Why don’t you ask your MiL to help and make her day.
I forgot to mention that the photos were taken last fall
We do her landscaping/flower planting as she is physically unable. She did plant her little “butterfly” garden today which consists of 2 petunias, 2 pansies and a begonia. Unfortunately she does not have a green thumb.
MIL’s mother was a gem. Tough old gal who passed on at the age of 96. She was a walking farmers almanac and had more wisdom and planting knowledge then a dozen good gardners put together. Chewed tobacco, full blooded Cherokee Indian and eyes, even at 96, like an eagles. I didn’t know her long enough.
Your plantings are gorgeous. Of course, after seeing your other pictures, I wouldn’t have expected anything less. I’m glad that you noted that these were last year. Otherwise I would really be bummed out.
Bitterly cold and pouring rain today in my part of WI. My seedlings will never get “hardened” as they keep coming in to a 70 degree house every night!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The Larimer County Board of County Commissioners published The Code of the West...the realities of rural living. Commissioner John Clarke, author of the Code, allowed us to use his idea. Thus, some of the information in the Gilpin County Primer is taken directly from that parent booklet, some has been adapted and some is new to address specific Gilpin issues. When we saw a good idea, we "appropriated" it. Should another county think the Primer is a good idea, pretend it is a couch out on the curb...it's yours for the taking. EXPECTATIONS The Gilpin Primer takes its purpose directly from the title of the Larimer County Code of the West: to inform newcomers about "the realities of rural living" in the high country. Although Gilpin County is commuting distance from the mile high Denver metropolitan area, it is still rural. Expectations are a key to successful living in the Gilpin part of paradise. If a newcomer's expectations are urban, disappointment and grief will follow. The rural mountain setting is neither better nor worse than rural flatland, suburban or urban settings. But the high country is different and requires one to want to live here. The elevation ranges from 1 1/3 up to 2 1/2 miles and the 13 days of summer are followed by a long, long winter...forget the three days of spring or fall. It takes effort, tenacity, a sense of humor and some preparation to enjoy living in rural Gilpin County. Folks who like it up here often consider city conveniences and amenities to be nuisances or worse. Some new residents only see a wonderful, idyllic, rural, summer mountain setting. So, they may be shocked a bit later when a bear destroys the BBQ grill on the deck, deer munch the marigolds, a coyote lunches on the cat, and the driveway disappears under 52 inches of snow...then, they become disenchanted and expect someone else to "do something" about it. Thus, the Primer is intended to touch on some key notions to help prospective or new residents match Gilpin Country Reality with Expectations.
LOL! Good! Now I don't feel quite so inadequate.