the giant peach {giant alberta to be exact}

directions:

1. cut hole double the diameter on each side

{this took all of our mental power, trust me.}

with a depth even with the top of the tree's potted dirt.

{say that sentence 3x fast.}

{i even had to google it to make sure i wasn't mixing up my diameter and radius memories.

and then call the nursery again to make sure we had it right. 

i blame my three kids entirely. don't judge. i'm a product of my environment, HAHAHA!},

2. loosen roots out of bucket,

soak roots and dirt around roots with root stimulate.

3. mix two shovels of regular dirt with one shovel of compost fancy dirt.

4. DON'T COVER GRAPH at base of tree.

{"don't forget this," said trevor at wasatch shadows nursery.}

5. water by drip for 2-3 hours, 

more root stimulate around base of newly planted tree.

6. spray for peach bugs {can't remember their names} 

now, 

in 2 weeks, 

and again in 2 more weeks again.

{in a brand new spraying thing b/c it needs it's own spraying thing.}

........

this paper is like gold to me.

i scribbled it down at the checkout register with three sticky kids seated in shopping carts and at my feet.

i bought them each a sucker to suck on 

while i had trevor the tree specialist {future physical therapist} 

repeat all directions for care of our newly purchased peach tree.

they are oh so very patient over at wasatch shadows nursery.

go there.

you will love them.

chase was supervising.

so if it's a crooked peach tree,

we know who to blame.

i need a day to recover from the last four days.

and an entire bottle of ibuprofen.

it feels so good to work in the dirt.

and then take a long hot shower.

i finally had to scrub my feet with my foot stone to get them clean.

i'm ready for a tree full of peaches right now:)

patience is a virtue? 

i've always hated that saying. 

  millions of peaches, 

peaches for me!!!

{in 3-5 years}

SUMMER BEGIN!

:):):)

{i officially give you my permission}

.................................

P.S.

max has a sliver the size of texas in the pad of her ring finger.

credit card or tweezers?

AND

my tomatoes haven't died yet.

fyi.

in fact,

they look fantastic:)
phew.