Fall Colors In St. Louis

Ah, Fall in St. Louis! It's a beautiful, warm day and the sun is out in full force. I snapped a few pictures around the yard. Above are my two sweeties, Scout and Finch.
A Burning Bush in the very back of the yard. I love how the sun has "touched" just one part of the bush.
This is a tree between my neighbors house. This is what I see when I look outside my back window.
Lastly, this is a Rose that has survived several frosts already! The Rose Bush is full of blooms!

POLL: Name This Soap

I'm having a hard time with the name of this soap. Will you please help me out? I have some choices above, but if you have another name in mind, post it here!

Here's the description I have for it:

Tomato Leaf Herbal Handmade Soap is a light, fresh, airy and herb-y scent. It is a blend of all kinds of melons and tomatoes with lemon-lime top notes, fresh leafy herbaceous middle notes and a wonderfully rich and earthy base. My Tomato Leaf Handmade Soap is made using the freshest ingredients, including Tomato Paste!

Tomatoes are a wonderful source of carotenoids like lycopene, beta-carotene, and vitamin E, which have been know to be effective antioxidants.

I'm going to miss Summer!

I love Fall. In fact, it's my favorite season....but I'm going to miss Summer!

Vacation in Seattle

I'm back, and the trip was wonderful! My sisters (from Boston and Kansas) came up too, and the 4 of us had a great time! My sister has a beautiful home and the above picture was taken right off of her deck. Her home is amazing and her garden is stunning! They have a stream running down the hill and the sound of the water is very soothing. At night, we sat outside and watched the ferries pass in front of us.
This picture was taken from the deck of her home on Lopez Island. We had a great time looking for sea glass and drinking lots of wine!

A Morning Walk Around My Yard

Navy Blue Hot Processed Soap

Well, they were supposed to be navy blue! I actually like this color, although navy blue would have been nice. IRL they are a dark gray blue. The soap is scented with Rosemary and Bergamont...yum!!!

Window Box Planting

I just love my window boxes! Our garage is a side entry and our windows face the street. This is the window box on the left side. Ignore the refections of our gardening tools that were out that day!
Window box on the right. In the front there is a Japanese Maple Tree, Holly bushes, and many, many, perennials. The Vinca that you can see hanging from the box reseeds in my garden every spring. I just cut off several pieces and stick them in the dirt!

A Stroll Around My St. Louis Gardens

The first picture is why I love to garden....flowers! I love to put them all over the house.
**My vase is filled with bright red Gladiola's, Rudbeckia's, and Blue Stokes Aster.
**The second picture is Bee Balm. The flower is really a true red and I love how they look next to my red house.
**Third picture is a Rudbeckia.
**Last picture is my Black Hollyhock!
ALL(except my Glads) my flowers were started by seed....by moi! They were all started using the Winter Sowing method. Winter Sowing involves starting the seeds outside during the winter. I make little green houses out of various containers to hold the seeds. Winter sowed plants are strong and healthy because they are exposed to the elements from day one. They bloom at the same time nursery plants bloom and because they don't have to "adapt", they last longer too.
The thrill for me is watching a plant grow from a seed and then bloom an amazing flower...I still get excited to see every single bloom open up in my yard!