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Mar 24
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Dig In: 5 Utah Spring Landscaping Tips

By Lifestyle

March weather is notoriously unpredictable, especially in Utah, where a week of sunshine is often followed by days of unrelenting snowfall. But for steadfast gardeners and loyal landscapers, the early spring season is a time to reevaluate your awakening outdoor areas. Of course, it’s not quite time to plant delicate blooms in the ground, but getting a head start on your plein air projects will undoubtedly sow the seeds of green-thumbed success. To help you get started, Ginger Belnap, owner and principal landscape designer of Meadow Brook Design, offers her top five tips for Utah spring landscaping. 

1) Be careful with fertilizer 

Winter storms hit the Wasatch Front sporadically between March and April, and a surge in moisture can impact your lawn. Too much rain produces runoff that carries fertilizer away that hasn’t had the opportunity to soak into the soil. Belnap suggests keeping an eye on the weather and applying fertilizer two days before a heavy storm to avoid deficiency. The type of fertilizer used is just as important as timing, and using the nutrient-rich version gives your lawn the best chance at revival after a long winter. “In the spring, you want to apply a high-nitrogen fertilizer to give your lawn a quick green color,” says Belnap.

2) Think of the big picture

Even seemingly low maintenance and water-wise landscapes require maintenance. Do your future self a favor by planning out the landscape of your entire yard before you begin spring gardening. “An efficient landscape design takes advantage of the entire yard, fostering a sense of function, flow and beauty,” Belnap explains. Factors to consider when planning your landscape include: 

  • Defining areas organized by plant type 
  • Including distinct borders
  • Not forgetting pathways

3) Prioritize Privacy

Without added privacy, even a well-designed landscape loses its charm and comfort. While you wait for the season’s last freeze, take the opportunity to research garden features that provide both visual appeal and the feeling of seclusion. Strategically placed fences may separate a neighbor’s property from yours, but other solutions include decorative screens and evergreens. Even a row of potted topiaries can designate a private sitting area apart from the busier yard areas when placed in an appropriate position.

4) Focus your family values 

If you plan on undertaking a total landscape overhaul this spring, Belnap advises investing in features you know your family will use and enjoy. “If your family enjoys playing games, prioritize a level lawn space to play soccer or football,” she says. “Or maybe installing a pickleball court is a better fit for your family and lifestyle—be creative!” 

5) Remember bigger isn’t always better

It might be tempting to go ahead and invest in mature shrubs and plants that will immediately fill in your sparse landscape. But planting juvenile greenery gives your yard an opportunity to grow and change with the seasons while also being easier on your budget. Belnap thinks of this as a long-term investment, like “choosing small trees over shrubs as they take longer to grow and require less long-term maintenance.” 

While you’re here, subscribe to Salt Lake magazine and get more home and garden tips from our sister publication Utah Style & Design.

Mar 24
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Outdoor Retailer Show Returning to Salt Lake City

By City Watch

After a five-year hiatus, the Outdoor Retailer (OR) trade show is returning to Salt Lake City in 2023 in spite of Utah officials’ ongoing attacks of two national monuments in the state. In 2017 OR left Utah in response to the state’s hostile stance towards conservation, particularly Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. The Biden administration restored the monument boundaries to those originally designated by former president Barack Obama in 2016, which had been significantly reduced in the interim by the Trump Administration.

Utah officials had pressed the Trump administration to take unprecedented action in overturning the monument designations, leading OR’s owner Emerald Expositions to relocate the twice-yearly show to Denver because such anti-conservation sentiment was antithetical to the goals and values of the outdoor industry.

Under Governor Spencer Cox, Utah has continued to pursue a lawsuit against the Interior Department to not only reverse Biden’s protective order but also to negate the 1906 Antiquities Act that allows presidents to designate monuments. Nevertheless, Outdoor Retailer cited in a statement their partnership with Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall, “whose values align with ours following tremendous investments in clean energy and a strong commitment to public lands,” as justification for a return to Utah.

