Release the Ladybugs!

I was actually excited to see the currant bush covered in aphids; these tiny green bugs were the perfect excuse to buy the $9.99 bag of ladybugs.

The kids were ecstatic!

Freedom!

Kind of reminds me of the nursery rhyme:

Ladybug, ladybug fly away home

Your house is on fire and your children are home

All except one, and that's little Ann

For she has crept under the warming pan.

Well, I have no intentions of burning down the garden, so the ladybugs don't need to worry here.

Feast!

Did you know that it is a myth that the number of spots on a ladybug indicates the bugs age? Anyway,if you are interested, I purchased these bug at Millcreek Gardens in Holladay and supposedly one lady bug can eat up to 5,000 aphids in its lifetime!

The June Bloomers

Delicate looking geranium flowers . While these petite flowers may look delicate, geraniums are pretty tough perennials.

Of course, all the annuals, like this ageratum, are happily blooming.




The horse chestnut is beautiful.

Wisteria at Red Butte Gardens

All the columbine is still going strong.

Lambs Ears (Stachys byzantina) with Catmint (Nepeta)

Crab Apples

These are the real crab apples with the golf ball sized fruit that rot on the walkaway and make a terrible mess. Are these trees worth all the maintenance? Right now have to say yes!

Edible Plants-Basil

An annual herb in the mint family, basil is a must grow for any gardener. Basil loves warmth and is frost sensitive. If you want to harvest the leaves around the time the tomatoes ripen, direct sow seeds two weeks after the last frost. If you are going for dry basil leaves, make sure to harvest before the the appearance of flowers. The flowers can be harvested to make basil tea. I can't wait for the mozzarella, tomato, basil sandwiches, how about you?

The Garden is a Growing

Aquilegia from the native plant giveaway. This 3-foot columbine started out last Spring as a tiny seedling. Way to grow!

Gooseberry Bush and Peas
Yummy Salad Greens



Not fully opened Aquilegia


More Peas!



Chives and Thyme

Ikea Pots and Mother's Day Plantings

On a recent visit to Ikea, I spotted these metal, blue planters and had to purchase them for my back cement slab, or more lovingly referred to as the back patio. Most of Ikea's planters, however, do not have drainage holes so I recruited my trusty husband and his drill to make my containers more plant friendly.

I decided to add some rock to help with the whole drainage situation.

Here are my extra tomato seedlings from the greenhouse. I obviously sowed too many seeds; this flat represents my bounty after I transplanted around thirty seedlings in 4 1/2" pots. A rule of thumb is to transplant flats of germinated seeds after their first true leaves appear. The first leaves you will notice on a germinating seedling are referred to as the cotyledons while the next set of leaves are known as the true leaves.

Received some Thai Basil for Mother's Day. I love this stuff because it is so easy to grow and the bees love it!

I also planted some lemon thyme, chives, and greek oregano with a little Riesentraube(cherry tomato) in the center.

April in the Garden

Anemone pulsatilla also known as Pulsatilla vulgaris