RAMBLINGS FROM A DESERT GARDEN....

Double S Farms Chickens and a Giveaway

2012-01-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

Effie

I have never raised chickens before and to be honest, never thought of them as all that interesting.

That is until my sister, started raising chickens a few years ago.


A couple of days old.

I must admit that I was shocked that they arrived in the mail.

They were so cute and fluffy.

Every week, when went over for dinner, we would watch and see how quickly they grew.

Before we knew it, they were almost full-grown.

Sometimes they got a bit dirty and needed a bath....

But we always enjoyed their fresh eggs.

Now my sister is raising a new batch of chickens. They are growing quickly and get along well with the older chickens.

All of my sister's chickens are free range chickens and have the run of the backyard.

Which leads me to the following giveaway:

There is a wonderful, new book out about Free Range Chicken Gardens.

To celebrate the new book, the publisher, Timber Press, is having a giveaway with a chicken-related prize.

Check out their contest page:

Free Range Chicken Garden Giveaway Contest

My Sister's Shattered Circus Dreams...

2012-01-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

My youngest sister is quite cool. She sometimes likes to do things that I would call "outside of the box". I am more of the "stay inside the box" type. Because of that, I love to live through some of her experiences, vicariously.

A couple of weeks ago, she underwent a truly unique experience that she shared in her blog and she kindly gave me permission to share it with all of you.

I think it's gutsy and hilarious at the same time and I'm so proud of her....

Do you all remember when my husband gave me a certificate for trapeze lessons for my birthday? Well six months later, I finally got up the courage to do it. I was scared out of my mind.

Once we arrived at Trapeze U, they got my belt on and gave me a quick rundown of what I was expected to do. Hook my knees over the bar and let go? I was the monkey bar queen in elementary school. I had this.

I got to the top and stood on what seemed like the world's tiniest platform where they clipped me in and gave me another quick rundown of what to do. (Look how high I am!).

Ready, set, go! (or "hep" as they say in trapeze speak). The following picture is terrible but I think the hilarious expression on my face says it all. Black Swan I am not.

I tried with every ounce of strength I could muster but I couldn't get my legs up and get my knees hooked over the bar. After hoofin' it up that ladder three more times and still not getting it, I was feeling super spent and super defeated.

My dear friends Laura and Jill were planning to show up and give me support (you gals rule!) but I quickly texted them both and told them to stay home. There is absolutely no way I'd want anyone to witness my lack of trapeze talent. I mean seriously - look at what a mess I was.

At this point, I was ready to quit and quietly watch the other flyers.

Coach Dylan wasn't having that. He gave me a much needed pep talk and pointed out that I was making a simple mistake. I was trying to lift my legs at the wrong moment and the momentum wasn't working to my advantage.

So...I decided to give it one last shot.

And I did it!

Taking Dylan's advice made the knee hook (or whatever the heck it's called) so much easier. There was a small crowd at the class and I could literally hear the ladies on the side breathe an audible sigh of relief followed by cheers when I got my knees hooked. I was pretty pathetic and I'm sure they felt sorry for me.

I did it a couple more times and each time I was able to get my knees up. I can't say that I did it with any style or grace but I was just stoked to finally be doing it! Towards the end of the class, they thought that I would be able to attempt another trick. (A little ambitious of them, maybe?). They explained that I would be doing the whole knee hook thing again but when I let go with my hands, I'd swing over to the other instructor and he would catch me. Seriously!?! If I can barely hook my knees how on earth am I going to pull this off?

So I climbed up to the top of the world's teeniest platform for the 10th time (I was wiped) and went for it.

I DID IT!!! I seriously did it. Such an incredible, amazing feeling. I had to sit down and take it all in.

While I'm pretty sure I'm not going to run off with the circus anytime soon, I would take more classes through Trapeze U in a heartbeat and am looking forward to signing up again soon. Dylan and the rest of the staff were amazing - they could clearly sense my fear and self defeatist attitude and gave me the encouragement and tools I needed to accomplish something I never thought I'd be able to do.

Trapeze U

888.872.7101

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You can follow my sister's blog at

FinleyandOliver

The Gift of a Vegetable Garden: Part 2

2012-01-23T12:21:00.002-07:00

In my last post, I undoubtedly left you hanging, wondering how the second part of our project ended (just kidding).

What project is that? Well, my siblings and I along with our families surprised my mother for her 70th birthday by building her a raised vegetable garden to go along with her existing one.

I posted the first part of our project, which ended up with a lot of muddy shoes as we dug out the grass. You can catch up on the first part here.

Now we all gathered again the next Saturday and were excited to finish the project.

We worked on building up the remaining sides. It helped that my brother-in-law had a portable table saw, (if you don't have one you can always have the store do it for you).

My 1-year old nephew Danny, (one of my brother's twin boys), is just fascinated about how things work and he was wondering how much older he would have to be to use his dad's cordless drill ;-)

Almost finished with the sides!

My mother put out a blanket for the twins to play on and then the other grandkids came to play with them too.

Once we got all the sides up, we lined the bottom with newspaper, which helps to supress weeds and will break down.

My sister takes the twins, Danny and Dean for a walk around the backyard.

Here I am with my two sisters.

Okay, enough with all the family photos, let's get back to finishing the garden.

I don't think that there is anything quite as wonderful to a gardener then a trailer full of compost, do you?

Here is an action shot...

One of the clients that I write for wants gardening 'action' shots, so I try to get them whenever I can.

I love the fragrance of compost or as I like to call it "black gold".

My niece Sofie (left), and my kids Ruthie and Kai had fun spreading the compost inside. They kept getting higher and higher up as the garden filled up with compost.

We finished the project by connecting the garden to drip irrigation and also put up support for the shade structure.

Some of you have asked me how we did this and you can see how it was done with the first vegetable garden...

The supports are made out of rebar. Two pieces form each support and they were bent by hand and fastened in the middle using wire. The support is used for shade cloth in summer, frost cloth in winter and bird netting all year to keep the chickens out of the garden.

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My mother was so excited about her new garden and she fed us all a fabulous lunch that day.

Later, we celebrated her 70th birthday with two cakes....

A few of her grandsons were more then happy to help her blow out her candles :-)

The Perfect Birthday Gift - A New Vegetable Garden

2012-01-21T12:55:00.000-07:00

Have you been faced with the dilemma of what to give someone special for their birthday? Well, the stakes are even higher when it is a 'milestone' birthday. My siblings and I were faced with this very dilemma in deciding what to give our mother, (Pastor Farmer) of Double S Farms, for her 70th birthday.

After some deliberation, we decided upon building her a vegetable garden.

Now for those of you who are familiar with my blog, you may recall that my mother already has a nice vegetable garden....

But, for those of you who enjoy vegetable gardening; don't you sometimes wish that you had more space to grow vegetables?

We knew that our mother did, even though she never mentioned it. So, we got to work planning on what we needed to build a new one.

My brother-in-law, built the first garden by himself...

For the new garden, my brother-in-law and I planned on what we would need and where the new garden should be placed.

Actually, my part was easy. I just figured out where to locate the garden and how many cubic yards of compost we would need.

Well, the date was set when we would all congregate at Double S Farms and start building the new vegetable garden.

My mother had NO idea we were coming or what we were going to do.

Early on a Saturday morning we showed up with shovels, rakes, picks, drills and wheelbarrows.

My mother wasn't there when we all arrived. She was at the local farmer's market - at this point, she was still clueless that anything was going on.

First, my other brother-in-law and my brother hammered in stakes so that we knew where to remove the grass.

Then came the fun part (just kidding). Digging out the grass. Actually, it wasn't too bad because the grass had been soaked two days before so that it was easier to dig out.

There were a couple of rocks that we used a pick to get out.

It has been years since I have used a pickax, as you can probably tell from how I'm holding it.

Soon, we had the grass removed and a muddy area left behind, which was absolutely irresistible to my 5-year old nephew, Finley.

At this point, my mother returned home from the farmer's market and was surprised to see all of our cars parked out in front of her house.

She was quite shocked when she came into the backyard and saw us working on her birthday present. She was so happy. She then got busy making us food, including the cinnamon chip bread that she had just bought at the farmer's market.

After a break for lunch (pizza), we began to add some loads of composted leaves and soon, it was time to start putting up the sides.

Sodapop and the chickens took time to come over and see what we were doing.

This is Francie, and this is how she is supposed to look - she is a 'naked neck' chicken.

From time to time, we would take small breaks to play with Sodapop, who would drop her ball at your feet and wait hopefully for someone to throw it.

Of course, there was also time for the cousins to play catch too.

At this point, we had to quit for the day because it was almost dinner time. We all decided to come back the next Saturday to finish the project.

I went home and while my husband cleaned our mud-crusted boots, I put a load of very dirty clothes into the washing machine.

Please come back for Part Two and see the end result of our labors :-)

**Many of the photos above, were taken by my sister. She is a very good photographer :-)

Muddy Feet...

2012-01-19T07:20:00.001-07:00

Here is a little preview of our 70th birthday gift for my mother (Pastor Farmer) of Double S Farms.

I don't think I have ever had so much mud caked on my boots before.

Although I'm sure that my 5-year old nephew, Finley, has gotten his shoes this muddy before.

I can't wait to show you our project now that it is done :-)

Motherly Wisdom and Group Photo Shoot

2012-01-18T08:44:00.002-07:00

Okay, I realize that I am terribly late when it comes to posting holiday photos. But believe it or not, I am quite organized when it comes to other aspects of Christmas - especially shopping for gifts -I'm usually done in November :-)

With an extended family as large as ours, it is hard to have everyone present for photo opportunities, but this past Christmas, we were all there.

