Secrets to Growing Mums

Fall is coming and the blooms in our gardens are bowing their heads for a rest. But take heart. The mums are coming! It won't be long before their vibrant colors and shapes splash and explode in your garden.  I say explode because....

Grown by Pat Stockett Johnston

many look like a firecracker. Bang!

I’d like to introduce you to Pat, who recently took up the fascinating hobby of growing mums.  She is quite the firecracker herself as she always has the gusto to try something new. Pat is a member of my writers critique group and has just published a clever book entitled, "Mums the Word: Secrets to Growing Chrysanthemums for Home and Show." I say clever, because she explains her craft in simple fashion and if you follow her advice, everyone will think you are quite a clever gardener.

Grown by Pat

The book was published by G8 Press. To take a look at her book go here.

Pat is a very interesting person aside from growing mums. I caught up with her the other day and asked if she would tell us a little about her life.

Pat, tell us what countries you have lived in and a little about your work.

I lived overseas for 34 years as a career missionary with the Church of the Nazarene. Our first seven years were in Beirut, Lebanon—a beautiful, fascinating country, reeking with ancient history. The ruins of Byblos, Sidon, and  Baalbek are fabulous. The Lebanese Civil War forced us to leave the country.

Next we were assigned to Amman, Jordan, for five years. Still Arabic-speaking people, but with 95% of the people followers of Islam. This high, desert country had its own beauty. And Amman was an intriguing, beautiful city. Plus the whole country was an archeological site. We especially enjoyed Petra, Pella, the Roman ruins of the city of Jerash, Jesus’ Baptismal Site at the Jordan River, and the Dead Sea.

pd image

Next followed 14 years in the Pacific Island country of Papua New Guinea, located just north of Australia. You couldn’t beat the weather at 5,000 ft. altitude of the Western Highlands Province. Rained over 250 inches a year. No seasons. Just a wet season and a wetter season.

Our last seven years were spent back in Amman. Jordan had signed a peace treaty with Israel while we were in Papua New Guinea, so that allowed us many opportunities to visit Israel. A 3-week History and Geography course at Jerusalem College University gave us the opportunity to see the country—Dan to Beersheba, Jericho to Haifa. I’d visit Israel at the drop of a hat. Never got tired of visiting biblical sites there.

Did you cultivate any gardens when you were in the Middle East?

We mostly lived in high-rise apartment buildings in the Middle East that offered no private gardens. But that didn't matter, for I had a brown thumb. No house plant survived for more than a month under my care!

Grown by Pat

Ha! Ha! That's hard to believe.

You have published several books about your experiences overseas. Is this your first gardening book?

Previously I wrote seven books for my church’s missions education program. The fact that I could actually keep a plant alive for more than a month was surprising. The fact that I can grow beautiful, prize-winning chrysanthemums is a miracle.

Well if you can, maybe we can too!

How is the book doing?  Any interesting calls for copies?

The publisher has not provided me with the number of books that have sold. But I do know that Kings Mums catalog is selling the book in its 2013 catalog for rooted mums cuttings.

Is it really true that ANYONE can grow mums?  What about those of us with a “brown thumb”. 

www.flowers.vg/flowers/mum01.htm

I think it’s important to have mentoring when trying out new activities. I joined the Descanso Chrysanthemum Society and its members shed light on how to grow them. But like most plants, mums need good soil, fertilizer, watering, insecticides, and regular care. Show mums are grown in pots, and demand only six hours of sun a day. Honestly, if I can grow them, anyone can!

I am stunned by the variety and different styles and colors of the Mums. How many kinds of Mums are there?

There are 13 classes of mums grown for show exhibitions. Here’s the link to my YouTube 1-minute video that shows an example of each class bloom.

Oh my goodness—that was beautiful! Readers---go here and watch the gentle dance of 13 mums.

In your book, I like the step by step instructions with pictures…for example, the section “How to Plant Cuttings from Last Years’ Mums”.  Who took the pictures of your hands performing the tasks? 

My husband Gordon took the pictures. We are a mums-growing team. He does the watering, fertilizing, transferring to bigger pots, and sprays for insects and worms. I have smaller hands, so I disbud unwanted new growth and stake the stems. We make a great team!

How can we purchase a book?

Grown by Pat

At amazon.com. Learn more about me on my author’s page by going to the Mums the Word Amazon page and clicking on my name.

