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 […]
The bunnies hop right on past the desert hopbush, also called desert hops, and occasionally called sand cherry. Other common names include arilla (Spanish); and in Seri, casol caacol. I would love to know the O’odham name if someone reading this knows it. The botanical name is Dodonaea viscosa and […]
Oregano is a wonderful herb, with many uses, and it is easy to grow in our landscapes here in the Southwest. Why Grow Oregano? Oregano makes a pleasing landscape plant. It grows as a clumping groundcover in low upright clumps. The leaves are a dusky lime green, so not the […]
Castor is a pretty garden plant with an oil that has been used for millennia. But did you know it got it’s common name from a beaver? When I wrote about growing colorful castor (Ricinus communis) in the warm season garden I started wondering about this whole name thing. Long […]
C is for Castor! Castor for Color. Castor because the Critters don’t eat it! Colorful Castor is a large, showy plant for warm season color anywhere in the Southwest. Thus “Si!” is for castor as well! What is Castor? Castor (Ricinus communis) comes to us from eastern Africa […]
Aloysia are attractive to me because they are edible (appetizing!). They are attractive to pollinators as well. But best of all – they are not attractive to javelina and rabbits! This is part of my continuing series of articles that could be titled “Plant Your Yard for Pollinators and People,” […]
Desert broom (Baccharis sarothroides) is both cursed and blessed by homeowners. Let me clear up some of the misconceptions and share why you might want to welcome this plant to your landscape. Overview of Desert Broom Desert broom is in the Compositae (Asteraceae) which is the same family as sunflowers. […]
The sage we use in cooking is Salvia officinalis. You can grow some of this decorative herb in your yard as part of your multi-purpose landscape. After all – if you have to plant it, water it, and care for it, why not have something you can cook with too?! […]
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 […]
At first, “edible landscaping” may sound odd, but think of citrus trees. Lovely, evergreen trees, with striking glossy green foliage. The bonus is the delicious and nutritious fruit for your consumption. This is one form of edible landscaping. Then there is full-tilt, all-out, “balls-to-the-wall” edible landscaping. Botanist mentor and dear friend […]
