Borage is a beautiful flowering plant that likes the cooler months of Southwest winter – at least in the Low, Middle, and High Desert. On those Cool Plateau and Mountain elevations, sorry it’s too cold – but! But – this is a good cool season flower you can plant in […]
Hibiscus plants abound in the nurseries now, and no wonder. They are beautiful plants with glossy green leaves, very luxurious looking, reminiscent of tropical jungles. And the flowers are pretty too. Hibiscus Flowers Seriously folks, hibiscus flowers are awesome. The large size of the blooms, combined with their […]
Basil is easy to grow for some folks – yet hard for others. The root of the problem is that much gardening knowledge is centered on 1- the past and 2 – growing in the eastern part of the USA, or in central Europe. We have all seen in recent […]
The simple sunflower is a native Southwest plant, used for centuries by the Native peoples. If you plant the right varieties – and plant them in the spring – you will have a gorgeous garden full of bright sunflowers. Sunflower Origins Originally sunflowers grew only in North and Central […]
Brittlebush is not only beautiful to behold – it is beautiful for many aspects of any Sonoran and Mojave desert habitat. Brittlebush provides food for foraging pollinators, a shady spot to start saguaro life, a sheltered spot for wildlife to rest, and a safe corner of the world to […]
Hard to believe it – but it is mid-July now and soon it will be time to plant fruit trees. Back East, gardeners use the winter cold to dream and plan their planting just waiting for once it warms up. Here, in the heat of a Southwestern summer, we dream […]
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 […]
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 […]
Yucca? Agave? What’s the difference? Many folks find it hard to tell one big round rosette of sword-like spiny leaves from another big round spiny plant with sword-like leaves. Kissing Kin Yep – it can be hard to tell them apart. They are all related after all. […]
“Fall is such a great time to plant new trees, and there are so many wonderful native and near-native choices to add pollinator and wildlife benefits to your yard!” She got me with that wonderful opening sentence so I asked her if I could use some more of her words. […]