The second difficulty that frequently arises when trying to get everything to gather together for the photo is getting all the kids to stop playing and come and sit and smile - (I'm sure many of you know what I mean ;-)

Well, my mother in all her wisdom knew how to get everything one all together and fast....

"No one could open presents until we had taken our family group picture."

My mother, two sisters, brother and our families.

Well you can only imagine how quickly the kids ran inside and sat down. Even us grown kids put down our coffee and snacks to smile for the camera.

I only hope to be as wise as my mother someday :-)

An Icy "First" For Me...

2012-01-16T20:24:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite summer places is a lake in the town of Williams, Arizona. Every year, our entire family (grandma, aunts, uncles and cousins) make the 3 hour trip up to the mountains and stay for a week.

What many of us really like to do while we are up there is fish. Actually, it is the only time that I fish each year.

We usually fish from the dam itself and it is such a wonderful, stress-free way to spend a day.

Last weekend, my husband and I left the kids behind (aren't we terrible parents ;-). We traveled up to Northern Arizona and visited some of our favorite places - Sedona, Flagstaff and Prescott.

Since we were so close to Williams, I asked my husband if we could stop by and see what it looked like in winter.

So, we headed that way and drove by our favorite lake. There was still areas with snow, which I expected.

What I didn't expect to see was our favorite lake frozen over....

As I stood by the water's edge, I realized that this was the first time that I had ever been to a frozen lake.

Of course, I have been in the snow many times, but none of those visits had brought me to a frozen lake.

I realize that it maybe hard to believe that in all of my 46 years, that I had never seen a frozen lake, but it's true. I grew up in a suburb of Los Angeles and then moved to the Phoenix area when I got married. So you see, my exposure to icy lakes has been somewhat limited.

This lake fascinated me. I was pretty sure that I could throw a rock and it would sink through the ice....

I was shocked to see that the rock did not sink, but just bounced over the ice.

At this point, I felt like a little kid who has just experienced a new thing for the first time.

It is nice to experience that feeling again.

Before I know it, we will all be up there again and I will be hoping to catch some fresh fish...

What about you?

Have you experienced any "firsts" as an adult?

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I hope your week is off to a good start. I am working on my latest batch of gardening articles and designing a butterfly/hummingbird garden.

Double S Farms Winter Garden and Festivities

2012-01-11T22:05:00.000-07:00

Okay, I know that I am terribly late in blogging about Christmas. As a result, you will probably not be surprised that I didn't get organized enough to send out Christmas cards this year either ;-)

But, we did have a wonderful Christmas. Much of Christmas day was spent at Double S Farms, where my mother, my sister and her family live.

It was a beautiful day and I stole out into the garden to take photos of all that is growing....

My mother's vegetable garden is growing like crazy....

We always enjoy fresh broccoli from her garden in winter. We all love it....even the kids.

Curly Parsley with Marigolds planted nearby to discourage pests.

My mother makes a delicious salad using her Romaine lettuce. I promise to share our family's special salad dressing recipe sometime soon.

Lemons are ready for picking at Christmas time.

So are the grapefruit...

The apple trees are almost bare.

The chickens are oblivious to all the festivities.

Although their coop is decorated with a Christmas wreath ;-)


My mother's beautifully decorated table. Notice the table gifts are decorated with a feather from the chickens.

We had a wonderful day and a delicious dinner. It was so much fun enjoying each others company and the fact that now we all live within 20 minutes of each other.

This Christmas was extra special to me because of my new granddaughter, Lily....

She is just so darling and makes me so happy.

Not so special was turning 46 the day after Christmas...

My nephew, Finley getting ready to help me blow out my candle :-)

Although, I must say that I was so grateful to have my family all around to spend my birthday with.

I must say, that I feel pretty good being 46....so far ;-)

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We are finishing up our special project that I mentioned earlier. This project is for my mother's 70th birthday, which is coming up this week. I can't wait to share it with you all once we are done!

I hope you are having a good week.

An Neglected, Overgrown, Nameless Rose....

2012-01-09T06:34:00.002-07:00

This gardening story is all about one particular rose bush which is located at Double S Farms, which I first posted about 2 years ago.

Since it is time in areas with warm winter climates, to prune back your roses, I thought you would enjoy this story as much as I do :-)

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This poor rose had not been fertilized, deadheaded or pruned for a few years. Personally, I think it looks fantastic considering the lack of care it has received. The residents of Double S Farms, (my mother, sister and her family), only recently moved to the farm, so this rose had been neglected by the previous owners.

I decided to focus on this rose because I wanted to show how to prune a rose and I don't have any roses that need pruning right now. So.... the residents of Double S Farms graciously granted me permission to prune their rose bush. Actually, they were more then happy to have me do it so they would not have to ;-)

I had no idea what variety this rose was. I was pretty sure that it was a shrub rose and it had a lot of old, unproductive growth that needed to be removed. When finished, it will be rejuvenated and ready for the beginning of it's new life with it's new homeowners.

So let's get started....

My tools - hand pruners, pruning saw and loppers.

Oh, I almost forgot - gloves! I also recommend wearing a long-sleeved shirt as well to protect your arms from being scratched from the thorns.

First, because there is so much thick growth, I just start cutting branches in order to make a 'hole' like this, which makes it easier for me to reach inside with my pruners to remove the interior wood. It is much easier for me to remove the larger branches at the beginning of the process instead of making multiple cuts of the smaller branches and working my way down.

Normally, I remove about 1/2 of the height of the rose bush. I decide to remove quite a few of the large, old branches (canes) at the base of the rose as they no longer produce as many newer branches and roses as the newer canes do. This neglected rose bush has a lot of old growth that needs to be removed, so I will be pruning it back by 2/3.

First, I remove the old and dead canes. Then I select the green, healthy canes that I want to keep and prune back to an outwards facing bud and cut at a 45 degree angle.

Okay, you may be wondering why I am including this gross picture of a borer cut in half. Well, borers burrow into the center of the rose canes, causing damage as you can see in the cane to the right.

*My son thought it was so cool....he likes anything that is gross.

To help prevent borers, apply some wood glue to the top of the newly pruned canes, which helps seal them out.

Surprise! As I continue pruning, I discover that there are actually two rose bushes which had grown together.

Every January, it just kills me to prune back roses and seeing all the beautiful blooms fall to the ground. But, beauty hurts and pruning will ensure that there will be more beautiful blooms for these rose bushes in the spring.

Here is an example of a cane that has been pruned incorrectly long ago, (I told you this rose bush had been neglected and mistreated). You can see where it turned brown and died. When pruning the canes, be sure to prune back to a bud or back to the base of the larger cane.

I really did the pruning myself and am not just taking credit for someone else's work ;-)

I am almost done. I am cutting away all the remaining small canes and dead growth with my hand pruners. I will use my loppers for the large canes that need to be removed.

I enjoy pruning very much, but I hate this part....

But, I was lucky. I was able to bribe my son and daughter to help me clean up.

Now all I have left to do is to remove all leaves remaining on the roses and clean up any leaves lying around the area surrounding the roses. I do this because the leaves can harbor fungal diseases that will reinfect the new rose leaves.

Guess what? I found the old tag from when the rose bushes were planted. It is a Glamis Castle, which is a David Austin English Rose. I put the tag back on one of the rose bushes.

I am finished. The roses are no longer "Nameless, Overgrown or Neglected". Pastor Farmer (my mother) comes outside to see what I have done to her roses. I tell her that they will be happy and healthy this spring.

I can't wait to see how the rose bushes react to a little TLC after being neglected for all these years. I will revisit them and post photos as they begin to bloom this spring.

**Follow-up two years later. These rose bushes have bee thriving and producing many beautiful and fragrant blooms.

I am going out of town for a few days with my husband and NO kids - I can't wait!

I promise to write about our gardening project that me, my siblings and families all worked on today. Right now, I need someone to massage my sore back ;-)

Beauty in the Vegetable Garden

2012-01-07T09:03:00.000-07:00

Sunlit Nasturtium leaves

I just love it when you find beauty in unexpected places, don't you?

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I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

I am working on a special project that I will share with you soon :-)

Winter and Bare Root Roses

2012-01-04T20:03:00.000-07:00


'Mr. Lincoln' Hybrid Tea Rose

I absolutely love roses.

In fact, at one time I had over 40 different roses growing in my garden. I planted them all myself (well, with my husband's help).

My love for roses is one of the things that pushed me into getting degree in Horticulture.

That was then, when we lived in our first home in Phoenix. When we moved, it was so hard for me to leave my beloved garden and especially my roses.

The new owner removed them quickly.

Now, I don't have 40 roses growing in my current garden - but I do have 3 roses that I love.

Believe it or not, it is time to plant roses if you live in zones 8 - 10. For those of you who live in cooler zones, you can start planting in spring :-)


'Rio Samba' Hybrid Tea Rose

Growing roses isn't hard. Selecting and planting are rather easy as long as you follow a few guidelines.

I blogged about how to select roses in my other blog for
Birds & Blooms, which you can read here.

(You may think I am lazy, but I just don't see the point of writing the same thing twice, do you?)

So, I promise to talk about how to plant bare root roses next.

I just love that there is something to do in my garden in the middle of January, when so many of my other plants aren't busy and don't need my attention.

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I hope your New Year's is off to a good start and that your resolutions are going strong...

I don't make resolutions since I don't keep them. I do however, have an 'unofficial' resolution that I have to work on every January.....to lose the 5 lbs that I gain every year around the holidays ;-)

I'm Still Here AND Busy Planning....

2011-12-29T20:31:00.000-07:00

First off, I hope you all are enjoying this wonderful holiday season.

I had a wonderful Christmas with my family. I apologize for not blogging recently, but I needed a few days to recover from the busyness of the past few days. (Not to mention starting to eat a bit more healthy. I'm trying to summon the strength to throw out the remaining 'sweets' that remain ;-)

So, what have I been doing these past few days?

