Building a Herb Garden

     We've had a particularly nice spring this year here in Wyoming. No late unexpected snow or frosts. Our garden is blooming up a storm. I thought in this post I would share photos of our herb garden. As I've mentioned before we've been in this house over twenty years, building the garden from nothing. 

 The above photo was taken in 1993 and shows the laying out of the pathways.

    I'm sorry this photo isn't better but it was before the digital age. But you can see the path goes through the structure with two off shoots on either side and a circle area in the center.

     This photo was taken the following year and you can see things are starting to grow. 

     This photo was taken in 1997. As you can see the grape vines are doing nicely. The far end arbor has hops growing.

     This was the following year. We found that hops was not a good idea, also the store bought arbors were not holding up under the weight of them or the grapes. So my husband built sturdier ones that are still doing well.

     Here's a winter shot. We had to wait until the grapes died back for the winter and rebuilt that arbor in the early spring. You can see more photos of the grape arbor in my post from last year, Invasion of the Grape Snatchers.

     Here's a recent look at the pathways. You might note that I have my basil planted in a pot. It is very tender, so this makes it easier to move inside if there is a threat of colder weather.

We replaced the hops with these beautiful 'William Baffin' roses.

                                                                                                                 

In the center is a sun dial surrounded by lavender. 

     I love mint and have several varieties growing. But if your not careful it can take over the garden. We came up with a way to keep it under control.

     Because mint's roots spread close to the surface we were able to bury metal and plastic culvert about six inches in the ground. This contains the plants nicely. The photo below shows the start of the spring growth.

     The next photo shows my pineapple mint now. I also have apple mint, spearmint, chocolate mint and orange mint. All of them add a lovely fragrance to the garden. And can be a wonderful addition to certain drinks and other recipes. 

     Here are a few more pictures of some of my herbs. Starting at upper left; oregano with some chives in front, thyme, sage, parsley. A few others that I have growing are; lemon balm, tarragon, rosemary, lemon thyme, catnip, savory.

     Having an herb garden right out my back door makes for easy access when I'm cooking and want fresh herbs. Some days I just enjoy walking through and touching the herbs to release their aroma. 

Participating in:Grand Social, Share the Joy, Seasons, Outdoor Wednesday, Share Your Cup

A thought to ponder: "Herbs are the friend of the physician and the pride of cooks."                                                                        Charlemagne

Out of the Mouths of Babes

      Young children have a tendency to say whatever is on their minds. They don't really have any filters. That's why many times they say things that are funny and even profound. Now days you can find parents posting all over the internet the things their children have said, sometimes to their embarrassment. When our grandson was around four we were at the bank and he said he needed to use the bathroom. I said, " Ok, we'll ask the lady over there where the bathroom is." As we walk over he says in his loudest voice, "Hey lady, do you have a bathroom in this place?"

     As I've mentioned in another post, A Ready Made Friend, Rex and his cousin really enjoy each other when they get together. Another bathroom incident that happened later that year when she came for a visit, was at a very nice restaurant. He and his parents had gotten to the restaurant first and were waiting for the rest of us to arrive. He had to use the bathroom, so his mother got up to take him. About half way there he turned around and hollered, "Daddy tell Mimi I'll be back, tell her I'm going poop."

     One thing I wish I'd done when my kids were young was to write down more of the funny and interesting things that they said. I've tried to be a little more diligent about writing the words of my grandchildren. But even so I know I've missed some gems.

         When Miranda (aka Mimi) was visiting us she saw a picture of herself, at a little over one year old, in my bedroom. She looked at it and said, "I'm so adorable". What could I say, I had to agree. When she was four she went to a school carnival. Her mother asked her if she had fun, "yes, but I got cotton candy on my hands, it was a sticky situation."

     Rex had been learning songs for his preschool Christmas concert. On the day of the concert all the children got up on stage to sing. Rex was in front, but he just stood there and never sang a word. When his Dad asked him afterwards why he didn't sing when he knew the songs; his reply, "my brain got sick."

     Although the grand kids are getting older they can still make us laugh. When we were visiting our granddaughter this past January, we saw her newly decorated bedroom. When my husband told her he thought it was very lovely, she said, "I'm glad to hear the big guy likes it." 

     Our grandson really wanted his Dad to receive a certain video game for his birthday (because he wanted to play it of course). So he tells me, "I want to get the video game for my Dad." Me: "Do you have any money?" Him: "No, that's what you're for." He didn't get the money. So he went to his grandfather. Him: "Poppy can I borrow $40." Poppy: "No."  Him: "I didn't think so, but just thought I'd ask." 

     When I retired I was given some frog statues for our garden as a gift.

      Technology pops up everywhere now days, as shown by the frog with the cell phone. It also affects the way kids view the world. After looking at these frogs our grandson said, "Hey Poppy, this frog doesn't have any apps on his phone."

     Take my advice carry a notebook with you at all times. You never know what is going to pop out of the mouths of babes. You think you'll remember but many times you don't and it would be a shame to miss a special remark. You might want to look into Little Hoots, it's an app you can get for recording what your child says. I haven't tried it but it might be worth checking out.

A thought to ponder: "While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about."                          Angela Schwindt

Participating in:Grand Social, Share the Joy, Amaze Me Monday, Seasons, Through My Lens, Share Your Cup