So, the OR show is coming back to the Salt Palace Convention Center while a Washington-based law firm, Consovoy McCarthy, is seeking to gut the 1906 Antiquities Act at the behest of Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes. It’s a stunning reversal of conscience for those affiliated with OR, and not one that everyone is on board with. 24 companies, including influential behemoths Patagonia, REI and The North Face, said in a joint statement they would not return to a show in Utah. How the absences of industry mainstays will affect the viability of Outdoor Retailer remains to be seen, but Salt Lake is a town with a successful AAA baseball team, so Utahns have proven they’ll show out for the minor leaguers.

Meanwhile, the efficacy and even necessity of trade shows has come into question during the pandemic as outdoor industry sales have surged in the absence of such shows. Traditional sales and distribution models are evolving, in part because it appears the internet is here to stay. Trade shows themselves are relatively unsustainable with all the travel they require, so perhaps overlooking the Utah’s anti-conservation efforts while the federal government is doing the protective heavy lifting isn’t too much of a logical leap. Conservation and consumerism rarely align, after all.

Still, Mayor Mendenhall is right in thinking Outdoor Retailer’s return is a boon to Salt Lake City. The show brings an estimated $45 million to Utah each year, and its presence in Utah reaffirms the state’s place at the center of the outdoor industry. It’s even possible collective industry action could press Utah leaders to reverse course and support conservation at home. I wouldn’t get my hopes up, however, as Governor Cox insists the state’s actions are in opposition to federal overreach rather than conservation. Many states’ rights arguments have a sordid history with dubious intentions, but I’ll leave it up to each individual to decide whether they back the protection of lands with ancestral native ties to numerous tribes or “local” control over historically federal lands for myriad commercial uses.

And that’s where we’ll leave it for now. OR is returning to Utah while the state Legislature has set aside $5 million to fund the lawsuit seeking to gut protected lands and the 1906 Antiquities Act. OR leaving certainly didn’t change the state leaders’ minds. Who knows? Maybe coming home will.

While you’re here, subscribe to get Salt Lake directly to your mailbox.

Mar 23
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Explore Japanese Whisky at Post Office Place

By After Dark, Eat & Drink

Every day some finance bro on an expense account discovers there’s something other to drink than Bud Light and Jägermeister and has to tell me about it. Yeah. Bro. Say “the angel’s share” again and order the table another round of $75 Pappy Van Winkle shots. Thanks. I’ve had more ounces of whiskey than days this 25-year-old Goldman Sachs account exec has been alive and there’s not enough of it in the world to tolerate listening to him saying “notes of leather” one more time. Would ordering a shot of Beam drive him away?

Bro. Forget Pappy. Japanese whisky (no “E”) is the new, although not new, thing and one Salt Lake bar is ahead of the curve. Post Office Place has always had Nipponese leanings, being the next-door sibling of Takashi. But POP General Manager Rich Romney and Beverage Director Crystal Daniels have taken that inclination to the next level and built out a full library of Japanese juice. They back it up with a deep knowledge of the intricacies of booze from a country 5,000 miles away. 

Crystal Daniels, Beverage Director of Post Office Place
Crystal Daniels, Beverage Director of Post Office Place (Photo by Adam Finkle/Salt Lake magazine)

Daniels found her passion for Japanese whisky and rice whisky (more on that in a minute) when, like all of us, her palate finally grew up. “When I was young I drank a lot of Scotch because I thought it was badass.” What she discovered with Japanese spirits, however, was a wide spectrum that ranges from delicate to intense. “I used to think I needed something that would punch me in the face, but now I enjoy spirits that whisper to me.” 

Daniels didn’t stray that far from her youth, actually. See, the roots of Japanese whisky come from Scotland. In the 1920s, Japan was one of the biggest markets for Scotland’s famous spirits and two men, Shinjiro Torii and Masataka Taketsuru, set out to make Japanese whisky. Taketsuru traveled to Scotland to learn from the masters and brought back the knowledge that would meld Scottish technique with Japanese fastidiousness at Japan’s first distillery, the Yamazaki Distillery.

