National Lavender Day is June 29. In honor of this widely celebrated holiday, I deemed it time to share some timely tips on growing lovely lavender. Which Species? Lavender that grows well in the Southwest includes a number of European species (and cultivars) of Lavendula, plus the Sonoran Desert native shrub, desert lavender (Condea emoryi). We will look at the most commonly sold species. For a quick look at this … Read more
The tea industry has declared June “National Iced Tea Month.” If you are trying to live more lightly on this earth and not spend massive amounts of carbon dioxide emitting fossil fuels importing tea made from the Asian tea plant (Camelia sinensis), consider these tasty caffine-free “herbal” teas you can grow in your own yard and enjoy anytime. Tea does not need to come from Asia! January was National Hot … Read more
Celebrate National Hot Tea Month (January) – by harvesting some caffeine-free tea from your yard – or more simply – out of pots of plants growing on your patio. Don’t Like Herb Tea? I hear this every so often. “Tried it once and didn’t like it.” Yep. Well there are many kinds of herbal tea. For instance, if you don’t like “mint” tea – do you know if it is … Read more
Cool Season in the Southwest – time for all manner of tasty annual herbs! Cool season is when herbs from cool climates come into their own. Many of these can very easily be grown in containers and thus make beautiful décor for your patio in the months ahead when it is cool and we love to be outside in the Southwest. Selecting Cool Season Herbs Cool season herbs feature many … Read more
Fall is time to divide your plants – at least some of them. Yes, it is still fairly hot out there at mid-day, and not so much fun to work outside – but this is a task that will reward you next spring! Why Divide? Just like you separate quarreling sibling humans, you need to separate a clump of sibling perennial plants that are growing too close together. They may … Read more
