New Growth

For the past 10 years I have been winter sowing my flowers and veggies. I learned about this method at Wintersowing.org. I was hooked the first year and have been winter sowing since. I even winter sowed a Hosta, just to see if I could!
The method is very easy and inexpensive. It does take patience since most start their seeds outdoors in December and January. I was late starting this year, and since we had a very late Spring, I was VERY lucky we had nice chilly weather!

I made a video of the process. All you need is: small containers, potting soil, duct tape, perm marker, seeds, straws (or sticks), and plastic bags.

I have many sprouts already! Most of these were buried under 12 inches of snow not too long ago!

The top plant are Zebra Tomatoes and the bottom are red Zinnia's.

Above are pictures of some past winter sowed flowers. My favorite are the Bells of Ireland in the middle of the bottom picture.

I will show progress pictures in the next week or so. My sunflowers are already 2 inches tall!

It's Spring time in St. Louis

 My Zinnia's have come up and they look strong and sturdy...whew! I planted mostly red one, which I am going to use for cutting flowers. These were Winter Sowed, of course! They were the first to sprout out of all my seeds.
Last year I planted lots of Zinnia seeds in my veggie bed. They turned out to be dwarf Zinnia's so I had a very pretty veggie garden, but no cutting flowers (the stems were too short).

 Here are my gardening buddies. Scout and Finch were next to the house. I think they were tired of planting. They like to eat my veggies, but are not too interested in the planting process.

One of my favorite plants, Forget Me Nots. They have the prettiest blue which I can't seem to capture in my camera.

It's Summer in St. Louis - HOT!

I took a stroll through the yard the other day. Every day I take my two puppies, Scout and Finch, for a walk around the yard. They are only interested in finding worms to eat and catching squirrels, but I don't mind as long as they stroll with me.
I didn't winter sow as many plants this year, but I had plenty. One of my favorites are the Sunflowers! These were planted along side the house and I had to crop the picture in order to screen out the garden hose and the meter reader....lol!
I start most of my plants by seed. These were planted a few years ago and I divided the plant and transplanted them into some beds we started in our front yard.
This beautiful flower is called a Brown Nose Rudebekia (I'm pretty sure..). They reseed everywhere, but I planted this bunch under our Black Oak tree. They hide the Iris that have already bloomed.
Last, but not least, is my Blanket Flower. I started this flower about 5 years ago and it has happily reseeded all over the yard. They bloom all summer!

Late Spring in St. Louis!

Warm weather is already here, so I thought I would show you some pics from around my house. Above is my Cairn Terrier, Finch. Notice the ball in the bowl? When she needs a drink, she drops her ball in the water and then drinks around it! Finch always has a ball either in her mouth, or next to her.
I didn't have a choice the other day. I HAD to plant these Sunflowers! I had to cut them out of the milk jug. LOL! These were winter sowed, so they are all ready to go!
I planted lots of Tulips when we moved into our house 9 years ago. They bloomed for about 2 years and from then on the only thing that came up were the leaves...until this year. This beauty decided to adorn our front yard. Tulips are my favorite flower.
And this is my favorite tree: Weeping Cherry Tree. The blooms only last a few days, but when it's blooming, it gorgeous!

Winter Sowing Seeds Are Up!

Spring has sprung and I'm getting all kinds of sprouts! This pictures is of my Bachelor Buttons. I planted:
Tomatoes (2 kinds)
Green Beans
Cucumbers
Zinnia's
Poppies
Blue Flax
Bachelor Buttons
Sunflowers
Alyssum

My sunflowers are about 3 inches tall already! I worked in the garden today trying to get the beds ready for the new plants. My veggie garden is all ready, but the older beds need lots of weed pulling.
Today I worked on digging a small trench to line my beds with. It's not the perfect solution, but it does help keep the grass out of the beds.

Hot Process Handmade Gingerbread Soap From Scratch

It was a cold and damp day, so I thought it would be a great day to make more soap. I'm running low on basic soap, but I also need some holiday soap....so I'm made Gingerbread Soap!
In the above picture you can see the hard oils melting. I have coconut, palm kernel, shea butter, and palm oil. Off to the side (which you can't see), I have my carefully measured lye/water solution and my soft oils. My soft oils are olive, rice bran, and castor.
While the oils are melting, I got my mold ready to go. I put oats on the bottom of the mold. This will actually be the top of the soap.
I also added ground oats and cocoa powder. The oats are great for your skin and the cocoa is for coloring the soap.
This is my favorite part...right after I poured the lye/water mix into the melted oils. In the above picture I just turned on the stick blender.
This is what it looks like one second after blending.
Here you can see a light trace. If I were making cold process soap, I would stop at this point, separate the mixture and add coloring. Since I'm hot processing, and I'm using cocoa for color, I'm skipping this step.
This is what it looked like after it came to a medium trace and I added the oats and cocoa.
Now the soap is "cooking". You can see the outside of the pot starting to gel.
About 20 min. later. It cooks from the outside in, and when the white spot in the middle is tiny, or disappears, it's finished!
This is a crummy picture, but this picture was taken after the soap had cooled to 170 degrees and I added the Gingerbread oils to the soap.
I added oats to the top (bottom of soap), but most of it fell off after taking it out of the mold. Hot process soap is ready to use as soon as it's finished with the "cook". It takes several hours for the soap to cool.
All set to go! See the oats? This was the bottom of the mold.
All cut and ready to go! I like to let my soap sit for a week or so before using. You don't have to, but the soap will last a lot longer if you do.

Now you know what it takes to makes soap!

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!

Our Grand Opening At Crestwood Court Is This Weekend!!

Come visit us at Crestwood Court! We are having our Grand Opening on Saturday and Sunday, March 7th and 8th. Ribbon cutting begins at noon on Saturday. We will have demo's throughout both days, so come and meet all the artists!
Here are a few pictures of my shelves. Above are my foam scrubs and matching soaps.
I arranged my products by scent.
Paul, from Wilson Graphics, made my banner. I love it!!

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 -------->

Through The Eyes Of Dogs

This is how my two Cairn Terriers spend their day. No Soap Opera's for my two!

A Rose As Rosey As A Rose!

My sister wanted some English Rose Body Butter, so I ordered some fragrance oils from Bramble Berry. The scent was so heavenly that I decided to make some soap with it! I wish I did not have to wait 4 weeks before I use it. I'm pleased with how they all came out. I crushed Rose Petals all over the top. I know some people do not like dried flowers in their soap, and these will wash off after one or two uses.

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!