Thank you for all the work you have done to help us grow these beautiful flowers.

Your welcome!

Click here to visit Pat's blog.

Bicycling at Mammoth Lakes, California

Mammoth Lakes area has a beautiful bike trail that threads through the pine forests, beside lakes, along a waterfall, and next to scenic lookouts.  With friends, Craig and Linda, we rented bikes in town, for $20 each, put them in back of the truck...then drove them to the shuttle stop.

We could of rented bikes directly at the shuttle stop, but it was a little more expensive. The shuttle is free. Our bikes are in a trailer hitched to the back of the bus.

The bus drove along the edge of a scenic pass. We could see the town of Mammoth in the low lands and several mountain ranges in the distance. Then we began approaching the lakes. There are 5 or 6 and about one mile apart.

The bus dropped us off at the top of the trail which is Horse Shoe Lake. It's beautiful but its shrinking slowly due to a fissure in the lake floor. We are in earthquake and volcano country. The ground is covered in tiny pumice stones.

Mozart, who is an off-road enthusiast, talked us into riding around the lake on a dirt trail. It was  great. I told Mozart we should sell our motorcycles and get into mountain biking. This didn't go over well.

After a loop around the lake (and I will mention we are at 8955 ft.) We head down the paved trail beginning our 8 mile decent. We take a detour over to a foot bridge for a picture. 

The bike trail goes right along the top of this waterfall. The water flows into the lake below.

 We stopped to visit the horses at the horse back riding post.

The bike tunnels were awesome.

Another bridge.

We had a great time!

Ninety-five percent of the ride was downhill. So the altitude is not a big problem.

This is a great ride for the whole family. We noticed a couple of 12 year old boys taking the shuttle up with their skateboards. The driver told me they had been going up and down all day.  Well that's better than video games!

 Mammoth is a mountain biking mecca. I've only barely touched what is available. The emphasis is on off-road. There are miles and miles of trails. You can even ride the gondola to the top and kamikaze down your favorite ski trail.  I'm not quite ready for that yet!

But you don't have to be a biker to enjoy a scenic gondola ride to the top.

That's it, for this post... I must go and make some mashed potatoes. My oldest son had his wisdom teeth out today. His new puppy is a great helper.
 

Mammoth and our New Pup

We went to Mammoth Mountain for a few days. When we arrived home, we found a new family member. Our former dog passed away unexpectedly in March.  Sensi looks a bit like her. She is 9 weeks old.

 In Mammoth, we floated on the lakes, explored trails and rode bikes. Mammoth has a great bike trail that threads through the forests and along beautiful vistas.  I'll post more pictures of the trip later. Here is a sample.

One of the lakes on June Lake Loop.

 We visited the ghost town of Bodie.  Took a special tour of the old Stamp Mill. Did you know that Bodie had electricity before Washington D.C.?

 On the bike trail with our friends, Craig and Linda.

Home Sweet Home...back to our boys....and Sensi

Memories in a Ghost Town

Mozart and I are returning to the ghost town of Bodie next week. Last time we were there we were on our dirt bikes and had a run in with the Sheriff. Our son (right) and his friend thought the whole thing was pretty funny. Here is the article I wrote about it.

Ghost Town Show Down

But for the most part we'll be at Mammoth doing a some fishing, hiking, and rafting.  Yes, relaxing rafting. I have an inflatable boat with oars. See you when I get back.

Up Down Up

Sometimes a rough week warrants doing something radical.

I spotted a dusty boogie board at my parents. "See you in an hour." I tossed it in the trunk, grabbed my purse and headed toward the beach. Ten minutes later the warm sand massaged my feet as I scouted for the perfect spot to lay my purse. I stepped out into the foamy tumblers and felt the icy water spray across my knees and slap at my board.  Another wave fell against the board and sprayed me down, so I stooped down and let the cold water flow over my shoulders, and I was in.

I caught a wave. It let me glide with it for a  moment and then pushed me onto the sand. I tried to look lady-like as I grabbed my board and straightened up. (Impossible).  All the more reason to strut back in the water and pretend like I know what I'm doing.  As you can see the size of the waves matched my "surfing" expertise and and the board had no wrist cord....oh it was perfect.