Buying plants, seeds, planning a new vegetable garden and preparing to renovate part of our front garden.

I purchased two new rose bushes for the back garden. I selected 'Graham Thomas' and 'Prospero' David Austin(r) Roses from Heirloom Roses. They should be here in a few days.

(I love David Austin roses and it can be hard to find them in nurseries, so I usually order them online).

I also purchased vegetable seeds for my spring vegetable garden from Burpee. I ordered sweet corn, cucumbers, bush beans, gourds, pumpkin and sugar snap peas.

I haven't purchased seeds from Burpee before, but my dad used to. As a child, I remember looking at all the different varieties of vegetables and flowers that they had listed in their catalog and I would imagine which ones I would grow someday.

Which brings me to my favorite Christmas/Birthday gift from my husband:

A new vegetable garden (as if my current one isn't enough ;-)

We will be placing it in our side garden, which is quite wide and there is not much growing beside shrubs along the wall and house.

I am planning on the garden being 4 ft. wide and 10 - 15 feet long, maybe...

I'll definitely will keep you updated as it progresses.

In the meantime,

I WISH FOR YOU

VERY

HAPPY NEW YEAR

from my garden to yours :-)

Merry Christmas Cookies!

2011-12-23T21:49:00.002-07:00

There comes a time every Christmas season, when all the gifts and bought and wrapped (I finished up my last knitting gift today :-)

I have finally finished baking for Christmas,

- Toffee Bars - that I make every year at Christmas

- Sugar Cookies frosted with vanilla candy melts and a Peppermint Hershey's Kiss

- Pie Crust cookies filled with my homemade strawberry preserves and dusted with sanding sugar

I wasn't the only one in our house baking for Christmas.

Our holiday tradition includes baking Christmas cookies on the "Eve of the Christmas Eve" as my oldest daughter, Brittney always says. She now has a home of her own now, but we still continue our tradition with our younger children.

I love taking pictures of the kids making cookies and the joy on their faces as they anticipate Santa coming and eating their cookies....

Gracie and Kai in 2005. (It was Kai's first Christmas since we adopted him. Gracie has always had a tendency to hold his ear now and then - not sure why ;-)

Christmas 2007

Now, Kai and Gracie are getting older, but they still love to bake Christmas cookies, as does their older sisters, Rachele and Ruthie.

This year's Christmas cookie baking day brought some new participants....

7 kids, cookie dough, frosting and sprinkles....the perfect combination.

My younger sister just moved here from California and they live just down the street from us. So my two nephews and niece, Sofie (also adopted from China as my 3 youngest), joined us.

My daughter, Rachele, rolled out the dough, but the kids did all the other work on their own...

Ruthie had fun making stripes with the royal icing.

My sister stopped by to help us frost the cookies.


My husband and son were the official taste testers (pardon the messy kitchen - I seriously haven't had time to clean)

Checking out some of the finished cookies.

Here are more....

The aftermath.....

You know what?

I think the enjoyment you get out of making Christmas cookies is directly proportional to the bigger the mess afterward, don't you?

I use a special recipe for my sugar cookies that stays chewy and moist....

1 (17 oz) package sugar cookie mix
4 oz cream cheese (softened)
1 egg
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla

Add all ingredients and mix together (the dough will be thick).

Roll out to 1/4" thickness on floured surface and start using your cookie cutters (I find it helps to dip my cookie cutters in flour before cutting into the dough).

Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 10 minutes.

Decorate with icing and lots of sprinkles :-)

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I wish for you all a very

Merry

Christmas!

December In The Garden....Sit Back And Relax

2011-12-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

With all of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it as a blessing that our desert gardens need little, if any attention during this month, letting us have more time for all of our numerous holiday activities.

I realize it is hard to believe that in our year-round gardening climate, that not having to do anything in your garden this month, can be a little hard to swallow. To put your minds at ease, I will get a little more specific....

Do Not Prune
(if you're desperate, you can prune your deciduous trees)

Do Not Fertilize

Do Not Plant

For those of you "Type A" personalities who just have to find something to do in the garden, you can plant annuals or deciduous trees if you desire. You can even deadhead spent rose blooms. But, THAT IS ALL that should be done, and again, only if you are desperate to do something.

I have had many people ask me if they can prune their plants now. The truth is, you can actually do more damage to your plants if you decide to prune them during the cold winter months. The reason is that pruning stimulates new growth that is very susceptible to cold temperatures and can even lead to the death of your plant.

Although the frost damaged growth is brown and ugly and it takes all of your willpower to abstain from pruning it, do whatever it takes to keep your hands off! Go shopping, bake cookies, volunteer, take the kids to visit Santa or any of the other things on your Christmas to-do list.

Believe it or not, the ugly brown frost-damaged growth actually protects the branches and leaves underneath. Some of the dead looking branches are not dead and will produce new growth in the spring. Hang in there until early March and then you can prune back the ugly growth.

If you just can't stand the frost-damaged "look", you can work to prevent it by covering your plants on nights when freezing temperatures will occur. Materials found around your home that are suitable for coverings, include sheets, towels or even newspaper. These materials will provide protection of a few degrees.

For more reliable protection, you can use frost cloth (available at your local nursery), which can protect plants from even lower temperatures when used as directed on the packaging. Be sure to remove the coverings in the daytime to allow the surrounding area to warm up again.

For more information of frost damage, how to manage it and how to prevent it, please visit The University of Arizona's Frost Protection Publication.

In the meantime, kick up your feet, drink more eggnog and relax by the fire. We will have some work to do next month....planting bare-root roses!

Great Gift Idea - My Favorite Plant Book

2011-12-16T16:02:00.000-07:00

Like many of my fellow gardeners, I have a bookshelf full of gardening books. I just can't seem to help myself when I am in a bookstore, I subconsciously gravitate towards the gardening section.

I am often asked what gardening book that I recommend that focuses on the desert garden. Although there are many wonderful books about gardening in the desert, if you were only going to buy one book then I highly recommend "Landscape Plants for Dry Regions" by Warren Jones & Charles Sacamano.

This book lists more than 600 different plants along with color photos for each plant listed. Cold hardiness, landscape uses, cultural requirements and possible problems are all covered in detail which is what makes this book such an asset to the desert gardener.

This book is available at Amazon for about $35.

**Just in case you were wondering - I have no connection to the authors (other then the fact they autographed my copy ;-). It's just a great book.

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I hope you are all having a great weekend. It's hard to believe that Christmas will be here next weekend.

I can hardly wait :-)

A Hidden Garden in the Smallest Place

2011-12-14T09:18:00.000-07:00

I came upon a hidden garden while I was visiting a charming little town in Wales. Actually this town, Llantwrtyd Wells, (population 700), is the smallest town in Great Britain. I can't pronounce the name correctly, my Gaelic is rather rusty - or I should say non-existent, but this tiny town is a special place to visit.

Our visit took place during the summer of 2003. We were walking down the road into this little town and enjoying the beautiful scenery, above.

As we drew near the center of town, we turned a corner and there it was....

....a hidden garden, sandwiched between a nondescript shed and garage.

Now, as most of you know by now, I almost always have my camera with me, ready to take photos of truly awful landscaping that I can use as examples of what not to do. But, I also love to take pictures of beautiful gardens and I was just entranced by this one. The delphiniums, the roses, and the clematis were so lovely.

I have a neighbor who grows beautiful delphiniums and yes, you can grow them in the desert. I tried growing Clematis years ago and it really never flowered for me, so it probably is not too successful in our climate.

Well, back to my story....I lingered around the garden taking my pictures and reluctantly left to explore more of the town.

Llanwrtyd Wells is a wonderful place to visit and I have many good memories, but three stand out the most:

1. Meeting the butcher who was the mayor of this tiny town who wanted to know if we were enjoying our stay and if we would tell our friends to come visit. (So if you go and visit, please tell the mayor, if you meet him, that I fulfilled my promise).

2. Going to the 'Honesty Bookshop' where you walk in, choose a used book and put the money for the book in the old-fashioned cash register - on the honor system. There was no sales clerk.

3. But, by far, my favorite memory was coming upon this beautiful, hidden garden.

My Winter (& Spring) Tomatoes

2011-12-12T11:43:00.000-07:00

As I write this, it is raining outside. I love the rain. I always have, even as a young girl growing up in Southern California.

I especially like the thought of all the rain falling on my vegetable garden.

If you look closely, you might notice something growing that usually doesn't belong in a winter vegetable garden (in zone 9a and cooler areas)....

Can you see what I have growing in the photo above that normally belongs in a spring / summer vegetable garden?

Well, if you said tomato plants, you would be correct.

Now before you scold me for planting tomatoes in a garden that sees frost every winter - I assure you that I did NOT plant any of these tomatoes.

No one else did either....

So, how did I end up with tomatoes growing in my garden this time of year?

Well, they came up from seeds from fallen tomatoes from last summer's vegetable garden.

I have actually had to pull up small tomato seedlings, but I decided to let 5 stay. You may be asking, why am I letting them grow if they will be killed by frost?

I am hoping that this winter may be mild enough that they will survive if I protect them from frost.

Last week, we had several days in the low 30's / upper 20's. I covered my tomatoes with old sheets and towels. Additionally, I also put out two desk lights underneath the coverings (not letting the bulbs touch the sheets), which provides additional warmth.

The result?

Overall, the tomatoes did well. Some of their upper leaves did receive frost damage, but the lower 3/4's the plants did very well.

I am hoping that my experiment continues to do well. Why? Because I will have a huge headstart on growing lots of tomatoes.

I will continue to let you know how they do this winter.

**In frost-free gardens, you can grow tomatoes during winter. But, my zone 9a garden sees temperatures dip into the upper 20's, so without protection, tomatoes won't survive the winter.