Japanese whisky selection at Post Office Place
Japanese whisky selection at Post Office Place (Photo by Adam Finkle/Salt Lake magazine)

“Eventually, Japanese whisky would taste more in common with Irish whiskey than Scotch,” Romney says. “The Japanese like to consume whiskey with food and the early distillers learned to make their own spirits more nuanced, less aggressive.” 

But wait, there is more. It’s called “rice whisky” and paradoxically you can only get it in the United States—Takashi even has its own label. Rice whisky is made from shochu, a distilled rice (or grain) spirit made in Japan, but in Japan, there are rules about what shochu can be and it can’t be whisky, even though it can. An enterprising importer saw that shochu makers were trying new things, aging the spirit in various casks for example, but couldn’t sell their variations in Japan, and thus “rice whisky” arrived in America as a whole new category of spirit.  

Crystal Daniels, Beverage Director of Post Office Place
Crystal Daniels, Beverage Director of Post Office Place (Photo by Adam Finkle/Salt Lake magazine)

And all of this, a new frontier of whisky, is waiting for you at Post Office Place. A good place to start is POP’s Japanese Whisky Wednesdays when every pour is 20% off. Daniels and Romney will be there as your guides. 

“I always ask someone who hasn’t tried a lot of Japanese whiskys what their preference is from bourbon to Scotch, and can help them discover something familiar but entirely new,” Daniels says. 

Read more Bar Fly stories and subscribe to get the best of life in Salt Lake.

Mar 22
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Small Lake City Reprise: Sammy Brue

By Music

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Sammy Brue is making quite a name for himself in Utah’s music scene right now, but that’s not always where he figured he would end up. “Before I became a musician, I was super into tennis and had a dream of becoming a professional,” says Brue. This long-haired, hippie-lost-in-time seems the opposite of a tennis pro in crisp whites but we’re lucky that he never made it pro. Brue has innumerable, often unexpected interests that infuse his music with a transcendent quality some singer-songwriters only wish they could harness.

Brue unabashedly credits fusing those perfect notes and lyrics to his superpower of constant observation. “I’ve always been an observer. I like watching things happen around me and thinking about them,” he says. “Every week or so, I make a list of things that have either inspired me or just make me feel good to set the vibe for the week.” His desire to experience every facet of what life has to offer gives him a fascinating eye for the strange—especially in one so young—that imbues his music with the raw appeal of Johnny Cash or Gillian Welch.

Brue credits the folk/Americana/rock scene in Utah with giving him everything from role models in his youth to connecting him with incredible musicians he is proud to call friends today. But being a young (read: under 21) musician in this state has some unique challenges.

“It really has been challenging for me here. It’s time to change the liquor laws so that young performers can work when they have the opportunity,” he says. “A year or so ago, I was on tour with my label mate, Justin Townes Earle, and we went to almost every corner of the country playing in all kinds of venues, but the one place I couldn’t play with him was here in Utah, my home state.”

Utah should take note because Brue is blowing up (we’re pretty grateful he wanted to do a Small Lake City Concert for us). Heck, this kid was dubbed an “Americana Prodigy” by no less than Rolling Stone magazine. Through it all, he focuses intently on his music and continues his self-described search to find the words and sounds to take him on the next step in his journey. Whatever Sammy Brue encounters next, he’s definitely up for it: “I want to live a fantasy. I want to live the weirdest paragraph known to man.” —Ashley Szanter

See more Small Lake City Concerts here. Salt Lake Magazine’s Small Lake City Concerts were produced by Natalie Simpson of Beehive Photography.

Mar 18
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The Big Cut Up: Redistricting Divides Summit County

By City Watch

Legislative boundaries sound boring. Get about two sentences in talking about them, and most people’s eyes will glaze over. Hey, you. Wake up, please. See what I mean? That dull veneer is kind of the point because it keeps people from paying attention to something that matters a lot: representation in government. As happens every 10 years, legislative districts were redrawn in late 2021. Summit County was split between four State House districts (4, 23, 59 and 68) and two State Senate districts (3 and 20). The County was also split into two Congressional Districts at the federal level (the first and third). Summit County residents of all stripes should be miffed as the community’s influence will likely be diminished.

