Make it a Sweet Escape: The Garden

1. Herbal Tea garden or planter. Plant an assortment of mints
that can be used throughout the spring and summer to brew your own
fresh herbal tea. Mints make wonderful herbal tea and there are many
different varieties. Just to list a few–spearmint, apple mint, pineapple
mint and chocolate mint. The taste difference is slight and delicate but it’s
fun to experiment. I like to plant varieties into a large pot so I have plenty
for the whole season. Many varieties of mint are perennial in Utah but the
reason I grow them in containers is that they can become quite invasive in
an open space

2. Fresh berries Plant strawberries and raspberries now and
harvest the sweet berries to eat fresh or make a great ice cream sundae.
Strawberries should be planted about 12 inches apart, so that method of
planting would work best for a larger space or established garden. However
strawberries can also be grown in hanging baskets or containers called
strawberry jars. There are varieties that are ‘ever bearing’ that will produce
a small crop throughout the entire growing season. Raspberries need lots
of space but they are easy to grow and are not bothered by insects or
diseases.

3. Scented flowers. Enjoy fragrance throughout the season by
planting flowers that are scented. Fill a vase with a bouquet of these
fragrant flowers for you home. I would choose an assorted selection that
would provide interest throughout the spring and summer. Many plants
have a limited blooming period, so by having flowers that bloom in
succession the delight is extended. As an example, I would start out with
hyacinth, lily of the valley and stock for spring. Great summer selections
would be dianthus, star gazer lilies, lavender and iris. I will bring several
samples of scented flowers that bloom at different times.

4. Attract hummingbirds Fill hanging baskets with nectar
laden flowers and enjoy watching hummingbirds flock to your yard. An
excellent example of a nectar laden flower is calibrachoa, which is shaped
like a tiny petunia

5. Fantasy garden Create a small fantasy garden (sometimes
called a fairy garden) filled with miniature furniture, bird baths, paths and
tiny flowering plants and shrubs.