Summer in the Backyard! + Engaged!

Well, hello there garden lovers!

Today I wanted to share with you a few peaks into my summer garden!

It's been quite a busy + exciting summer (my significant other of 5+ years proposed!)... and even though I haven't been updating this blog lately, I have definitely been gardening!

Lemon Queen sunflower

Totally a Pinterest-inspired scene... ha, love mason jars + wine!

Italian Genovese basil

Biggest zucchini I've ever seen!

I will be posting engagement photos very soon! We had them taken last week in Lake Arrowhead, CA... literally on the lake! It was an amazingly beautiful setting, and will in fact be the location of our wedding!

P.S. If you are wondering what I did with my giant zucchini... I made these!

Flourless Zucchini Brownies!
by Lindsay

*If you end up making them... you may want to add about 1/4 cup of cocoa powder to the recipe, so that they come out a dark chocolate-brown color. :)

Have a lovely day!

xoxo,
Ashley

Sweet Summer Basil Lemonade!

Greetings garden lovers!

Today I wanted to share my new favorite summer lemonade recipe with you! It uses stevia instead of sugar, and basil from the backyard garden!

Just for fun, I served them in tiny mason jars... I figure that since 'mini desserts' have been quite the trend, why not make tiny drinks? They are fun to photograph, and even to sip from!

I was also thinking this might be a fun way to serve an 'adult' lemonade drink, by topping it off with a little vodka.

Talk about relaxing in the garden... ;)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup lemon juice (5-6 lemons)
• 5 cups water
• 30 drops liquid stevia (or 1/2 cup sugar, if you like)
• handful of basil leaves
• optional: 1 lemon, sliced, for garnish

Directions:

Juice the lemons. In a large pitcher, mix water with the stevia drops and lemon juice. Stir in a few basil leaves. Garnish with lemon slices and remaining basil leaves. 

*note: If using real sugar, it's best to first heat the 5 cups of water in a saucepan, and then stir in the sugar... before finally adding in the lemon juice and basil leaves.

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Ashley

How to get birds in a bird bath?

Greetings garden lovers!

Today I have a question for you all.... does anyone know how to entice birds to enjoy a bird bath? I was so excited to find this lovely bird bath a few weeks ago. However, I have yet to see a single bird use it!

Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated!

Have a lovely day!
xoxo,
Ashley

High Desert Backyard in May!

Greetings garden lovers!

Today I wanted to (finally) get around to posting what has been growing in this Palmdale, CA backyard!

Keep in mind that Palmdale is in the high desert... so if things can grow here, I am betting you can create a backyard garden oasis almost anywhere!

Rose

Apparently this is way more fun than drinking out of the cat bowl!

Hungarian Wax Peppers

Rosemary

Another rose!

Delphinium

Emerald City Zucchini

Basil!

There were 40 strawberries between 2 small plants! (I think kelp powder is the secret...)

Tricolor Sage

My patriotic (Ron Paul) flower pot!

Snapdragon

Begonia

Lemon balm... grown from seed 2 years ago!

Love this cat!

Geranium

Mint... contained in a pot!

Lavender... hello aromatherapy!

Have a lovely weekend! I hope you get to spend time in the garden!

xoxo,
Ashley

Lovely spring: oh, to be a cat!

Well, hello there! 

I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend! The weather in Palmdale, California was sunny and beautiful... and it was so nice to soak up the spring sun in the backyard!

Anyways, I just wanted to share some cat cuteness with you today!

completely relaxed

Seriously, cats have it made.


Have an excellent start to the week!


xoxo,
Ashley

Pinterest + Sassafras Tea!

Well, hello garden lovers!

I hope you are having a great February and an amazing beginning to the new year!

It's been a while since I've posted on this blog... but, I am still gardening! And... dreaming of gardening via Pinterest!

Personally, I think that Pinterest is one of the best things since internet and sliced bread.

Some my favorite garden related pins...

I wish there were more hours in the day for Pinterest projects!

hey, where did you come from?!

Ok... something I just have to share!

Last month, I came across the most adorable mug at a little souvineer shop in Big Bear, California. It looks exactly like a mini terra cotta flower pot!

At another small shop in Big Bear... I was lucky enough to find Sassafras tea!

Apparently it is a very rare find! Has anyone ever tried it? If you brew it strong enough... it seriously tastes like sweet, warm root beer!

Flower pot mug + Sassafras tea + relaxing in the backyard = bliss.

love

Are you on Pinterest? I would love to see your garden pin boards!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

xoxo,
Ashley

Garden Tomatoes Galore!

Greetings garden lovers! I hope you are enjoying your weekend. Hopefully you have lots of delicious garden gems to enjoy! ♥

Back in April, we picked up a few tomato seedlings at a Tomatomania sale at Descanso Gardens:

• Sungold
• Cherokee Purple
• Mario's Roma

They were supposed to be the best varieties to handle extreme desert heat... and they are growing like I have never seen tomato plants grow before! Last year, my best tomato plant had maybe 6 tomatoes total... for the entire growing season!

But these varieties are amazing! There have been so many tomatoes... I have not been able to keep count!

'Sungold' variety

They are so delicious... wayyyyyy better than grocery store tomatoes any day!

'Cherokee Purple'

'Mario's Roma'

Does anyone know of any other tomato varieties that thrive in extreme heat?

Bright Summer Zinnias!

Greetings!

I apologize for not posting a garden update in a while. In addition to starting my health coaching business & staying on top of my coursework for Integrative Nutrition, I also just got a full-time job for 6 weeks!

In what seemed like a blink of an eye, it is already the middle of July! The plants in the garden have tripled in size! All of the sudden, we have patty pan squashes, ripe roma tomatoes, and a baby cucumber!

But today's post is about zinnias! They are so bright & beautiful! ♥

According to Wikipedia:

Zinnia is a genus of 20 species of annual and perennial plants of family Asteraceae, originally from scrub and dry grassland in an area stretching from the American Southwest to South America, but primarily Mexico, and notable for their solitary long-stemmed flowers that come in a variety of bright colors.

Zinnia leaves are opposite and usually stalkless, with a shape ranging from linear to ovate, and pale to middle green in color. The flowers have a range of appearances, from a single row of petals, to a dome shape, with the colors white, chartreuse, yellow, orange, red, purple, and lilac.

Zinnias are popular garden flowers, usually grown from seed, and preferably in fertile, humus-rich, and well-drained soil, in an area with full sun. They will reseed themselves each year. Over 100 cultivars have been produced since selective breeding started in the 19th century.