“It’s certainly worse than before, but we’ve been gerrymandered for 10 years in Summit County,” says Summit County Democratic Party Chair Katy Owens. “It just represents a further effort to dilute the voice of Summit County voters.” Owens’ counterpart, Summit County Republican Party Vice-chair (acting as temporary chair) Karen Ballash did not respond to requests for comment.

Without question, winners and losers emerge after each round of redistricting. However, in this instance, it seems the will of a majority of Utah voters was deliberately subverted and Summit County is in the crosshairs of the skewed redistricting effort. A statewide ballot initiative in 2018 passed by 7,000 votes asking for the creation of a non-partisan commission to draw political boundaries. In drawing the new boundaries, the Utah Legislature completely ignored the recommendations and maps created by the independent commission.

“The commission was very open and transparent, taking feedback from public meetings and posting maps during the process,” Owens says. “The legislature dropped their map on a Friday night at 11 p.m. and voted for it on a Monday without any public input. It was clearly drawn as incumbent protection.”

So, what does redistricting mean for representation? It’s difficult to pin down exactly, but Summit County appears to be in a representative black hole. “We don’t have a single representative who lives here in Summit County despite how populous the county is and how influential it is to the state’s economy,” Owens says. “But some people do argue that we have numerous people in the legislature who could advocate for the county and a single representative may not have much bargaining power,” she concedes.

For the next decade, Summit County will be represented in small slices. Time will tell how the community will be impacted, but in the meantime, it’s difficult to argue with voters who feel slighted. 

The Federal Split

Voters in Park City are now part of the third congressional district for the first time since the 1990 census. Unincorporated Park City voters including residents of Snyderville, Jeremy Ranch, Pinebrook and Summit Park remain in the first district, splitting what has been a relatively cohesive voting bloc in two. Leaders of both political parties have long held the county would hold more influence if included in a single district.

Get more Park City news from Salt Lake magazine.

Mar 17
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Offset Bier: Local Brew from a Local Crew

By Eat & Drink

The word “craft” is an oft overused descriptor for breweries, but it couldn’t be more apt when applied to Offset Bier. Upon walking into the brewery and taproom the first thing you’ll notice is the unmistakable scent of mashing grains, fermenting wort and I honestly don’t know what else that brewery smell is, but it’s just really good and lets you know delicious beer is being made just out of sight. You can tell you’re in for something that’s not just tasty, but also unique to a place.

That’s exactly what Conor Brown and Patrick Bourque were aiming for when they conceived of Offset. The duo wanted to provide a space in Park City where people could enjoy the product of their community right in the heart of their community. It’s part of a by-locals-for-local ethos that’s as refreshing as the brews on tap and is reflected in almost every aspect of the business.

Offset’s beers aren’t widely available. You have to come to source at the brewery itself to buy beers to take home, and they’re only available to enjoy at a handful of local establishments in Park City. That’s because Brown and Bourque are focused on quality and creativity that reflects the place they live rather than widespread distribution.

The brewery’s rotating handful of beers range from modern experimental hop-focused brews that highlight creative and bold recipes to traditional European-style lagers that emphasize meticulous brewing processes. Right now, visitors to Offset can try varieties from the Riwaka Single Hop Pale Ale to the German Style Altbier Brown Ale to the Extroversa Fruited Quick Sour. And where else are you going to get a Kölsch served from a traditional German gravity keg?

The Offset taproom is open only during traditional après hours from Wednesday to Sunday, making it pretty clear they value catering to a core group of local skiers, bikers and runners. One of the Offset’s first house beers was a pale ale called Dopo, which is Italian for after. “It’s aromatic but light enough to enjoy a couple after running or skiing,” Brown says. The brewery even organizes a weekly Thursday ski or run group, where people of all abilities are invited to meet up for a jog from the brewery or to skin up Park City Mountain at 5:30 p.m. before heading back to the tap room to enjoy a couple beverages.

