Yesterday was a glorious winter day accompanied with warmer then usual temperatures; 68 degrees F. I went over to Double S Farms to help my brother-in-law (Farmer Dad), prune the fruit trees – (the fruit trees had sadly been neglected and mistreated by the previous owners, so we had to quite a bit of corrective […]
Imagine a plant that lives for years, never flowering, and then towards the end of it’s life, expends all of it’s energy to produce flowers on a giant stem and then dies…. Agave colorata getting ready to flower. Agave Stalks Begin Growth The story begins with an agave starting to grow it’s flowering stalk, or […]
**An Advisory – Please do not enlarge photos until finished reading the entire post.** Last weekend, my husband and I did the unthinkable….we left our kids with their grandparents and went to Las Vegas. We had originally planned a trip to Sedona, which is located in Northern Arizona, but the roads were closed due to […]
There is a beautiful stretch of highway through one of Arizona’s deserts that travels through a forest. However, this forest is not made up of trees…. This forest is made up of plants called Joshua trees, which technically are not trees – they are a species of Yucca (Yucca brevifolia). They grow slowly, approximately 1 […]
Journey with me through the garden to see the rainbow of color that awaits…. inspired by my fellow blogger, Rebecca of Prefer To Be In The Garden. Globe Mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua) RED blossoms cover my Globe Mallow in January. Bees happily collect pollen from their cup-shaped flowers. The bees are grateful that blooms will continue […]
I would like to introduce you to one of the littlest residents of Double S Farms. He is what we call a ‘snowbird’. Now, where we live, a snowbird is a seasonal resident , usually human, who lives in the desert during the winter months. However, this particular snowbird is a little hummingbird. I first […]
During this exceptionally rainy week, we did have a one day’s respite from the rain. I love how clean the landscape looks after it rains. Aloe flower I took advantage of the sunny day and went out to do errands, when I came upon on some blooming plants. So, I whipped out my small camera, […]
Working as a horticulturist on golf courses meant that I came face to face with wildlife from time to time. Often, I would see them ahead of time and would react accordingly. Sometimes however, I was surprised at what I found and where… I wrote about my Face Off With Wild Pigs earlier this month. […]
I love it when it rains. Actually, most desert-dwellers welcome the rain. Believe it or not…the rain is a welcome change to bright, sunny days. The park near my home is starting to fill up with water – this is supposed to happen. Two previous storms this week have started the process, but we are […]
I would like to show you a small farm that is located in the middle of the desert. Actually, it is 5 minutes from my house and is the home of my mother, sister, brother-in-law and their sons. Some of you may recall some previous posts about the Neglected Rose Bush, the Chicken Coop and […]