Crowded Shrubs and Pizza Night at Costco

2011-12-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

My family has a tradition of gathering together at Costco (of all places) for dinner once a month. (For those of you who don't know what Costco is - it is a lot like Sam's Club).

You see, we all love Costco and their pizza is pretty good. So, my mother, sisters, brother and their families all gather together with mine at Costco. We take up about 3 - 4 tables in the eating area and eat our pizza, hot dogs or chicken rolls. What makes it even more fun is that we find that our families intermix with each other. I often find myself eating with one of my sisters, my niece or one of my nephews. My kids take the opportunity to sit with their cousins, aunts and uncles.

After eating dinner, we all go shopping. Costco has lots of things that we like, but my big weakness is the book section. I absolutely love to read....especially fiction. So, I always budget a little money for spending on books.

As we pulled into the Costco parking lot, I noticed a bunch of shrubs planted too close together. Unfortunately, a very common occurrence - especially in parking lots.

The landscapers prune these Texas sage shrubs into 'cupcake' shapes' to keep them from growing into each other.

You would have a hard time telling that these are actually flowering shrubs, wouldn't you?

In a nearby parking lot island, there were other crowded shrubs....

These Feathery Cassia (Senna artemisoides) have been planted very closely together and the landscapers are doing their best to keep them pruned so that they don't touch each other.

The problem is, is that it is ugly and isn't all that healthy for the shrubs.

So, here is my solution....

How about letting the shrubs grow together and form an informal, flowering hedge?

That would mean less maintenance and more attractive shrubs.

**If you have a similar problem, try letting your shrubs grow together. You'll appreciate the lower maintenance and your shrubs will actually flower.

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Last night, I made 6 dozen Snickerdoodles using one of my favorite recipes. I got the recipe for my wedding shower almost 26 years ago. They are very easy to make and taste delicious.

I'm going to a cookie exchange party today and I can't wait to see what types of cookies I come home with. If I can keep my husband and kids from eating the Snickerdoodles first ;-)

Here is my Snickerdoodle recipe:

1 cup softened butter

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

Cream together the butter, sugar and eggs.

Add the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt and mix well.

Roll the cookie dough into small balls, about 3/4" and then dip into cinnamon sugar.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 8- 10 minutes.

Makes 5 - 6 dozen.

I hope you enjoy these cookies as much as I do :-)

Almost Ready for Christmas at the Farm

2011-12-07T13:11:00.001-07:00

My youngest sister, is very creative. She even has her own company where she creates clothing for kids.

This year, she has gone all out for Christmas in regards to decorating the house at Double S Farms. My mother, who is also super creative, helped as well.

I thought you would enjoy seeing some of what they have done.....

Here is what my sister had to say about decorating her house:

It's beginning to look a *bit* like Christmas. I have been sick the past two weeks (boo!) and am super behind on my holiday preparations but I have managed to whip out some new Christmas decor to give the house a festive feel.

I had a million grand ideas for a new advent calendar this year. On November 30th and nothing done, I ran to Target to buy one. Oh my - so ugly and overpriced. Ran back home, busted out my felt stash and an old bulletin board I had laying around to create this one. Inside each little stocking are two treats for the boys and a Christmas related activity to do for each day. It has been a blast so far and the boys love to peek inside each morning to see what we get to do.

Do you see these adorable trees?!?! I found them on the Anthropologie website (pictured on left) and pinned them a few weeks ago. However, we are really cutting back this year and they are totally out of my budget. Bless my sweet mom for figuring out how to make something similar and helping me with them! I think they turned out great and cost us just $17 to make six of them.

Speaking of my awesome mom, she put together these little *globes* from some trees, mason jars, and salt. Love them.

Again, keeping the budget in mind I made this little peace banner for the fireplace out of linen and some leftover felt. It cost me a a few dollars and I love it.

Since we used mellow neutrals to decorate the family room, I figured the boys needed new stockings to match. These are nothing fancy and I was able to use fabric and felt that I had on hand.

(Please ignore the ugly black TV). We kept the decor simple and understated this year but I really like it.

And of course it wouldn't be the holidays without our cheeky little elf, Cooper. This is Cooper's third year with us but thanks to Pinterest and some creative bloggers, Cooper is far more clever than before.

Although I'm feeling frazzled and behind, my little guys are enjoying every bit of this joyous season. I hope you are too!

(I'm a little too scattered to come up with proper tutorials on these right now but if you have any questions as to how I made anything, please message me at finleyandoliver@gmail.com - I'd love to help).

You can check out more of my sister's great photos and ideas at finleyandoliver

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I like to think that I am somewhat creative, but I am not in my sister's league. But, I did write a recent post on the Birds and Blooms blog about using items in your garden for decorating for Christmas.

Please check it out here:

"Creating Holiday Decorations From Your Garden"

I'd love to know what you think.

Do you have any decorations that you make from your garden?

Please tell me about them :-)

Six Trees, a Boy Scout and a Horticulturist

2011-12-05T06:17:00.002-07:00

Last time we visited together, I was "talking" about having to plant shrubs around our church along with a boy scout who was working on his community hours for his next badge.

As I promised, here is 'part two' where we planted six 15-gallon trees together.

Before we planted the 15-gallon trees, I was asked to oversee the planting of a single 24" box tree by the church office.

I planned to have the tree to be planted in this area to protect the office from the hot, afternoon sun. This Sissoo tree will grow quickly and provide lots of welcome shade.

The hole should be the same depth of the root ball (not the top of the container), or a little bit shallower. It's important not to plant too deeply. Trees (& other plants) require oxygen, which is present in the soil, but it is more concentrated in the top couple of feet of soil.

Cut the metal bands surrounding the box container.

Once the metal bands have been removed, it is easy to remove the wooden sides. You can remove the wooden bottom as well at this point.

Fill in with soil, but take care not to pile up soil on top of the root ball. ** Before filling in the hole....check to make sure that the tree has not been planted too deeply in the box. This often happens and problems don't show up until later on. Gently scrape away the top layer of soil until the root begins to flare out.

Once we had the boxed tree planted, my boy scout 'assistant' and I began working on the 15-gallon Sissoo trees.

Don't pull out the tree, as this can damage the root ball. Instead, make two cuts down the side of the container. You can use box cutters, and exacto knife, hand pruners of loppers.

At this point, pull the side down and cut along the bottom of the section to completely remove this section.

Gently slide out the tree and guide it into the hole. Try not to 'drop' it. Although my assistant was bending over, it is safer for your back to squat down, using your legs or better yet - get on your knees.

Now we are ready to fill in the hole. Once you have filled in the hole, tamp down gently with your feet to get rid of any air holes in the soil. **At this point, you can create a 'well' around the tree. Create a ring of soil about 1 - 2 feet beyond the root ball and fill with water. Once your tree has been in the ground for a year, you can remove the well. This step is especially important if you do not use drip-irrigation.

When you put in new trees and plants, they will initially require more water then your more established plants. So, if your entire landscape is on an irrigation schedule, I recommend giving your new plants a little extra water. You can do this by turning your hose on a slow trickle and letting it soak the soil around the new plants between scheduled waterings.

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Temperatures are dipping below freezing this week. It is forecast dip below 26 degrees on Tuesday....I am getting my old towels, sheets and burlap ready to cover my frost-tender plants :-)

I hope you all have a great week!

A Boy Scout, a Horticulturist and a Lot of Plants

2011-12-01T14:56:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, I was asked to help re-design part of our church's parking lot landscape. There was nothing really wrong with it except for some old plants and some dying Chinese Elm trees.

So, I created a design that switched out the dying Chinese Elm trees, which don't do all that well in parking lots, with Sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo) trees. I also switched out some of the missing Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens 'Green Cloud') shrubs as well.

I ordered the trees and shrubs and we were all prepared for an all-church work day. I showed up bright and early (I think 8:00 is early for a Saturday, don't you?), and met up with a 16-year old boy scout, who was earning community hours for his badge.

He was a very nice boy and we started placing all of the trees and shrubs. Then we started digging....

Yes, I dug holes too....although it has been awhile since I've had to dig so many.

We worked on digging holes for the shrubs. My 'helper' had never planted a shrub or a tree before and he watched and listened as I showed him how to do it.

I realize that most of you may know how to do this, but just in case, here is what we did. He took pictures for me (I knew I would blog about this) - you can see his shadow in most of the photos...

First, I hit the sides of the container, to loosen the root ball from the container.

Then I spread my palm out so that I held the shrub between my thumb and fingers and then flipped the container and plant over. I carefully pulled off the container.

The root ball was pretty healthy, it was not root bound.


I placed the shrub in our already dug hole. **An easy tip for figuring out how deep the hole should be, is to put the entire container in the hole you have dug and see if the soil line of the plant is level with the sides of the hole (NOT the sides of the container). You don't want to plant too deep or too shallowly.

My Boy Scout assistant finished planting the shrub, taking care not to pile up extra soil around the shrub.

After planting this shrub, we went on to plant more. We took turns digging holes, but I must admit that he did more digging then I did.

I enjoyed working with him and explaining how to plant trees and shrubs. After we had worked together for quite a few hours, he asked me, "Are you a teacher or something like that?"

I told him that I 'teach' people how to take care of plants.

I hope this was helpful to some of you. I will share my tips for planting trees (we planted 6 of them), next time.

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On a personal note, I have been stuck at home the past few days. My daughter, Gracie, is sick with an extremely contagious virus. The sickness itself isn't that bad, but the fact that it is easily spread is the problem. She has to miss a week of school and will thankfully, go back on Monday.

However, I am going nowhere.....my son now has it.

So, I am spending my time writing gardening articles, knitting, blogging and doing a little gardening. It really doesn't sound all that bad when you think about, does it?