Stop into the new taproom for small-batch, locally produced beer that will blow away any misconception about Utah brewing culture. You can view Offset’s current tap list as well as their list of beers to go on the brewery’s website.

1755 Bonanza Dr., 435-659-7517

Read more on drinking in Utah.

Mar 16
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‘The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City’ Recap: Season 2 Reunion

By Arts & Culture

After a wild, up-and-down Season 2, the cast of The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City gathered on a gloriously tacky winter-wonderland set to dig into all of this season’s juiciest drama. The women watched the final episodes, including Lisa’s explosive hot mic moment, hours before taping the reunion, so emotions were raw and every cast member came in with several chips on their shoulders. With a full season behind us, Andy and a host of viewers (including a Twitter user hilariously named “ugly adjacent,”) asked the questions that have been on everyone’s minds. Let’s dig into, in the words of Heather Gay, this “real, fake and fucked up” reunion with 10 takeaways.

1) Hi baby gorgeous! 

After 21 truly unhinged episodes, pretty much every cast member had drama to reexamine or dirty laundry to air out. It was surprising, then, how much screen time was dedicated to Lisa—she was the undisputed center of gravity of this reunion. Everyone besides Lisa’s longtime friend Jennie had a bone to pick with her, and she spent what seemed like hours backed in a corner, forced to defend herself. Plenty of the criticism was justified, especially about the hot mic rant (more on that later), but I left feeling a little sorry for Lisa—she is far from the only one with bad behavior worth addressing! Still, the Lisa Barlow show had plenty of iconic moments. She is forced to explain why she compared Heather to a Lego and gets in a fight about whether she only rents yachts for Instagram pictures. She comes prepared with printed iMessage screenshots to defend her case—and pulls out reading glasses when she’s really ready to share the receipts. And in one of several litigations over Lisa and Meredith’s friendship, Andy tells Lisa that her support of Meredith is “not landing with her” and she protests, “okay, it is landing with me.” Lisa IS the main character.

2) The bad weather report

So much has changed between Seasons 1 and 2, but all I got from Heather and Whitney during these episodes was an overwhelming sense of déjà vu. Just as in the Season 1 reunion, the cousins focused almost all of their energy on taking down Lisa. Heather lands some solid burns—she calls Lisa “a caricature of some teen magazine she read in 8th Grade that says ‘how to be a cool mean girl’”—but for the most part their crusade just made me tired. These three seemed to be on better terms by the end of this season, their rivalry always felt convoluted anyway and Heather and Whitney spent hardly any time talking about the (more interesting) things they got up to this season. 

3) Lisa Barlow does not care when the cameras are rolling

You would think that after reality TV cameras caught you calling one of your closest friends a “fucking whore” behind closed doors, you would be quite sensitive about the right time to share your thoughts while mic’d up. Lisa, though, has a thrilling disregard for when the cameras are (and aren’t) rolling. Though the cast is discouraged from talking to each other during breaks, she can’t resist apologizing to Meredith for her hot mic rant. She also, hilariously, explains that her rage came from a rumor that Meredith had made fun of her house. (Hell hath no fury like a woman who is sensitive about her recent remodel.) Meredith is in no mood for quick forgiveness— the wounds are still too fresh. Later, she goes to hug Heather and Whitney in between takes and the three makeup (ish) when Heather says her intentions were to defend, not attack, Lisa. This is…certainly not what happened on camera, but there’s still a glimmer of hope for these three fan favorites to set aside their differences.

4) Meredith engages

After a Season 1 where Meredith was best known for “disengaging” whenever a fight got interesting, she came into this season ready to stand up for herself. From her long-simmering anger at Jen and Lisa to her inexplicable defense of Mary, Meredith had some explaining to do during the reunion. In easily the most sympathetic appearance of the entire cast, she explained that her strong emotions this season sprung from the death of her father and other family issues she wasn’t comfortable sharing on camera. She appeared to be genuinely shaken up by her difficult year, and her statements were a reminder that these women aren’t just TV characters—they’re real people experiencing real pain. (Plus, she got the chance to use her lawyer skills to carefully build her case against Lisa, which was a lot of fun.)
    

