Showing posts with label Backyard Bliss. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Backyard Bliss. Show all posts

Sunday, May 27, 2012

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

Monday, April 9, 2012

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

Saturday, February 4, 2012

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

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Saturday, July 23, 2011

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?

Sunday, July 10, 2011

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.


Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Purple Delphinium!

Greetings! ♥















The other night, Jon and I ventured into the garden center of a local home improvement store...

and these purple delphiniums immediately caught my eye! ♥

I think this might be my favorite flower! I adore the color... I definitely see these lining the brick retaining wall in the backyard.

And, they are a perennial... which is perfect! (save $$ on next year's plants!)






















































Have you ever planted these?

Friday, May 20, 2011

Harvesting Garlic!

Happy Friday fellow garden lovers! ♥

I have really been missing blogging about gardening lately!

This month, I officially started my health coaching practice! It has been the subject of all of my time, energy, & attention. 

Anyways... I was able to take a break today, so I spent some time in the backyard. ♥ 

I had plenty of seedlings needing to be upgraded to bigger pots, and all of my plants just needing attention in general...

But, there is one plant in particular that received the most attention!

Garlic!


Rumor has it, once you've have fresh, homegrown garlic... you never want to go back to the store variety!

You might recall... last October, I planted a bag of garlic gloves! (At the time, I could not even picture what garlic would look like growing!)

But it's pretty simple... just stems (about 2 1/2 ' tall) growing out of the bulb! :)



















Apparently, the ideal time to harvest garlic is mid-summer. According to About.com, the stems growing out of the bulb should be turning brown.

However, I was impatient (I wanted the gigantic pot they were growing in for the 'Big Max' pumpkin!)

So out they came! This fall, I will make sure I plant the cloves (saved from 1 or 2 of the bulbs from this year) in a pot I will not be needing for another plant until July! :)

Have you ever planted garlic? Or enjoyed a friend's home-grown garlic?