How To Plant Your Garden

First,

come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses. . .

Then plant a GARDEN of DAILY LIVING . . .

Plant 3 rows of PEAS:

1. Peace of mind

2. Peace of heart

3. Peace of soul

Plant 4 rows of SQUASH:

1. Squash gossip

2. Squash indifference

3. Squash grumbling

4. Squash selfishness

Plant 4 rows of LETTUCE:

1. Lettuce be faithful

2. Lettuce be kind

3. Lettuce be patient

4. Lettuce really love one another

No GARDEN is complete without TURNIPS:

1. Turnip for meetings

2. Turnip for service

3. Turnip to help one another

To Conclude OUR GARDEN We Must Have THYME:

1. Thyme for each other

2. Thyme for family

3. Thyme for friends


Water Freely with Patience

And Cutivate with Love.

There isn't much fruit in your GARDEN,

Because you REAP what you SOW.

Our Desert Blossoms as a Rose

Utah? or Seattle? or Scotland?

I have to remind myself I live in a desert. In the first twenty-two days of June, eighteen were rainy. This is definitely not NORMAL. In fact, according to a local weather report it is 387% greater than normal.

I feel like we moved to Seattle and no one told me. I now live in Soggy Valley instead of the Salt Lake Valley.

In ancient times, the great prophet Isaiah proclaimed:

"The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing. . .they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. . .for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water. . .and an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of Holiness. . .and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." (Isaiah 35:1-2, 6-8, 10)

My mother would be so proud of my roses!

The early Latter-day Saints who entered the Salt Lake Valley understood the words of Isaiah to have special meaning and application to them. Indeed the Salt Lake Valley was at that time a desert, a solitary place. But since then it has blossomed as the rose. . .and the roses have never been rosier than this year.

In 1847 trapper and mountain man, Jim Bridger, told Brigham Young that it was not prudent to bring a large population into the Great Basin until it is proven that grain can survive the cold. So skeptical was Bridger, that he told Brigham Young, “I would give $1,000 for a bushel of corn raised in the basin.”

I wonder if Brigham Young paid up.

Orson Pratt, one of the first Mormons to see the Salt Lake Valley, exclaimed, "an extensive scenery opened before us, we could not refrain from a shout of joy which almost involuntarily escaped from our lips the moment this grand and lovely scenery was within our view."

But not all of the pioneer party was so enthusiastic about the Great Salt Lake Valley. Harriet Page Wheeler Young on viewing the Salt Lake Valley said, “Weak and weary as I am, I would rather go a thousand miles farther than remain in such a forsaken place as this."

Oh, if Harriet could see the valley now!

The Geraniums have never been so grand!

The Delphiniums have never been so delightful!

The Ornamental grasses have never been so ostentatious!

Although I tire of the rain, I'm grateful for the cool temperatures. It will soon be in the 90s. The plants will wilt and turn brown to remind us we live in a desert. We'll forget the lush, green of spring and we'll sizzle in the heat of summer.

I get the news I need on the weather report.
I can gather all the news I need on the weather report.
Hey, Ive got nothing to do today but smile.
Da-n-da-da-n-da-da-n-da-da here I am. . .

(Only Living Boy in New York - Simon and Garfunkel)

My Garden Sanctuary

First Iris of 2008

I confess. I am a novice gardener, but I keep trying. I'm afraid my thumb isn't green; it's made of stone. I can grow rocks, but little else. As a child, I remember wanting a Rock Garden and asking mother to plant one. I thought rocks grew up out of the ground like her flowers.

Among nature's many blessings are rocks. Their ancient mystery, their constancy, the firmness, the eternalness. On a survival course in 1970 with BYU in the red-rock desert of Southern Utah, I gained an immense reverence for the stone canyons. The majesty of the cliffs and mesas is etched in my heart forever. My garden is a monument to rocks. For years I have spent many long. hot summer hours hauling rock from Big Cottonwood Canyon. Creating paths, borders and a small pond, purely for my families enjoyment, has been my summertime quest. I know I've hauled, placed and re-placed over a ton of rock. Among the rocks I plant perennials for greenery and to contrast of hardness with softness.

Wasatch Forest Service, the BLM and UDOT have offered rock permits each year on May 15 to the first 250 eager people. The permits are usually gone in two hours. This year the permits are not being given out. Budget cuts in the government services will not allow the extra effort these permits require. I guess my rock collecting is at an end!

My Tiny Pond and Pathway

Another pathway in the works

After a long winter, my garden is starting to take shape. There's much work to do. But suddenly the temperatures are more like summer than spring. I hope my baby plants will take root and thrive. (Of course there is the obvious analogy between a garden and life; tiny plants and children, etc.)

Just the beginnings - May 17, 2008

Sheri Sheri quite contrary,

How does your garden grow?

With silver bells and cockle shells

And pretty maids all in a row.

Scottish artist Shona Penny

I hope heaven is like the Garden of Eden and if I'm there, I'll sign up to work in the garden. There is no place I'd rather be.