5) All hail Andy Cohen

As a Real Housewives newbie, forgive me for what is likely an extremely basic observation: Andy Cohen is very good at this. He asks extremely probing questions with just enough tact to get the answers he wants. He pushes the right buttons to extract drama, but mediates the fights before they boil into unbridled chaos. And he’s genuinely, off-the-cuff funny. Hosting this marathon of a reunion can’t be easy, and Andy shows that there is real skill in making reality TV this stupidly addictive.

6) There’s Something About Mary

While viewers already learned weeks ago that Mary Cosby skipped the reunion, essentially giving up her spot on the show, the other cast members discover in real time that Mary won’t be showing up. Upset by the show’s treatment of her church and her racist comments towards Jennie, Mary refuses to come and defend herself. That doesn’t stop the cast from discussing her general rudeness to the other cast members, Meredith and Mary’s friendship and, most importantly, the allegations that she runs a cult. Even Meredith is uninterested in fullheartedly defending Mary, and without Mary there to respond for herself, the questions surrounding the series’ most confounding figure are left frustratingly unanswered.

7) The other elephants in the room

Mary isn’t the only person whose presence is needed at the reunion. Lisa and Whitney rehash the catering drama from Angie’s fundraiser (ugh), which is essentially useless without Angie there to explain herself. Uncomfortably, the women also discuss the relationship between Mary and Cameron, a friend of Lisa’s and a former Faith Temple member who passed away after appearing in this season. Considering his death, I think both Bravo and the cast should have avoided talking about him altogether. I strongly agree with this Tweet that says the long-suffering sprinter van driver Kevin should have been invited to tell his side of the story. This poor man has been through so much!

8) Jennie’s first (and last) reunion

Part one begins with a disclaimer that the discovery of Jennie’s racist comments on social media, and her subsequent firing, happened after the reunion was filmed. In a richly ironic moment, Jennie spends a large chunk of time discussing Mary’s anti-Asian comments and racism more broadly. Of course, Jennie’s own (stupid!) opinions don’t discount the real racism she experiences, but it’s cringeworthy to hear her preach that she and Mary should support each other as fellow people of color knowing her own anti-Black comments. After Andy shares that Mary doesn’t believe that Black people can be racist, Jennie says, “Everyone is capable of being racist.” She really walked right into that one. 

9) The Real Husbands of SLC 

Justin, Sharrieff, John, Duy and Seth (virtually) all joined their wives for the reunion, and they were mostly left unscathed in a charming appearance. Even Seth, who I usually find obnoxious, comes across well, and says he acted like “an ass” to distract Meredith from her grief. Justin is asked about a lawsuit against LifeVantage, the MLM he works for, so maybe there will be more legal drama even after the Shah trial. John…is there. Everyone gives Duy the side-eye as he tries to explain why he suggested bringing in a sister wife to have more children, but we won’t see him again, so whatever. Sharrieff gets the toughest questions—he’s asked if he knew anything about Jen’s alleged fraud and money laundering, which he denies, and he is directly asked about rumors that Jen has cheated on him. Sharrieff’s comments are unlikely to quell suspicion about Jen’s businesses (or his own involvement and knowledge), but he is easy to root for. He’s charismatic, he advocates for Black men to go to therapy and he seems determined to stick by his wife for better and (definitely) worse.

10) Law & Order: Shah Unit

Let’s cut to the chase: the only real surprise in this reunion’s treatment of Jen’s fraud charges is that it took until Part 3 to truly dig into it. She continues to deny that her business practices were illegal. (Duh.) Any time the questions about her case get too specific, she hits Andy with a lawyer-approved “no comment.” (Double duh.) And because Jen always pretends to be contrite for about two minutes before self-sabotaging, she spends a good part of the reunion sniping at her two closest allies, Heather and Lisa. (The biggest duh of all.) Jen does her damnedest to turn her arrest into a case study of racism in the criminal justice system, and while this is certainly an indisputable fact, she is, to put it mildly, not the best messenger for this important issue. Jen still seems resistant to any sort of plea deal, and her trial has been postponed until July, which could very well be after Season 3 wraps up filming. 