After that I went for a walk and ended up sitting on this wall. The side near the water is taller than it looks. I loved sitting with my feet dangling, the warm breeze whipping my hair, and my wet swim suit keeping me cool.  I watched the boats and the pelicans for quite some time, and felt as free as the seagulls flying overhead.

 Speaking of birds, these pelicans were hilarious. They were fishing right along with the fishermen.

Back at the shop (my dad's underground cave) he is working on a remote control sail boat that he and my brother plan to launch soon.  

He sure has a lot of drills.  

Speaking of "a lot",  here is a picture of a lot of boys.
 On another summer day my cousin, Bruce, his wife Marian and their 4 boys came by for a visit. They are getting ready to jump in for a swim at the community pool near my parents home.  (Bruce's grandmother is my dear great-aunt. She is 99. She married my grandfather's brother.) Bruce, who is a contractor,  is here to pick up a tile cutter that my dad borrowed in order to tile the bathroom. The whole neighborhood knew about my dad's tile project due to the searing sound an effective tile cutter makes. And they all breathed a sigh of relief when it was finished. 

Fields of green grass wrap around the homes in the area, and I took my cousins on a walk. Here is the duck pond, but all the ducks are taking a break.

We walked all the way to the bluffs overlooking the back bay. It was beautiful.

Back at home, in the hot lands it has been about 100 degrees. My tomato bushes are on their last legs, but here is a picture of my first crop. I'm on a health kick and determined my family is going to eat more fruits and vegetables.  In the fridge I have carrots, celery, broccoli, grapes, plums, strawberries. (no I didn't grow all those)  I tried to put them toward the front for easy access.  I hope it works.

I'm hoping this finds you well, and having a good summer. Life has its ups and downs, but you wouldn't feel the joy of UP unless you are familiar with the DOWN. But no matter up or down, God promises he will never leave us or forsake us, and he will use everything to build us stronger.

Have a good day!

Catching Up

Okay pull up a chair. It's time to catch up. It's the night after the 4th of July and I'm still recouperating. My boys LOVE the 4th of July...when they were little they said it was more fun than Christmas.  I'm pretty sure they still hold that view.  I did a little decorating, and found this cloth tablecloth at a yard sale for 50 cents. The cheerful colors remind me of a time long ago.

Wow, is anyone else having trouble with this new blogging program? I'm definitely on a learning curve here. Keep losing pictures and text. Sigh.

Here is my eldest son trying to put out a fire in the palm tree. Apparently someone's rocket from a nearby street lodged itself in the fronds.

At this point I called the fire department.

With the help of a neighbor, CP  got it out seconds before the hook and ladder truck arrived.

Next...Here we have a new shower curtain hanging by zip ties. This works quite well when one's glass shower door rolls off the track and shatters into a million pieces. I actually like this better than the glass.  Much easier to clean.

This is my new picture. It's rather simple but there is something about trees that calm my mind.

And my new chairs, from Target. I can curl up in one of these in the evening with a blanket and stare at the moon. Oh! I went to the Griffith Observatory...more on that later.

This is the view out of the guest bedroom window at my parent's home. My mother's roses, and the trees always bring me a peaceful feeling.

And so does a walk on the beach...before jumping on the freeway to go home.

And home can be peaceful too. My oldest son moved out 4 weeks ago. I did a deep cleaning of his room. Found amazing forms of dirt. It was nice to have a little extra space. Last week he called me and said his situation didn't work out and he is moving back home again.

.

Well that's good, he can help me with my tomatoes. He's quite the expert. He spotted spider mites on them and is recommending I spray with neem oil.

A pathway to an exciting place...the Pacific Ocean. But below, my younger son is on a path to another fascinating place.

The Griffith Park Observatory. We are supposed to meet my Dad, Mom and Brother here.

My brother is visiting from Colorado. Here's a shot of the Hollywood sign, that  can be seen from the Observatory.

I can't text with my sun glasses on. My parents are arriving on a bus full of senior citizens. My brother is on the bus. "This is the slow boat to China!" he is texting.

My brother and my dad get off the bus and study the planetary routes etched into the pavement.

 My mother is on the right standing next to her good friend, Jean. (DP, my son took the pic)

Okay it's 11:00 p.m. Gotta go to bed, or I'll end up sleeping through my writer's critique group meeting tomorrow. May you have a good day today. There's something good in every day!