Well…the Raise the Roof Celebration last Saturday at Society Hall was wonderful, absolutely great and fun, and well organized—if I do say so myself. We were able to raise $7,500! It was awesome to show off the hall and what it has become. It was great to see so many enjoying the music of Tumbleweed—can you ever get tired of hearing those guys—I don’t think so! From the very first act to the end of the night there was some really great music! The board of Society Hall is forever grateful for the support.

We are especially thankful for the Adams State University wrestlers who helped set up the fencing and tents on Friday night! Without them, we would have been some pretty tired pups come Saturday. The guys and their coach Ramstetter were wonderful!

And a huge thanks to Jonathon Barton, owner of J & J Rental for providing the tents and helping us take down on Sunday morning. We also have Kenny and Deanna Wagner on speed dial for next year because of their willingness to just jump in and DO IT! Again…we are so grateful.

Meanwhile…back at the garden….it is now a great time to spray your lawn one last time for weeds. Any weeds you get rid of now, will mean a better lawn in the spring. I would recommend spraying this week, and then follow up with a fertilizer a few days later. Water deep, but don’t flood. AND still mow high — let your grass grow until it is three inches tall, and then cut ONE inch off.

I’m still trying to find the time to plant some shrubs in Mom’s Garden. Thinking that this is my weekend to get it done. The weather is supposed to be cooler, and maybe even a little rain. Fall is absolutely my favorite time of year. The cool breezes, the colors, the smells, knowing it is almost time to take a break.

Rudy helped me dig up some of the background grass in Mom’s Garden. What a huge task for him to do, and a great help to me. The piles sat for a couple of weeks as his dad got ill, and I had other projects. As I loaded up one of the piles this week, it simply amazed me to see how well the ornamental cabbages are doing. They weren’t even planted until July! I am definitely going to try planting them from seed next year and see if I can get a ribbon of purple stretching across this entire garden.

I do feel bad for not getting the drip irrigation fine-tuned in Mom’s Garden this year. There just aren’t enough hours in the day. I have, however, watered as little as possible, bordering on neglect. I am going to measure the number of gallons of water used in each zone sometime this weekend. I use a manual timer that I set for 30-40 minutes in each area. Once I get it measured I will get a good feel for whether or not the Netafim system cuts back on the water. 

All the perennials I have been planting in Mom’s Garden the past month are starting to show new growth. They will soon hunker down for winter and then be ready to give some color next spring. When I think of the very LITTLE water I have applied in this area, it is amazing. You can have color and perennials and shrubs, with little water and just a little maintenance IF you know what you are doing.  Did I mention color?!

I think back to the olden days, many years ago, when I did the city landscaping. The gardens weren’t perfect—neither was I. But, they were beautiful, with all the faults they might have had. I have been attending “Water Wise Landscaping” meetings at City Hall. There certainly has been no talk about hiring a person(s) to JUST do landscaping and beautification. Until we find the contract money that used to be available for this purpose, the color will remain gone. The 3’ weeds in front of the police station will remain, because no one knows it’s a weed. The trees will not be watered as much as they should and no one will trim the dead branches. Where….did that money go…..I wonder?

And now I shut up until next week, and work on my own projects.  I can point out my areas that need work, and admit it. I might be embarrassed, but I’m trying, I’m trying. I WANT color, all spring-summer-fall color!