Relive season 2 of RHOSLC with our weekly recaps and see our archive and track the Real Houswives Journey around Salt Lake City.

Mar 15
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Small Lake City Reprise: Fur Foxen

By Music

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I called Steph Darland to talk about his music. The first thing he said to me was, “Let me put you on speaker so I can talk with my hands.” Steph, guitarist, and Amber Pearson, cellist, form the duo Fur Foxen, a group that started out playing small gigs at coffeehouses like Alchemy and is now a favorite in Salt Lake clubs.

The first thing I asked Steph about was the band’s name: Fur Foxen. Why? I couldn’t see what his hands were saying, but his unexpected answer was, “I love alliteration.” “Our previous band was a trio called Harold Henry. And I’m obsessed with foxes—my house is filled with images of foxes. Foxen is the old English plural for fox.”

Finally, we talked about the music.

Steph started playing the guitar when he was 23, but even more than gaining facility with the instrument, he’s interested in writing songs. “I write about six to ten songs a month,” he says. “They’re not all good, but they are a kind of therapy.”

Raised in Amarillo, Texas, he moved to Dallas but had a tough time breaking into the music scene there. His day job at Whole Foods is what brought him to Utah, where he found a more open and yet tightly knit musical community. He and Amber host the Foxhole Sessions, a podcast of local bands for small, intimate audiences that foster community as well as sharing music. 

“I don’t come from a musical family,” says Steph. “I don’t listen to a lot of music and what I do listen to is all over the board. Of course, I like singer-songwriters.” And he says, “The more raw the capture the better. Authenticity is something you can’t hide in music. It’s not about proficiency. You love it because it’s real.” — Mary Brown Malouf

See more Small Lake City Concerts here. Salt Lake Magazine’s Small Lake City Concerts were produced by Natalie Simpson of Beehive Photography and Video.

Mar 14
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A Pot for Every Plant: The Moody Cactus

By Lifestyle

Unlike some trends that emerged during the pandemic lockdown (RIP sourdough yeast starter), buying more and caring for houseplants seems to have persisted into 2022. Gardening saw a 18.7% increase among Americans from 2019 to 2020, and all of those plants aren’t just going to go away (unless you couldn’t keep them alive, of course). For all those new plant parents, if your babies are still going strong (or just hanging on) into 2022, it might be time to upgrade their pots to a piece of art as visually pleasing as the plant itself.

From her small home studio in Salt Lake City, artist Sydney Phetmisay creates softly pigmented concrete planters and flower pots. They come in an array of shapes and colors, invoking their namesakes, like dried apricot, desert cactus and prickly pear.

Phetmisay sells her creations under the moniker The Moody Cactus, inspired by her love of house plants and the need to create colorful homes for them. Even in the dreariest of winter months (or lockdown), a potted indoor plant is a way to invite vibrant nature into your home. Phetmisay also makes concrete trays of all sizes and exciting shapes (rippling waves and arches as well as circles and ovals) and unique decor and accessories for your home, like plant propagation stations, ornaments, shells, card holders. Her work is subtle, soft in texture, but instantly recognizable.

The benefits of using a concrete planter pot include their durability, especially compared to other materials like ceramic or terracotta. They are also weather-resistant when compared to other planters. They provide insulation for the soil, as well, so it will stay a little warmer than soil in a regular pot.

Brick-and-motar store Thyme and Place, a Salt Lake City gardening boutique, also carries The Moody Cactus planter pots, and they can help you with your other repotting needs. Young, faster-growing plants may need to be repotted every 6 to 12 months. On average, mature plants should be repotted less frequently than young plants, just about every few years, or as needed. Look for roots showing, excessive leaf loss or yellowing.

Phetmisay herself is slated to complete a BS of Chemistry in the Spring of 2022, then looks to pursue further education in fine art. themoodycactus.com