Gardens

After 2 springs and summers of no garden, and more specifically fresh tomatoes, we thought it was time take gardening seriously. So we did. I am so excited about my garden.

We started with railroad ties and lots of dirt!

 8 railroad ties. And Oh. My. Gosh they are heavy. We found out that some of them are made of oak. There was one that I swear weighed over 100 pounds. Bruised my arm trying to move one of them.

We put down a layer that will keep the weeds from coming up in my garden.

 Strong Daniel!

 

 Conference weekend we had 2 trucks get 2 loads each. It was lots of dirt!

 Our new garden is 9 ft by 18 ft.

 Yard work is hard for a dog.

Then came the produce. And the fence. My dogs are diggers and thieves. Winston likes to eat my food. So we put up a fence. It still needs a real gate. Right now the opening is blocked with tomato cages.

 I've got Chinese eggplant, beats, Anaheim peppers, and peas.

And all my tomatoes! I got a tomatillo also. We have: Sweet 100 Cherry Tomatoes, Black Krim, Great White, German Johnson, Lemon Boys and Celebrity. It's going to be a yummy August! There's nothing like a home grown Utah tomato.

My Grand Tour....

we'll call it. For one month I was able to travel China with my family and also have them stay with us. It was good. We started off by meeting up in Hong Kong. After a bit of a stressful situation with people not being where they were supposed to be and not following directions, we met up and headed to the hotel. I had 5 very tired guests meet me at the airport shuttle station.

 Chipper in the airport before their long flight.

Smiling because they don't fully understand what they are about to do. They flew from SLC to LAX to Tokyo to Hong Kong. Awesome. They were tired.

We took it easy the next morning and headed out a bit later. We started with the Nan Lian Gardens and Chi Lin Nunnery. It was a wonderful break from the feeling of the city. It's in a very busy neighborhood but you wouldn't be able to tell while there. It was very quiet and peaceful. My weary travelers were happy for the quietude.

 Me with my mom and my sister.

 My cousin Hannah

We had a good time. Then we went to the Tian Tin Buddha and Pnong Ping.

Bountiful Backyard

This evening's harvest. I've had tons of beans so far. I had a lot of peas but I ate them before I thought about pictures. The carrots are kinda small, but that's because I'm thinning them. I think I'll do carrots every year now. Yummy! I love fresh produce in the summer! It's the only reason I put up with the heat!

Longwood Gardens

I think this was my favorite part of this trip. These gardens were amazing. We learned about them at the hotel after we toured Philadelphia. They were begun by Quaker brothers in the mid 1800s. In the late 1910s (I think) Pierre S. Du'Pont (GM Corporation and Dupont paint people) bought the gardens and saved them from bankruptcy. The property became his summer home. It now belongs to the foundation. The garden was just I needed after a frustrating day before with eighth graders. After the gardens we went home to Charlottesville. Next post I will show you pictures from my time with family and at Monticello. I will also show you all my awesome birthday present from my grandma Arave. Needless to say, she knows what my passions and interests are.