Fun With Flowers In St. Louis

One of my favorite things to do is walk around my garden and capture the beauty of my flowers! The above picture is one of my dwarf Iris's. I planted the bulbs 2 years ago and this is their first time blooming. I'm in love with blue flowers these have become my all time favorite!
I tucked this Hosta in my back bed 2 years ago. I had no idea is was going to get this big! I take pictures of my clogs next to the plant for comparison. It will be split this fall!
I plant most of my plants by seed and this Columbine too 3 years to bloom, but it was so worth the wait! The details are just amazing. I planted these as "extra's" since I had so many plants come up, and these are planted under my window boxes in the front of the house.
Another true blue Clematis! This one trails on our white banister in the back yard and blooms for a very long time!

Spring Has Sprung!

Spring has sprung! I've been working on the beds for the past few days. Most of them have been neglected due to my ankle surgery last Spring. My favorite flower , or at least the one I love looking at the most, are the Red Hot Pokers (pictured above). I cleaned out the dead leaves and I can see lots of new growth at the base. I started these by seed, and have divided the plants several time. The stems can be 3 to4 feet tall and the bloom is about 5 inches tall. A very stunning plant!
Peeking out are my Sweet William. Not many came back last year, so I will have to sow more for the upcoming year. They are in the very back of the yard, so I can't see them unless I am in the backyard with the dogs. I need to move them closer to the house.
Cleaning out all the grass, I noticed lots of baby Gallardia's. They bloom all summer long and will grow just about anywhere...we have a few growing in our grass last year!
It was fun getting my hands in the dirt. Nothing replenishes the soul as peering at a worm at eye level!

Sneak Peak Part Two

Spring is an exciting time of the year. It's the start of a fresh new beginning for many things. Here is a sneak peek at another new soap coming soon! It's scented with Red Delicious Apple and topped with Fresh Grass soap shavings.
Please help me name this new soap! I would love to have you vote on a name -------->

St. Louis Summer

I'm having such a hard time with posting pictures and lining up the typed words, so I decided to list the flowers at the bottom.
Pictures starting at the top are: Sweet William, Salvia, Red Hot Pokers, Peony Poppy ready to pop, Speedwell, and Gallardia. All started by seed...by me!

Whew! I Just Finished Another Batch Of Cold Process Soap!

Ok, here we go! I have measured out all the oils and the hard oils are all melted. See the pen in the picture? I like to check off the oils I add to makes sure I don't miss one!










In this picture, I have just added the lye to the oils. They are the same temperature right now.














Here I have added the color. I diluted the color and used a dropper to add the color. Don't ask me about my "mustard" colored soap I made the other day!







The color is all blended now and it's coming to a nice trace. Right after I took this picture, I added the poppy seeds. They came from my very own
garden. Here I have just poured the soap, textured the top a bit, and sprinkled some more poppy seeds on top. The piece of cardboard that you see to the right of the mold goes on top. I then take several blankets and cover the whole thing up for 24 hours.












Here it is! All cut and ready to go...well...not yet...it has to cure for about 3 to 4 weeks!