Container Gardens at Gardener Villiage

I have a May birthday. But even better than having a birthday during the month that the official growing season starts in Utah, I have an end of May birthday. This means that the wisteria is blooming, calibrachoa and potato vine are starting to creep down the sides of planted containers, and lilacs have just stopped blooming but viburnums are still going strong.

When I was growing up anticipation of my birthday was always coupled with that of the end of the school year. Now that I am relatively "grown up" and I teach school the excitement of the end of the school year is even more intensified even more. This might be because this was my very first year teaching high school. or maybe because I'm leaving for Disneyland the first of June. I'm guessing a combination of both. Which, lets be honest, do not sound like things that a normal 23 year old is excited about on their birthday. But hey, that's just how much I love Disneyland.

My birthday hit the ultimate climax this year though. The best part of my birthday occurring the end of May is that sometimes, when the stars align just right, the celebratory day falls on Labor Day. It's like my own personal holiday. A day when schools shut down and businesses close so that my family can be completely freed up to eat cake and blow out candles with me.

2013 just happened to be a Labor Day/birthday combo. On top of the whole end of the school year and going to Disneyland excitement, I got to add a 90th birthday celebration for my grandmother {whose birthday I was born on and whose name I share}.

Now for how this post ties back in any way to gardening. Before I blew out my candles, my husband took me up to Salt Lake to one of my very favorite places to wander, Gardener Village. The village consists of a bunch of century old homes transplanted to one location and converted to tiny boutique shops. I think charming is the perfect word that describes the window boxes, winding brick paths, covered bridges, and ponds. It makes me feel like I've stepped back in time. Container gardens are one of my favorite parts of landscaping so I thought I'd snap a few pictures of what they're growing this year at the village.