My garden has been transformed with yellow showers of flowers, courtesy of my palo verde tree. It’s a delightful time of year with warm spring temperatures and colorful landscapes filled with flowering shrub, perennials, and trees. However, nothing heralds the arrival of spring in the desert Southwest like the golden yellow flowers of palo verde […]
Lovely clematis flowers Beware the Pretty Face: The Illusion of Clematis Flowers Clematis flowers are so pretty. Do you ever find yourself transfixed by a pretty face flower? I have. In fact, I’ve rarely seen a flower that I didn’t like. However, sometimes a pretty face, or in this case, a flower, can easily fool […]
Cereus cactus, golden barrel cactus, and firecracker penstemon From Drab to Colorful: A Landscape Transformation Story Is your outdoor space looking rather drab? If so, you aren’t alone – many landscapes can appear somewhat dull, especially if there is a lack of color. But, it doesn’t have to stay that way. One of my favorite […]
Javelina stepping out of an arroyo Unwanted Guests: Dealing with Javelina in Your Desert Garden Yesterday, I had a rather unexpected encounter with a javelina while taking pictures of a landscape. I think he was as surprised as I was to see him and he retreated back to his arroyo after a couple of minutes. […]
The Beauty and Challenges of Growing Tropical Bird of Paradise in the Desert Southwest Tropical bird of paradise Nature’s Unfairness to Tropical Bird of Paradise Flowers Sometimes, life isn’t fair. Especially when nature hasn’t endowed you with any noticeable outward beauty. What worsens the situation is that you’re a flower, expected to be beautiful. When […]
Understanding Key Pruning Terms for a Beautiful Garden As the garden begins to awaken in spring, our thoughts turn to getting our plants ready for the growing season, which often involves pruning. Pruning your favorite shrubs and trees is essential to maintain their health and appearance. To do this properly, you need to be familiar […]
Exploring the Green Spaces of The Magnolia Silos On a cold February morning, alongside my mother and sisters, I found myself at The Magnolia Silos. These are created and made famous by the much-loved hosts of HGTV’s ‘Fixer Upper’ program. We were on a girls road trip through Texas. As fans of the show, The […]
The Fascinating Process of Flowering Agave Plants can do some spectacular things, and the dramatic process when agave send up their flowering agave stalk, definitely qualifies. Yesterday, I noticed that my octopus agave (Agave vilmoriniana) had begun to send up its fleshy shoot. I must confess that I had mixed feelings about it. My first […]
Valentine Bush (Eremophila maculata ‘Valentine’) The Vibrant Beauty of Valentine Bush A Colorful Gem for Your Landscape How would you like gorgeous red, tubular flowers blooming at Christmas time and lasting past Valentine’s Day, all packaged up in an attractive, low-maintenance shrub? Believe it or not, such a shrub exists. Let me introduce you to Valentine […]
Exploring the Lone Star State A Road Trip Adventure Awaits My bags are packed for the Lone Star State. I’m ready to head out on another road trip adventure. I was born with the ‘travel gene,’ which is present in many people of my family, and enjoy opportunities to visit new places and experience the […]
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