Field Trip - Vegetables, Herbs, Trees, Food and Cotton?

2011-11-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

Usually, I have fun coming up with post titles. But, at first, this one may seem a bit confusing. I assure that it will make sense once you are finished reading....

The day before Thanksgiving, my head was full of all the things that I had to get done before hosting a nice dinner the next day with my husband's family.

I like the idea of entertaining, but I must confess that I can get a little frazzled getting things done.

So, I was thrilled to be able to get out of the house with my mother, who offered to take me out to visit a very interesting place.

Believe it or not, Arizona has a olive mill.

As we approached the store/restaurant of this working olive mill, we passed by their vegetable garden...


Lettuce, Swiss Chard, Basil and much more was growing, which they use in their restaurant.

Olive trees dotted the picnic area.


As you walk into the store, you are greeted by this sign.

My mother had a great time looking at all the different types of olive oil, salad dressings and balsamic vinegars that were available for sale.


There was a tasting bar, where you could sample all kinds of olive oil. I tried most of these and liked the Blood Orange and Meyer Lemon best. I didn't particularly like the Vanilla Bean or White Truffle Oil though.

I had fun trying the balsamic vinegars. I got the Pomegranate White Balsamic Vinegar to use in my 'top secret' salad dressing recipe.

There was a large selection of delicious recipes to choose from. I chose these 3.

I just love a good tomato sauce, don't you?

Delicious food to temp....


Their huge lunch menu made it hard for me to choose what to order, but I decided upon a roast beef panini.

We had a lovely visit and on our way back to the car, I noticed the large cotton field...

Cotton is grown in many areas in Arizona, but as cities grow, the cotton fields are often found in outlying areas.

So, now does the post title make sense?

I had a wonderful time with my mother and then it was time to get back home and finish preparations for Thanksgiving.

We had a wonderful time at our house with my husband's family before heading to my sister's house to have another Thanksgiving celebration with my family.

I hope you all enjoyed your holiday weekend. I got some great gifts on sale on Black Friday - and I didn't even leave my house until 9:00 in the morning :-)

**You can find out more about the Queen Creek Olive Mill by clicking this link.

Happy Turkey Day!

2011-11-23T14:30:00.000-07:00

Or should I say,

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

I imagine this turkey is happy that he lives at the zoo and not on a turkey farm ;-)

Believe it or not, I haven't even begun to get ready for tomorrow's meal, which is at our house.

I have to set the tables, bake pumpkin bread, a pumpkin cake and I am trying a new cranberry tartlet recipe.

The past few years, we have spent Thanksgiving at our house and every year, my husband makes his famous mashed potatoes.

And my father-in-law would carve the turkey...

Last year, Thanksgiving was extra special because my father-in-law had must been diagnosed with ALS. His diagnosis gave us a greater appreciation of how precious our remaining time together was.

This year, we are not having turkey or mashed potatoes. We are doing something different, just for this year. We are having ham, my mother's cheesy scalloped potatoes, green bean casserole, my grandmother-in-law's famous stuffing and rolls.

Right now, I am kind of enjoying the prospect of only having to heat up a ham instead of preparing a turkey :-)

This Thanksgiving, I have much to be thankful for...

- a wonderful husband and children

- my family that lives nearby

- my garden

- opportunities to help people learn how to grow a beautiful garden

AND TWO NEW BLESSINGS THIS YEAR....

- my second oldest sister and her family just moved to Arizona from California AND they live just 6 houses down the street from us!

- and the greatest blessing of all, was the birth of my granddaughter, Lily 3 weeks ago....

I could just hold her all day long....

My wish for you is that you will enjoy a special Thanksgiving.

God Bless!

Visit to a Client's Desert Garden

2011-11-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

Usually when I am called to a help out a homeowner with their landscape, it is because they are having a problem with their plants, or sometimes they are new to the desert and want to learn how to garden in our dry climate.

Last week, I visited a homeowner who had some questions about whether or not he was taking good care of his garden.

His house is located just northeast of the metro Phoenix area, in the desert. He and his wife had lived there for over 15 years and they designed their garden by themselves.

As I approached the front entry, I was greeted by this beautiful Ocotillo that was back lit by the morning sun...

When approaching a new client's house, I always look around their front garden, because it gives me an idea of their preferences and maybe problems that they are having. This gives me a 'heads-up' before I actually meet the client.

His front garden was just beautiful and I was looking forward to seeing what his back garden looked like...

There was a fireplace with a lovely seating area and you could see the pool surrounded by beautiful desert plants in the distance.

The wall of his back garden backed right onto the desert. He had some beautiful artistic pieces, including this metal Ocotillo.

There was a very large Indian Fig cactus. This type of prickly pear is very popular because it is thornless. But it needs a lot of room to grow.

This particular Indian Fig was hiding something....

A beautiful water feature flowed from underneath the Indian Fig.

Rosemary grew along the side as well as potted annuals.

Isn't this a beautiful area?

There was also an empty vegetable garden, but the homeowner did have herbs growing in containers....

Many people keep their hummingbird feeders up year round because we have hummingbirds 12 months out of the year.

This hummingbird faces a mirror. The mirror serves two purposes, according to the homeowner:

One, it keeps the woodpeckers from making holes and second, it gives them an additional view of visiting hummingbirds.

You can see a little Verdin flying in for a drink of the hummingbird nectar.

Lastly, we viewed a shady area of his garden.

The plants in this area do very well in light shade.

There was Heavenly Bamboo to the left, Cape Honeysuckle to the right, Star Jasmine vine next to the door and Texas Mountain Laurel 'Silver Peso', which is a gray-leafed form.

I had a wonderful time visiting and I did have a few suggestions regarding proper watering and when to prune.

I hope you enjoyed seeing this beautiful desert garden with me.

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Life is quite busy this week for me as I am sure it is for most of you with the upcoming holiday.

I will post again before Thanksgiving :-)

Love at First Sight...

2011-11-19T20:38:00.000-07:00

Have you ever seen a picture of a plant that you knew you would just love if you ever saw it in person?

I have felt this way about a few different plants that don't grow in our area and so the only way I could see them is while traveling.

You may remember this past spring, that my mother and I went on a tour of many Midwest states. We visited Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Kansas.

While traveling in Missouri, we wanted to visit the cemetery where my great-great grandparents were buried. As we were searching for their grave, I had my first encounter with a very beautiful....

Peony!

I temporarily stopped my search for the grave and just stood and admired this beautiful flowering shrub.

It was love at first sight...

The ruffled, pink flowers were just stunning. It was even more beautiful then I had imagined.

After gawking at the Peony bush for a few minutes, I resumed my search for my great-great grandparent's grave, which we found nearby.

There is just one problem now.

I really love Peonies, even more then before now that I have seen them in person and unfortunately there is no way I can get them to grow where I live since they prefer cooler climates ;-)

Have you ever fallen in love with a plant at first sight?

Changing Out the Old for the New...

2011-11-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

There is a gardening task that I both enjoy and dread when I have to do it twice every year.

Now, I am not only doing it for myself, but also for my mother-in-law.

So what it is this task?

The seasonal task of changing out flowering annuals or in this case perennials, that are treated as annuals.

I had to this last Sunday when we stopped by for dinner. Since my father-in-law's death in September, we come over with the kids every Sunday and help around the house and garden and then have dinner.

My mother-in-law hasn't felt like cooking much and likes the idea of having us trying a different kind of pizza each week in order to determine what restaurant makes the best. So far Papa John's and Pizza Hut are our favorites....but there are still more to try. The kids especially enjoy eating pizza every week :-)

Getting ready to pull out the Vinca and plant Red Geraniums

I blogged earlier about searching 3 different nurseries for plants to replace those that had died in my mother-in-law's garden. But, I also had to buy Geraniums (Pelargoniums) as well.

Now, I couldn't buy just any Geraniums....I had to buy red ones - not orange and definitely not pink. You see, my mother-in-law wants the garden to look the exact same as it did when my father-in-law was alive and did the work himself.

I must admit, that I was a bit late in doing this - I usually wait until late October to change out my warm-season flowering plants for cool-season ones. But, there was still plenty of time before the cold weather settled in.

Okay, here is that part that I dread....

It is so hard to pull out beautiful flowering plants.

Now I realize that technically, I could leave them in their pots and these Vinca would survive our winter as long as they were protected from frost and would flower again in spring.

Or, I could transplant them elsewhere and overwinter them in an out of the way place.

But the majority of people just rip them out and throw them out (or put them on their compost pile) since they are relatively inexpensive.

I admit that I pulled them out and threw them out (please don't hate me for pulling out perfectly good plants ;-)

Now it was time to plant the red Geraniums (which are really Pelargoniums, but everyone including the nursery calls them Geraniums, so I will too).

There was a potential problem, however. You see, my mother-in-law was used to my father-in-law planting huge, red Geraniums in full bloom. But, I could not find large red Geraniums, much less ones in full bloom...

From a horticulturist's point of view - it is better to select flowering plants that have few flowers in the nursery because the transplanting process is stressful for plants and those in full flower will soon drop their flowers. When buying those that haven't bloomed yet, you give the plant more resources to grow roots and will soon be rewarded with blooms that will last longer.

I was tempted to tell my mother-in-law this, hoping that it would make her feel better about the lack of blooms. But it turns out that she didn't mind, so I didn't tell her.

I sprinkled slow-release fertilizer before I planted the Geraniums and will follow-up in a couple of weeks with a liquid fertilizer, just like my father-in-law did.

Of course, you can go the organic route if you prefer. There are plenty of products available at your local nursery and even stores like Home Depot and Lowes are carrying organic fertilizers.

In addition to the red Geraniums, I also had to plant Bacoba around the potted Geraniums. It can be hard sometimes to find Bacoba and of course I had trouble too.

