Posts Tagged ‘make it do’

What do these flowers in my garden have in common?

Answer:  They all came from hardy volunteers.  By that I mean, they reseeded from another plant in my garden.

That plant either spread in the same area, or sent it’s seeds to a different part of the garden and the plant grew.

Either way, the new plant is usually welcome in my large flower beds, saving me from having buying plants to fill in empty areas.  They are most welcome because I  usually move the small plants to areas of my garden where I think they will look nice and be a great addition to my garden.

When you are weeding, be on the lookout for seedlings that might be volunteers from established plants and either move them, or enjoy them right where they grow.

To move a hardy volunteer, simply dig all around the plant, leaving a nice clump of dirt so as not to disturb the roots.  It’s best to move plants either early in the morning, or in the evening, and not during the heat of the day.

Don’t forget about your friends either.  It’s fun to exchange and share plants that come from volunteers.  Many plants in my garden have come from volunteers from my mother-in-law Kit’s garden.

Some of the annual plants I’ve loved that send off hardy volunteers are:

• Cosmos
• Larkspur
• Canterbury Bells
• Love-in-a Mist
• Cleome
• Allysum

Some perennials that send off volunteers (though I am not really sure if they call perennials “hardy volunteers”) are:

• Daisies
• Columbine
• Lavender
• Anemone
• Coreopsis

While some volunteers can seem a bit weedy at times, I welcome most in my garden as a way to save money and keep my garden in bloom.

Now if I could just get a few volunteers willing to weed my gardens!

Are you looking for a special activity to do with your kids or grandkids?

My husband’s family has a tradition that is pure delight.

When the kids in the family are around the age of 6 or 7, Mamaw and Granddad invite them over for a sleepover. Since the family is large, there are usually a few cousins around the same age that are invited together.

The sleepover invariably includes building a fire in their fire pit to cook hotdogs and S’mores, stories around the campfire, and sleeping out on the trampoline under the stars.

In the morning, after hearty breakfast, the kids gather round Mamaw as she reads them the delightful story We’re Going on a Bear Hunt.  Then she gives them a gift package that includes a cork pop gun or bow and arrow set, binoculars and a water bottle.  She tells them, “You are going to need your new supplies, because we are going on a “real” bear hunt.”

This is were a little planning ahead comes in.  There are numerous caves in the mountains along the Wasatch Front where we live.  A “helper” bear delivers a special gift for each child to a pre-determined cave early in the morning of the expedition.

The kids and grandparents then set off on their hike… traveling swishy, swashy, swishy, swashy, until at last they find…

a deep, dark cave… where the “real” bears have left soft and snuggly teddy bears and notes for each child.

My children not only cherish the bears from their bear hunts… but mostly the memory of the adventure with Mamaw, Granddad and their cousins.