Colorful Wildflowers in the Garden

 Add some bright color to your garden or yard with a pretty mixture of wildflowers. You can buy the see packets in the spring and sprinkle them in the empty spaces in your garden. 

When you plant wildflower seeds, it's always a fun surprise waiting to see which flowers will bloom in your garden. There are even bee and butterfly mixes that you can buy to help encourage pollination in your area.

 Most of the seed packets say that they are annual (meaning that you will have to plant seeds each year), but I have found that each spring we have 3 or 4 plants that come back from the previous year.

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Fountain at Provo City Center Temple

While walking around the grounds of the Provo City Center Temple, stop to enjoy the flowing water at the fountain to the South of the temple.

I love walking around the nicely landscaped grounds of the different LDS temples. There is generally a pretty water feature also. This fountain is no exception.

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Ashton Gardens Tulip Festival

Early Spring is such a beautiful time. Everything goes from brownish-gray to deep green with splashes of color from the newly opening flowers. Colorful tulips are one of the first of the flowers to appear in gardens here and I love the different varieties that can be found.

At Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah you can find Ashton Gardens - a 55-acre oasis in this mountainous desert. We have visited in all the seasons and it is always pretty, but during the spring it is extra beautiful while they are having their tulip festival. They have hundreds of varieties of tulips to see as you walk along the path by Monet Lake, through the Secret Gardens, around the Waterfall Amphitheater, and through the rest of the 15 tranquil gardens.

The design of the tulip groupings throughout the garden change each year, so it is like you are visiting a new garden each time. Every time we have gone it has been amazingly stunning to see the variety of color and type of tulips.

We have visited both during nice weather and on a rainy day. The beauty of the flowers doesn't change, but the crowds are definitely less during the overcast or rainy days. Here in Utah you really have no idea what weather you will have in April and early May, so make sure to chech the weather forecast for Lehi since there is so much variation in different parts of Utah and Salt Lake counties.

Plan on spending hours at Ashton Gardens so you can see as much as possible. It's always smart to pack snacks and water. There are quite a few scenic areas where you can sit on benches, next to ponds, or on the lush green grass and rest your feet while you stay hydrated and renew your energy with a treat.

Make sure to check the Ashton Gardens website to see what upcoming events will be there to enjoy.

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Colorful Barn in the Snow

Brightly colored barns stand out so nicely against the fresh, white newly fallen snow. Driving through the countryside on a winter day can be so peaceful. The crisp air, quiet farms, fresh blanket of snow, beautiful animals, majestic towering mountains, and colorful barns combine to create a relaxing excursion.

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Snowy Wasatch Mountain Landscape

Winter has arrived in Utah and the mountains along the Wasatch Front are beautiful. This photo was taken in Brigham City, Utah after a fresh snowfall.

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Split Rail Fence

As the sun shone on the golden grass, I couldn't help but see beauty in this fence on a peaceful farm. The weathered wood has such an interesting texture after all the storms and sun baked days it has been through.

I wanted to walk through the field with my fingertips grazing the grass, letting the sun shine down on an autumn morning, listening to the lowing of the cattle in the field.

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Line of Autumn Trees

“How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days.”

― John Burroughs

This autumn the trees have seemed extra beautiful. Each day the leaves change a bit more, some falling to the ground so people can shuffle through the crunchy leaves. I'm going to enjoy the colors before the last remaining leaves fall as we head into the coming winter.

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Colorful Fall Trees in Provo Canyon

Red, yellow, orange, and brown speckle the trees during the autumn. The canyons were beautiful to travel through. I'm so glad to live so close to beautiful nature.

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Bridal Veil Falls in the Autumn

A visit to Bridal Veil Falls up Provo Canyon is always very pretty. I've taken the quick drive up the canyon during every season and haven't been disappointed by the view.

There is something special about visiting Bridal Veil Falls when the trees start to change and wear their autumn colors. The mixture of red, orange, brown, yellow, and green is amazing against the gray rock of the mountain and the running water.

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Red Rocks of Pioneer Park

Utah is such an interesting place to visit. Depending on what part of the state you are in, you can see red rock formations, canyons, waterfalls, snow capped mountains, flower filled valleys, dry deserts, lakes, colorful fields, and star filled skies.

When you are in Central and Southern Utah, you will see red rocks start to join the natural landscape. In St George, the city sits in the valley and there is a breathtaking backdrop of red rock cliffs.

Visit the city run Pioneer Park and you will have a morning/evening of adventure and fun. Notice I didn't say day....it's HOT in St George. We went at 10 in the morning and had a wonderful time. Take plenty of water to stay hydrated.

The red sandstone rocks have such interesting features. There are small eroded circles, larger ones that children can climb into, and even small tunnels to walk through. You can hike/climb through the different formations for hours.

You can climb onto the top of the rocks to get an amazing view of the city down below. My husband took this panoramic photo with his phone and I love how it turned out.

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Tiny Purple Flowers

While on an evening walk by myself, I passed by a field full of these tiny purple flowers. They were so delicate and I thought how neat it was they were leaning toward the setting sun, trying to soak up as much of the golden warmth that they could.

The path I took for my walk that evening was a street I usually walk along and I am very familiar with the trees and bushes on my side of the street. That evening I looked across the street to the vacant field and it was dotted with specks of purple. I crossed the street to get a better look and found these 2 inch high flowers.

Keeping my eyes open to the loveliness of the everyday world enriches and beautifies my day. I hope it does the same for you!

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Water Lilies at Monet Lake

One of my favorite painters is Claude Monet. The tones and colors the he used in his paintings seem to speak to me. His soft and somewhat hazy Impressionist paintings have touched my heart and imagination for years. I believe my favorite is "The Waterlily Pond With The Japanese Bridge".

When visiting the Thanksgiving Point Ashton Gardens a few years ago, I was so pleased to find a section of the gardens called Monet Lake that was full of these simple and beautiful water lilies. I was able to walk along the pond and experience a peaceful time while enjoying nature.

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