But, I found a solution.

I found a decorative container filled with Verbena and Bacoba at the nursery, so I bought it and used the Bacoba in the container.

And then my husband planted the Verbena, which replaced the one that died in their front garden last year...

So I killed two birds with one stone (although I would never literally kill a bird ;-)

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On a personal note....life is crazy, but good.

I will update you soon on the happenings in my personal life.

I hope you are all enjoying this fall season :-)

Further Temptations at the Nursery...

2011-11-16T11:18:00.000-07:00

Do you suffer from temptation when you visit your local plant nursery?

I certainly did during my last visit. I had such a great time and took quite a few photos, so I had to split them up into two separate posts.
(You can read the first post here if you like).

I have saved my two most tempting moments for this post, so I guess we should get on with it...

Sage shrubs (Leucophyllum species) are available in many different species. 'Green Cloud' Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens 'Green Cloud') is perhaps the most popular and I have two growing in my front garden.

However, I must admit that my favorites are 'Rio Bravo' Sage (Leucophyllum langmaniae 'Rio Bravo'), which grows in my back garden and the other is called 'Thunder Cloud' Sage (Leucophyllum candidum 'Thunder Cloud').

This shrub has silver gray leaves and blooms off and on spring through fall.

The flowers contrast so beautifully with the silvery foliage.

I must confess, that I don't have any in my garden - but I may need to find a space for these beautiful shrubs.

On nursery visits, I frequently take the opportunity to take pictures of plants such as this Arborvitae. They aren't favorite plants of mine, but that really doesn't mean anything - it is just a matter of personal preference.

Many nurseries showcase ways to combine plants.

I am frequently inspired during my nursery visits by some of their ideas like this Sweet Potato Vine among Sago Palms and Umbrella Plant.

Can you guess what plant was used to create this dense shrub?

Believe it or not, it is Pyracantha.

Usually, you find it growing along the walls....

You can frequently find new uses for plants at your local nursery.

I found a bunch of Mexican Heather (Cuphea hyssopifolia) in full bloom. I like to use these as groundcovers in areas with light shade.

There were many different types of succulents available like this Lophocereus schottii 'Monstrosus'.

If you tend to accidentally kill your plants, you can always buy this reproduction of an agave...

I guarantee, you won't kill this one. I have seen these beautiful plant sculptures 'planted' in pots with gravel or small pebbles instead of potting soil.

Well, my visit was drawing to an end, when I saw two plants that I was sorely tempted to buy....

I love Autumn Sage. Usually you see them in red, hot pink, peach and even white. But I saw these Autumn Sage with light pink flowers called (Salvia greggii 'Heatwave Glitter').

In my garden, I love to use cool colors like pink. I wanted to buy one of these plants so badly, but I couldn't think of where I would put it.

My last temptation of the day was a plant that I have seen occasionally in landscapes, but rarely in the nursery.

At first glance, this may look like Purple Trailing Lantana (Lantana montevidensis), but look closer.

Can you see white flowers mixed in with the purple?

Believe it or not, this Lantana has both purple and white flowers. It is called 'Lavender Swirl'.

I love this look of both flowers together.

Now, if you cannot find this type of Lantana, there is a solution....

Simply plant a White Trailing and Purple Trailing Lantana in the same hole. As they grow, their stems and flowers will intermingle together.

I really could have bought this plant, but I already duplicated their appearance already by planting White and Purple Lantana together in my front garden.

And so, I left the nursery, only purchasing the plants that my mother-in-law needed.

When I got home, my husband couldn't believe that I hadn't bought any plants for myself. Normally, he has the shovel ready before I even get home from the nursery because he knows me so well ;-)

Nursery Visit and Temptations...

2011-11-14T06:34:00.002-07:00

This past weekend, I was on a mission.

My mission was to replace the few plants that had died in my in-laws garden as well as replace their warm-season annuals with cool-season ones.

Unfortunately, I could not indulge my creative side and re-design the landscape that I had originally created 9 years ago because my mother-in-law wanted to keep everything the same as it was before.

My father-in-law was a meticulous gardener and was beautiful, perfectly pruned and very neat and tidy (very much unlike my own messy and untidy garden ;-)

As his illness progressed, I started to take over care of his prized landscape. Now that he has passed away, I still care for it. Every Sunday night, we go over and have dinner with my mother-in-law. We always arrive a bit early so that my husband can do miscellaneous tasks around the house and I help in the garden.

And so back to my mission - I had to find the exact same plants that had died over the summer. Now for those of you who do a lot of planting - you know it can be hard to find everything you need at a single nursery.

Well, I still harbored unrealistic hope that I would miraculously find all that I needed in one place. I started at our big box store and found the geraniums that I needed (they had to be red). But, unfortunately, they had nothing else that I needed.

So, off to the second nursery, which is a locally owned chain. I scored a bit "zero" there. Then I drove on the a third nursery.

I love this particular local nursery. It is very large, they have a huge selection and the staff is very knowledgeable.

You may be wondering at this point, why I didn't start at this nursery first if it all that wonderful?

Well, the problem I find myself often being tempted to buy some of the unique and hard to find plants that they offer.

And so, I arrived at the nursery and started searching for the plants my mother-in-law needed - Angelita Daisy, Blackfoot Daisy, Firecracker Penstemon and Golden Barrel.

I did my best as I walked through the nursery to stay focused on my mission - to buy plants only for my mother-in-law and NOT for myself.

I found the Firecracker Penstemon, which is hard to find this time of year. Now, I realize that it is not all that impressive looking in a small black container. But, it looks fabulous once you plant it and it blooms in winter and in spring....

I also found the other plants that I needed except for the Blackfoot Daisy.

Now, I had all the plants that I needed. But did I leave the nursery at this point?

No. I decided that my resolve was strong and that I wouldn't buy any plants for myself and so it was okay to stroll through the nursery and take some pictures.

They had many cool-season annuals to choose from, but I already had all I needed at home, so I wasn't the slightest bit tempted.

Until....

I spotted this Black Petunia.

Aren't the flowers just gorgeous?

I looked to find a plant tag to see what variety they were, but it was missing.

Well, I really liked these Petunias, but didn't really have a place to put them, so I pressed onward.

I walked by a mini grove of Bamboo. Many people are surprised to find the Bamboo can grow in the desert. As long as they receive enough water, they do well in our zone 9 area.

Among the cool-season annuals, I spotted a bunch of Blue Salvia. Normally, they are grown as warm-season annuals and they do very well. I used to plant them in pots around golf courses, but I haven't used them in years. I'm not sure why, but I think I will try planting them late next spring.

As I pressed, on I noticed movement among the plants. This rooster was busy eating the tops of the plants.

You know, I think that roosters and chickens give a nursery a 'homey' feel, don't you? Kind of like a cat in a bookstore or knitting shop.

Of course, no nursery located in the desert is complete without its succulent collection.

Golden Barrel, Argentine Giant Cactus, Fishhook Barrel, Cereus, Saguaro, Agave and much more was available.

Here is a helpful hint....

Did you know that often Agave have more then one plant in the container? That is because many species of Agave reproduce 'pups'.

So, when you are out to buy an Agave, look for one that has more then one plant in the container. Then when you are ready to plant them, simply cut the smaller agave from the mother plant and plant them as well.

The nursery had a large collection of bare root Ocotillo.

I love Ocotillo and was given one by my kids on Mother's Day a few years ago.

Ocotillo do leaf out off and on throughout the year and produce vermillion colored flowers....

As you can see, I was having a great time at the nursery.

There is more I would like to share with you. I found some different ways to use everyday plants AND I have yet to show you two different plants that I was sorely tempted to buy.

At this point however, I think this post is long enough and I don't want to bore you, so please come back for "Part Two".

A Gently Used 'House' and its New Residents...

2011-11-11T20:08:00.001-07:00

I hope you have all had a good week. I must apologize for not getting my act together enough to write any blog posts. But thankfully, my sister 'Chicken Farmer' and resident of Double S Farms has given us an update on her new baby chicks and their new home....

We've been going back and forth trying to decide whether to build a new coop for the chicks or to put together something smaller and temporary until they are old enough to move in with the big girls. I figure the lumber and time alone would get a little pricey so I scoured Craigslist last weekend and found what we thought was a pretty cool coop at a steal of a price. We could tell by the picture that it was a pretty wonky coop but we loved the character.

Once we got it home and had a closer look, I could tell that we overpaid for this coop. It was literally staple gunned together! A strong gust of wind would have taken this thing down. Lucky for me I have a very handy husband who was able to give it a little TLC.

It's a lot smaller than our existing coop so it fits nicely in the chicken yard. Once we got it to a state where we felt it was livable, we moved the chicks out and they have been in heaven ever since. The coop has three levels, four levels, and all kinds of little ramps up and down for them to run across. It reminds me of a dollhouse (I'm not sure how functional it will be for full grown hens though).

The boys literally spend hours each day sitting next to the coop and watching the chicks.

The older hens didn't notice the new girls at first but once they finally did, they've been keeping a close eye on them.

We will keep them in their new coop until they are big enough to meet the older girls. At that time, they'll be able to free range during the day and go in to roost at night. Until then, they seem perfectly content in their new, if a little awkward, digs.

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Seriously, these chicks are so much fun to watch and they are growing so fast. They are getting along with the older chickens who aren't quite sure what to make of the little ones.

You can read more about the chickens in my sister's blog - Finley and Oliver.

I apologize for not writing more posts this past week. But as I mentioned before it has been a busy time filled with landscape consults, a speaking engagement, helping my mother-in-law with her landscape (who is doing pretty well since my father-in-law passed away 2 months ago).

This week I did spend lots of time visiting my new granddaughter. She is just darling and I love to hold her.

