http://www.valleygardens.com Steve Kroes' blog on gardening in Utah Mon, 30 Aug 2010 03:13:52 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Hey folks! Is anybody out there watching anymore? It's been nine or ten months since I last posted about moving from my former home and leaving my gardens behind to my ex-wife. If you have read this blog in the past, you know that it would be nearly impossible for ... http://www.valleygardens.com/?p=1134 All things must come to an end, it seems. My time in this half acre of paradise was good. I had eight years of watching my new landscape come to life, establish and evolve, and develop its own unique personality. Gardens are metaphors for so many things in life, and ... http://www.valleygardens.com/?p=1131 Hey, hey, my friends! My nectarines are ripe now! Been sampling some over the past several days, and it now looks like harvest time has come! Come and get 'em! We don't can them, so we really do like to share with friends. We'll eat a big bowl full, make ... http://www.valleygardens.com/?p=1122 Early Saturday morning, before dawn, our Lacebark Elm (Ulmus parvifolia) suffered a major break from some heavy wind. We've had wind like this many times, but there was a weak crotch where two major scaffold branches were growing in too deep of a V-shape. When branches grow with narrow crotch ... http://www.valleygardens.com/?p=1110 This is one of my Hibscus moscheutos plants in large pots on my deck. The first two blooms opened up today. I love the purity of the white contrasted with the deep, rich red in the center and blended with the soft lemon color of the stamen. Such beauty! http://www.valleygardens.com/?p=1105 All the Hibiscus shrubs have burst into bloom this week. I love the one above -- I think it's Hibiscus syriacus 'Aphrodite.' I also have some double-flowered ones -- they're quite frilly and don't really look like Hibscuses at all. Oh, and one more of the Aphrodite shrub, too: And I ... http://www.valleygardens.com/?p=1076 This is the upper part of my backyard today, experimenting with a stitched-together panoramic shot. I also took some other photos of things blooming or looking good in my garden. Too many pictures to comment on right now (it's late at night!), so I'll just add them all as a gallery ... http://www.valleygardens.com/?p=1041 I had a lot of catching up to do on weeding and stuff today: Weeded the veggie garden (I still need to create some kind of trellis for the green beans, which are only about 3" tall so far) Weeded some flowerbeds Mowed the lawn Picked a bunch of cherries from our second tree ... http://www.valleygardens.com/?p=1034 Little McKay finally decided to try raspberries (we'd been trying for a few days), and he LOVES them! Now, he says "I want some of that candy!" While we were out in the garden picking them, he said to my wife, "Will we have them with some 'licious 'nilla?" That's ... http://www.valleygardens.com/?p=1027 First, meet my little garden buddy, McKay. He's our cute, smart, hilarious two-year old. He's fun to have along in the garden, although I often need to clean up the messes he makes, like today, when I swept the sidewalk off after he shoveled dirt all over it from a ... http://www.valleygardens.com/?p=1013