Catching the rain, tree problems, organic fertilizers

Thursday, July 12th, 2012 Posted in Summer plants, Tours, butterflies, compost, destinations, drought, fertilizing, master gardeners, mulch, native plants, organic fertilizers, patio plants, rain water collection, trees | 4 Comments »

In the wilt of weeks past, our desert willow (Chilopsis linearis) keeps pumping out a few flowers to please the hummingbirds that have finally shown up! Even though this native tree requires very little water and isn’t keen on soggy soils, ...

Garden fireworks!

Thursday, July 5th, 2012 Posted in Insects, Summer plants, firewise gardens, garden design, garden designers, native plants, patio plants, trees, wildlife | 14 Comments »

To celebrate red, white and blue this week, my new blue gazing ball glows against firecracker red Turk’s cap! White native Plumbago scandens droops over soft leaf yucca (Yucca recurvifolia). Non-native blue plumbago (Plumbago auriculata) sparked some attention from this Snowberry Clearwing ...

Obsessed With Fascinating Plants

Thursday, April 19th, 2012 Posted in Late spring flowers, Vines, books, bulbs, cat cove, drought, fertilizing, musical terra cotta pots, orchids, patio, patio plants, roses | 29 Comments »

Plants fascinate me! With no internet connection whatsoever, they know exactly what to do when the time is right. My Byzantine gladiolus corms  always greet winter with tidy upright leaves.  They time their vivid flowers for April to make sure ...

Summer romance, sizzling color, The Grackle on tour

Thursday, June 9th, 2011 Posted in Insects, Nurseries, Summer plants, garden bloggers, garden design, native plants, patio plants, tomatoes, vegetables, wildlife | 10 Comments »

I'm in love with my first little potatoes. I always get some from the compost pile, but these were "sort of" planned planting. I didn’t do this the right way at all. In late January, I had grocery store taters sprouting. ...