I hope you all have a great weekend and week ahead. I promise to start writing more :-)

Danger In My Vegetable Garden....

2011-11-07T16:18:00.001-07:00

Okay. It's really happened to me.

I had heard about what can happen when you grow your own vegetables from other gardeners, but I didn't think too much about it until....

It happened to me!

So, what happened you may ask?

I discovered the danger of growing a vegetable garden.

Oh, I know it looks quite innocent in the picture above.

But, there is a real danger lurking there.

What is the danger?

Well you see, I have discovered the wonderful benefits of growing my own vegetables. I love their delicious, fresh taste. I enjoy saving money and passing by the produce section at the grocery store.

So what is my problem?

Although I can grow vegetables all year long, unfortunately I cannot grow the same vegetables 12 months out of the year.

I still look back to that late spring day when I harvested my first planting of garlic from my garden.

We harvested quite a bit.

We let it cure for a couple of weeks, then cut off the leafy tops and stored all that garlic in a cool, dry place out of the sun.

Now, I love garlic and use it a lot for cooking. All I had to do when I needed some garlic was grab one from the bowl I was storing them in on a dark shelf.

But, the other day when I went in there, there was no more garlic.

Now, I have to buy it at the grocery store again.

I never used to mind buying garlic from the store.

But now, I sure do!

The same thing happens when I have to start buying lettuce from the store in summer after enjoying my own homegrown lettuce the rest of the year.

And it goes on and on with corn, broccoli, cucumbers, green onions, carrots and tomatoes.

So, now do you see the danger of growing your own vegetables?

You get spoiled!

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I would like to thank you all for your kind comments regarding my recent "grandmotherhood".

I am relishing the time I get to spend with Lily Mae. I could just sit and hold her for hours :-)

She's Here!

2011-11-04T22:47:00.000-07:00

We finally got the call that we had been impatiently looking forward to last Wednesday.

Our daughter was in labor!

So we all headed to the hospital and began the long wait.

I could write about all that happened, but I think pictures tell it much better....


Very early stages of labor. You can tell because they are still smiling ;-)


My husband talks with Nancy (the other grandma :-)

It was a long wait, so we made makeshift beds for the kids.

Kai slept so well, he was snoring.


Ruthie slept underneath her sweatshirt, while my daughter, Rachele played with her iPad.

She is finally here and my daughter, Brittney did just great. (So did her husband, Jeff :-)

Introducing Lily Mae - 6 lbs 13 oz, born November 3rd which is her parents wedding anniversary.

I am so totally in love with my granddaughter....

Now it is my husband's turn. He was so happy.

Now it is 'Aunt' Gracie's turn to hold her niece.

Kai can't quite grasp that he is an uncle now ;-)

Ruthie was speechless, but so happy. She told me that she wants a baby like Lily, but that hers will probably look Chinese ;-)

All too soon, it was time to leave to give mom and dad an opportunity to sleep before Lily needed to be fed.

It is so hard to believe that my baby has had a baby :-)

I am so happy.

Thank you so much for letting me share Lily's birth with you.

Reigning in the Chaos of My Containers...

2011-11-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, you may remember my post about my uncontrolled container plants.

Well, I pulled out some of my excess Trailing Lantana, which can be used in other areas of my garden.

Then I cut back the remaining Lantana and my Sweet Potato vine.

At this point, things were looking much neater, if a little bare.

I only bought a few new plants since I decided to keep much of my existing perennials.

I purchased Alyssum because I love their sweet fragrance.

I also bought Johnny-Jump-Ups, which are little Violas that are native to Spain.

I remember growing them in my little garden as a child and I loved how easily they grew for me.

Lastly, I purchased two Lavender. They make great container plants and I love their flowers.

And so I began....

First, I dug a hole for my Lavender and then as I was removing the container, I discovered that they were extremely root bound.

Root-bound plants aren't uncommon and are a result of being in the container too long. The roots start growing round and round since they can't grow outward.

If you find yourself with a root-bound plant, it is easy to fix.

Here's how...

You simply make cuts to the roots. This forces the roots to stop growing around and around and makes them grow outward into the surrounding soil.

I used my hand pruners to make the cuts, but you can use strong scissors or even a box cutter.

After you make the cuts, you need to 'work' the root ball. What I mean by this is give it a 'massage'. This helps to further loosen the root ball and will help your plant to transplant much more easily....

Now my Lavender is ready to plant.

So, you may be wondering what happens if you don't cut and loosen the roots of a root-bound plant? Well, the roots will tend not to grow out into the soil, where there is moisture and nutrients and you plant will not do all that well.

After I was finished planting, my containers looked nice a neat - but a bit bare. It will take a couple of weeks for my plants to grow and cover the bare spots.

In my purple container, I planted a mixture of Johnny-Jump-Ups and Alyssum.

In my yellow container. I planted one of my Lavender and pruned back my Sweet Potato Vine, which will grow back quickly.

My blue container has a Lavender and White Trailing Lantana growing. I pruned the Lantana back but like the vine, it will grow fast.

**Although both the Sweet Potato Vine and my Trailing Lantana are susceptible to frost damage - they are protected because my containers are located underneath the overhang of my house.

You may be wondering why I don't fill my pots with colorful cool-season annuals such as Petunias, Pansies, Snapdragons and Stock?

I was thinking about this the other day and I think it is because when I managed landscapes, I was responsible for thousands of colorful annuals being planted twice a year, keeping them alive, fertilizing them often and trying to keep them from being eaten by Javelina and rabbits.

I also know a designer who creates beautiful containers filled with both annuals and perennials every year...

Her name is Maggie and someday, I may even try to recreate one of her beautiful container designs in my own containers.

But for now, I am happy with my humble containers.

I will show you some good ideas for cool-season container plantings with lots of color in the next week. (Just because I didn't plant that many in my own garden doesn't mean I don't know how ;-)

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Baby watch update:

Two days overdue.

I have a feeling it might come today, but then, I have been known to be wrong ;-)

I'll let you know!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

2011-10-31T15:40:00.000-07:00

All too soon, we will be hearing little ghosts and goblins come knocking at our door.

But unfortunately, we won't be home.

You see, Halloween is a very fun holiday in our family and we spend it at Double S Farms.

Last year's celebration was lots of fun.....

As we walked in the door, we were greeted by the delicious scent of soup cooking.

My mother, always has a healthy dinner prepared since she knows we will be eating nothing but sweets later.

(Don't you like her 'fake' tattoo sleeve?)

The table is set and there are fun party favors.

Do you like my new ring?

After dinner, but before trick-or-treating, it is time to play some games like throwing eyeballs into a pumpkin.

It's a lot harder then it looks.

Then, as if the kids won't get enough candy while trick-or-treating....

They get to try to hit the pinata, which is filled with candy.

The third pumpkin is carved into a "Mini-Cooper", which is my nephew, Finley's favorite car ;-)

Soon, it is time to venture out and go trick-or-treating.

I hope you all have a fun Halloween!

Uncontrolled Container Plants....

2011-10-30T06:05:00.011-07:00

I came upon this group of containers yesterday.

Pretty uncontrolled plants, huh?

Well, hidden underneath all the plants are actually 4 containers.

AND

they are all mine.....

I know, I know.

How could I have let things get so out of control?

Well, life sometimes gets a bit crazy and other then watering my pots, they didn't get any other attention this summer.

I didn't go out of my way to plant colorful annuals this past spring, opting instead for perennials.

My Sweet Potato Vine did wonderfully despite being neglected. It is a newer variety called 'Pink Frost' (Ipomea batatas 'Pink Frost').

A single Vinca flower pushes its way through the other plants. I planted Vinca for my father-in-law, in his garden, this summer before he passed away in September. He gave me his leftover plants, which I threw in one of my containers.

Purple Trailing Lantana is spilling over and has reached the ground because I never pruned it back.

I also planted White Trailing Lantana, which is mixed in with my Sweet Potato Vine.

Now I must admit, that my container plants are usually better maintained. But under the circumstances, I think that they did great considering that all I did was water them.

Believe it or not, I used to be in charge of hundreds of of container plants every year (usually annuals). They had to look perfect because they were in high profile areas.

You certainly wouldn't know it looking at my own containers right now would you?

I sometimes describe myself as more of a "Do as I say, not as I do" kind of horticulturist at times ;-)

For those of you who maybe can't stand my messy containers, don't worry. I have plans for ripping out some of the plants, some pruning and some new additions.

I'll show you what I did next time :-)

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My daughter and her husband came over tonight for dinner. She is definitely ready to 'pop'. I remember being so anxious for her to be born (she was 5 days late).

I think it is even harder now, waiting for my first grandchild to be born.

ONE more day until her due date!

I wonder if her baby knows that ;-)

A Tree Given a Second Chance...

2011-10-27T06:04:00.002-07:00

Last winter, we suffered a severe cold snap. Okay, for those of you who live in more northerly climates, it wouldn't seem all that cold to you perhaps. But, we had temps that ranged in the low 20's for three days in a row, which is definitely below normal for us.

As a result, many trees and plants that normally stay green in the winter, suffered severe frost damage. That included my mother's young Sissoo tree (Dalbergia sissoo).

I wrote about her tree and how the top died back to the ground. However, there were some new growth coming up from the bottom. So instead of taking out the tree, we opted to cut off the dead portion and let one the new growth take over.

We re-staked the little tree and waited to see how it would do.

That was in the beginning of June.

Now, just 4 1/2 months later, look at it now...

Doesn't it look so much bigger?

That's because it is.

Why has it grown so quickly? Well, that is because it had a great root system - actually the root system of a grown tree, so it had many resources to help it to grow quickly.

It is still hard to believe how quickly it grew. But, we are so happy with the decision to give it a chance instead of buying a new tree.

