The Heat is ON

It is still really warm and humid, I guess there were scattered showers last night but we did not get a drop. I just finished watering again.

This plant is Standing Cyress, it is not supposed to grow in zone 4 gardens but I have had it in my garden for a number of years, it is a biennal, the first year it only gets about an inch tall, then the second year it grows to about 5 feet and blooms this time of year, it self seeds. I used to have some yellow ones as well, but for some reason they are all this dark orange/reddish color now.

Soy Candles

My good friend Connie at Ash Lane Farm asked about making soy candles, I will share it even though it is not really about gardening. They are fun to make and are not difficult at all. You need a Pyrex (4 cup) dish to melt the wax in the microwave. You let the wax cool to about 120-130 degrees and then add the fragrance oil, about 1-3 ounces per two cups of melted soy wax, stirring for about 3 minutes before pouring into a container. I pour mine into canning jars that I put a wick in, there are little stickies that are used to stick the wick to the bottom of the container. I am lucky that one of the biggest suppliers is in New Hampton, IA which is only about 40 miles from me and 2 miles from where my parents live so I get up that way often. http://www.enchanted-lites.com/ and I also buy supplies from http://www.lonestarcandlesupply.com/?gclid=CIH-mZHem40CFSCTWAod81M57A You can also find lots of information on this web site. They burn longer and much cleaner as someone mentioned.