I enjoy growing herbs for two reasons. First, they are easy to grow and second, I love to use them when I cook. In addition to fresh herbs, I also use dried herbs from time to time, especially in winter when some of my favorite herbs (basil) aren’t growing. While drying herbs is rather simple, there […]
Do you grow your own herbs? Did you know that you can preserve them by freezing them? I frequently freeze my freshly-harvested herbs into ice cubes so that they are easily on hand, even when they are out of season. “Freeze Herbs Into Ice Cubes” Whenever I need them in my favorite dish, I simply […]
Do you have a border in your garden? How about a decorative garden that you made yourself? Last year, I visited a garden that had a beautiful border that the owner made herself using concrete mix, broken dishes and glass beads. There were also lovely step stones as well. The creator of this functional garden […]
What kind of household cleaner do you use? Earlier this year, I had heard of DIY natural cleaners made from grapefruit and decided to try it out myself. The cleaner was very easy to make and I used grapefruit from my mother’s tree, although you can get yours from the grocery store. I was pleasantly […]
I have spent the past few weeks indoors whenever possible avoiding the desert heat. While I do venture outdoors occasionally to do consults and take a weekly tour of the garden to make sure everything is okay. We did lose a small tree and some branches during a fierce monsoon storm over the weekend, but I was grateful […]
I am excited to show you two pictures of one of my favorite perennials. Favorite Perennials Firecracker Penstemon (Penstemon eatonii) Isn’t this a cool picture of a bee, ready to pollinate the flowers of this penstemon? I must confess that I did not take this photo (or the other one below). My husband took both […]
Yellow is a great color to include in the garden. Why? Yellow-flowering plants will help the other colors in your garden to ‘pop’ visually because it provides great color contrast. Damainita (Chrysactinia mexicana) One of my favorite yellow-flowering plants is damianita, which blooms in spring and again in fall. It thrives in hot, sunny, desert […]
I love the color purple in the garden because the color, helps to visually ‘cool’ the garden. ‘Rio Bravo’ Sage (Leucophyllum langmaniae ‘Rio Bravo’) Have you ever wondered how some plants handle our hot temperatures and intense sunlight? Look carefully at the flowers, above. Note the small hairs covering the petals? They help to reflect […]
Do you like orange flowers? I do. Orange Jubilee (Tecoma x ‘Orange Jubilee’) Which is why I have the orange flowering beauty in my garden. Clusters of orange, tubular flowers hang from this large shrub from spring through fall, making the hummingbirds in my garden very happy. Learn more about this beautiful shrub and how to grow […]
I am sharing with you a few of my favorite close-up flower photographs this week. Here is one that brightens up my garden summer and into early fall… Sunflower It is hard to find a flower that grows so large and that is easy to grow. I plant mine from seed each spring and then plant […]
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