Color at the Iowa State Fair

Shortly after attending the 2009 Iowa State Fair, I wrote a piece called It’s Iowa Nice (published December 2009). Yet this year, my focus at the fair was different. I focused on a specific location within the fair, rather than the people who visit, specifically, The Master Gardener’s Discovery Garden.

In a sentence...no...a paragraph, I could list a thousand, poetic words to describe the garden, yet, only one word truly paints a perfect picture of the garden: color. According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, color is “a specific combination of hue, saturation, and lightness or brightness.” Now, imagine every color ever flashed before your eyes: soft blues, strong reds, comforting purples, daring yellows, contrasting greens, shifty magentas, monochromatic pinks, and warm browns.

With that in mind, come with me. Imagine, sitting at the base of a tree on bench at 9am in the morning as I did that day. Rest your eyes. Open but rested, taking it all in. Notice Dorothy’s shiny ruby red slippers hang over her blue house; a miniature yellow cow painted with green and orange flowers on its belly stands in the children’s garden; larkspur creating an effective border, preventing an aggressive sea of red flowers from disrupting the calm brown ground; even iridescent dragonflies and black and yellow honey striped bees flit from stamen or carpel to the next. You’ll soon notice your ears and nose want to join in. Do you smell the softened mulch in the morning air? Can you hear the light dribble of water running its way through the makeshift stream?

Scenic beauty exists in the middle of the Iowa State Fair, where turkey legs, beer tents, carnival rides, and band members wear shimmering gold jackets sing their melodies. I hope you enjoyed your visit as much as I did.

Awww...Decorah, Iowa

Recently I had the opportunity to visit Decorah, Iowa.

Approximately 3.5 hours northeast of Des Moines (though, this is not precise for I slept for most of the ride), I knew it was located in a precious part of Iowa...along the Mississippi River and in the beautiful bluff country, which I was definitely excited to see again since extended absence.

Our first stop-The Winnesheik Hotel. A hotel with "21st Century Comfort and 19th Century Charm." It was exquisite. To describe the level of hospitality this hotel provides is easily identified in the three bookshelves that sit on each floor of the hotel. You can borrow any type of book you want at any time during your stay. If you do not finish it within the timeframe of your stay...take it with you; send it back when you are ready. Seriously! There is a note from the hotel left on the bookshelf. Fantastic!

During our three day adventure, we shopped along Water Street (downtown Decorah), hiked around Phelps Park, explored the Vesterheim Norwegian-American Museum, which is a wonderful celebration of the Norweigian community and culture, and my all-time favorite, The Seed Savor Exchange, a non-profit organization that sits on 890-acres and "is dedicated to preserving and sharing heirloom seeds to preserve the world's heritage of plant diversity...maintains over 25,000 endangered vegetable varieties including 6200 tomatoes, 5100 beans, 1300 squash and 1100 varieties of lettuce...it also maintains 700 pre-1900 apple varieties in their Historic Orchard. Heritage Farms..."

I was a kid in a candy store. Seeds, books, garden decor EVERYWHERE...floor to ceiling! I definitely recommend checking out the website (provided above).

Until then, please enjoy some of my pictures from our visit. If you visit Decorah for yourself, please share your experience with me.

Sidenote: Many people think Iowa is merely endless fields of corn and feedlots of hog and cattle. It does have corn and hogs and cattle...fortunately, it also has rolling hills, bluffs, forests, prairies, wetlands, marshes, rivers, lakes, inland beaches. It is an amazing hodgepodge of nature.

New Discoveries

I discovered a new site today...The Iowa Native Plant Society. It is a simple forum for "plant enthusiasts, gardeners, and professional botanists to exchange ideas and information, and to work together to:

• encourage conservation and ethical use of Iowa's plants
• promote education about Iowa's plants, their habitats and cultural habits, and the preservation of these plants and their environment
• appreciate and enjoy Iowa's native flora"

I am especially appreciative of finding this website because this weekend I visited the Ledges State Park. We hiked through all sorts of vegetation for roughly three hours. Unfortunately, I realized, I had no idea what type of vegetation surrounds me. So between the IDOT Plant Profiler Roadway Living Trust Fund (see My Favorites) and the new-to-me Iowa Native Plant Society, hopefully I will be more aware of my surroundings because the traditional, "ooh, pretty."

For more information, I've added The Iowa Native Plant Society link to My Favorites. Check it out!

My Little Bit of Heaven

I have not had the opportunity to play in our garden for almost a month. My skin itched. My eyes watered. And, my heart longed to be in the best place on Earth...my little bit of heaven!

So, when I was finally able to garden, the first item to address...weeding; some much needed weeding! Between the wildflower bed, the garden and the area along the garage, it actually did not take us long to clean things out. The best part, though, is that we already started planning for next year!

Should we plant garlic this fall for next spring? Who knew you had to plant garlic in the fall, so it would come up next spring?

Perhaps, we will not plant squash next year? It takes over a good quarter of the garden. Though I must admit the spaghetti squash tasted A-MAZING!

Maybe not so much corn (well, that was my suggestion, anyway)? Eight rows of corn tends to take a good majority of the space we have; however, I think it is JC's bit of heaven.

Any suggestions?