If we had planted a new tree, it would never have grown so quickly.

So, next time you have a frost-damaged tree, wait a few months to see if there is any re-growth - even if it is on the bottom.

You never know, it might end up with a fast-growing tree and save yourself some money at the same time :-)

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5 days and counting until my daughter's due date. We had a 'false alarm' on Monday. But, I guess our little granddaughter wasn't ready to come yet ;-)

Family Get Together on the Farm

2011-10-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, the entire family was able to gather together at Double S Farms.

As I mentioned before, my brother-in-law was in town for final interviews for a new job. Although he was busy with meetings, we were all able to meet for Saturday breakfast on the farm.

I baked my Irish soda bread for the occasion and the kids couldn't wait to eat eggs and sausage.

It was also time to check up on the new baby chicks and their new chicken coop....

Their new coop has three levels and the girls really seem to like it.

One of the kids discovered an egg, from one of the older chickens...

The kids spent much of their time running around and wrestling in the shade of the apple trees...

My mother showed me the progress of her fall vegetable garden...

We have already enjoyed salad made from her romaine lettuce...

We visited with my twin nephews...

Dean, being held by my brother, is recovering well from his surgery, where he had a lobe of his lung removed.

My visiting sister, took her turn holding Danny.

Soda pop tried to find someone to throw her ball for her.

The 'senior' chickens, Effie, Ramona and Lucy, did their best to stay out of everyone's way.

Indoors, my nephew, Oliver, showed off his 'zombie' makeup and did his best to scare us, but then he reassured us that it was really him behind the make-up.

Lastly, my daughter, Gracie, spent time with her Uncle Scott...

I love them time that we all spend together and we received great news yesterday - my brother-in-law was hired as the new children's pastor of a local church. So they will be moving here next month.

I will be so blessed to not only have my mother, brother and youngest sister living nearby, but also my other younger sister :-)

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Baby countdown is down to 7 days.....

Landscaper's Trademark?

2011-10-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

You know what?

Sometimes it is easy to tell who in the neighborhood uses the same landscaper.

It is pretty evident from these photos that I took over the summer that quite a few people in this neighborhood are using the services of the same landscaper....

This is the first 'mushroom-shaped' Olive tree that I have ever seen.

To me, this Texas Sage looks somewhat like a small loaf bread, don't you think?

For those of you who have seen Texas Ebony (Ebenopsis ebano) in its natural form, may not recognize this heavily pruned one, above.

These two Texas Sage shrubs remind me of a lumpy cake that you have just pulled out of the oven.

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I hope you are all enjoying a great start to your weekend.

This is the last weekend for awhile where I am not busy, so I plan to enjoy it :-)

Observations on This and That AND The Countdown Begins...

2011-10-20T06:19:00.000-07:00

I thought that I would share with you my observations on various landscape practices that I viewed over a one week period last month.

As a horticulturist (or a plant lady as my kids call me), I have a hard time "turning off" and not looking at landscapes as I go by. I am always looking for a beautiful garden :-)

So here are my observations, in no particular order.

Got floppy agave?

This is the time of year where you will see agave that seem to have suddenly flopped over.

I saw both of these agave on my way home from my mother-in-law's house.

There was one year when I was working as a horticulturist for golf courses and we had quite a few of our agave flop over. Now, I had a fairly good idea what had happened to them, but to confirm my diagnosis, we had to dig them up.

Once we did, we were hit with a truly horrible odor, which confirmed that we were dealing with agave snout weevils.

You can read more about agave snout weevil and how to recognize an infestation and how to prevent them here.

Okay, my second observation came courtesy of a facebook follower who asked me if gray Palo Verde trunks were normal.

I explained to her that as Palo Verde trees age, it is common for their trunk to turn gray.

Her question reminded me again of how much I didn't know when I started on horticulture course work and all the questions that I had. There are way to many things like this that I overlook and need to remember so that I can assist new desert gardeners.

Speaking of Palo Verdes, I saw this beautiful 'Desert Museum' Palo Verde tree in front of the hospice facility where my father-in-law was.

You may be surprised to find that there is a serious problem with this tree.

Can you see what it is?

Here it is a bit closer.

The tree has been staked, but the cable wire used was not covered where it comes in contact with the tree trunk.

As you can see, the cable wire is digging into the trunk and starting to cut off the vascular system of the tree, which is located around the outer portion of the trunk.

Unfortunately, I see this quite often. Usually in parking lot trees. There is still time to remove the wire in this case.

When staking a tree, always cover the portion of the cable wire that touches the tree with a piece of drip hose or a regular hose and make sure that you can adjust it as the trunk grows larger.

When Ocotillo are sold and transported, their canes are often tied up for safety for both the handler and the ocotillo itself.

However once planted, you do not need to keep it tied up. Remove the ties and soon you will be enjoying the beauty of your Ocotillo as it grows and spreads out its beautiful canes.

Aren't they so beautiful?

My last observation occurred as I traveled to the outskirts of the Phoenix metro area where I was to meet with an organization regarding a landscape service project.

As I drove, the suburbs began to melt away and I was surrounded by farmland. As I turned down the street where my meeting was located, I saw that it was lined with mature pecan trees and large farmhouses sitting a few acres each.

It was just so beautiful...

I bet you didn't think that places like this existed in the desert, did you?

Well, there are actually many areas like this. As I left, I could just picture myself living in a large farmhouse with acres of land to garden in. But then I reminded myself that I have a hard enough time keeping up with my 1/3 of an acre ;-)

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I hope your week is going well.

My younger sister (not my youngest sister, Chicken Farmer), and her family are coming out for a visit tomorrow. Her husband is interviewing for a job out here and I am very hopeful that they will be moving out here shortly.

Believe it or not, I was the first of my family to move out to Arizona from Southern California 25 years ago after I married my husband. Then 5 years ago, my youngest sister and my brother and their families moved out here. My parents followed a year later and now perhaps my other sister will soon move here.

I hope it all works out.

Oh by the way.....11 days until my daughter's due date.

I am beginning to get just slightly excited!

Fall Break and Vegetable Seedlings...

2011-10-18T13:42:00.001-07:00

I think my kids are ready to go back to school tomorrow after 2 1/2 weeks of being on fall break.

How do I know this? Well, my two youngest daughters, Ruthie and Gracie, just asked me if there were any jobs that I needed them to do.

So after, I picked up my jaw from the floor, I told them that the patio needed to be swept and then thanked them for being so thoughtful.

A few minutes later, I saw them sweeping the patio. Then I saw the hose come out as they sprayed the patio. BUT, they didn't stop there. As I watched them, Ruthie started to squirt dish soap on the patio and then proceeded to scrub the patio using the broom.

I just didn't have the heart to tell her that she didn't need to use soap. She was working so hard and looked like she was actually enjoying herself as she walked through all the soap suds.

And now, I probably have the cleanest patio in the entire neighborhood ;-)

Earlier this morning, I went outside to see how my vegetable garden was faring. As I examined my plants, I paid special attention to many of my vegetable seedlings.

I planted Cauliflower for the first time this fall. We will see how it does. I must admit that I am being a bit selfish about including it in my garden since I am the only one in our family who likes cauliflower. But, since I'm the one who takes care of the garden, I think I'm entitled, don't you?

My lettuce seedlings are a bit late in getting started this fall. The reason being that I didn't learn my lesson last fall, when birds ate my new seedlings, which is what happened again this year. So this is my second attempt this fall.

I am proud to say that I did find a solution to birds eating my lettuce seedlings that didn't involve netting. But I warn you, it isn't particularly pretty looking...

I decided to use burlap. I didn't put the burlap directly on the ground since the plants would grow through it and be caught. So, I put two of my plastic patio chairs in the garden and draped the burlap over them and the garden fence. My goal was to shield the seedlings from the bird's view and so far, I have been successful.

No, this aren't grass seedlings. They are my green onions.

You know what? There is just something about seedlings that I find so attractive. I think it is a combination of the bright green of youth and their tiny shapes. What do you think?

Another first in the garden this fall is shallots. I haven't heard much from people in our area growing them, so I am anxious to see how they do.

Now, I didn't order any fancy shallots from a mail-order nursery. I simply went to my local grocery store and bought a bunch. I planted each bulb with the pointed end upward and covered them with 2" of soil.

I can't wait to see how they do when I harvest them this spring.

This little garlic sprout looked much better yesterday then it does today. The torn leaves are courtesy of the newest member of our family, Max, who hasn't learned that a fence means "keep out". We are working his obedience....

The carrots are doing beautifully and I will soon thin them. The easiest way to do this is to simply snip off the unwanted seedlings at soil level. If you pull them out, you risk disturbing the surrounding seedlings.

I planted Nasturtiums throughout my vegetable garden because they make great companion plants because they repel damaging insects and attract insects that will eat Scale (which I have problems every year).

Corn silk is beginning to appear on my fall corn.

This last seedling is not one that I planted or planned on growing this fall.

But, it showed up on its own and I decided that I will give it a chance....

Yes, it is a tomato plant. To be precise, it is a 'San Marzano' tomato plant that came up from seed. Its parent plant produce a ton of tomatoes for me last spring and some of the tomatoes fell to the ground, and so here is the result.

I'm not sure how it will do. Tomatoes are susceptible to frost, which we do get here and on every vegetable gardening guide for our area, tomatoes are never listed as being started in the fall.

But, I am cautiously optimistic. With shade protection in the summer and frost protection in the winter, a tomato plant can live for years UNLESS a severe frost occurs (like last year).

So, I will baby this little tomato plant (and the 3 others that also came up) and provide protection from frost this winter.

I will let you know how they do. If they survive, I will have a huge head start on growing tomatoes next spring :-)

How about you?
Have you planted any vegetables this fall?