AZ Plant Lady

Neglected Herbs Lead to Beautiful Flowers…

I have a confession to make…

Sometimes I am a lazy gardener. Are you shocked? Will this revelation cause you to stop reading my blog?

In my defense, I must say that life gets rather busy and at the end of a long day, I forgo the opportunity to do some needed garden maintenance.

However, my reluctance to perform needed maintenance has a rather beautiful benefit…

Neglected Herbs

My herbs begin to flower in the absence of harvesting their leaves.

Now, I like growing herbs and harvest them so that I can use them both dried and fresh.

But, there are times that I don’t get out to harvest the leaves. When herbs are allowed to grow without harvesting the leaves – they begin to flower.

My sage (above) has beautiful purple flowers, don’t you think?

Neglected Herbs

Now, my green and purple basil plants are beginning to flower as well.

Herbs are best harvested before the begin to flower for the best taste.

So, what do you do when they start to flower? Well, you have two options…

– You could let them flower for a couple of weeks and enjoy their beauty.

– Or you could prune them back severely and let the leaves grow back so you can harvest them.

What do you think I should do?

A Harvest of Plums

AZ Plant Lady, Fruit Trees

Last Friday, my mother came over for dinner and brought with a box full of sweet, tart goodness…

Plums harvest

Don’t these plums look delicious?

There is a single plum tree on the family farm that is incredibly prolific.

Plums harvest

Every year, I look forward to making jam ever since my mother taught me how 3 years ago.

I usually have enough jam to last our family an entire year plus more to give as gifts to teachers and friends over the Christmas holiday.

After my mother left that evening, I got right to work and made my first batch of plum jam.

This time, I left the peels on the plums, which dissolve during the cooking process and create the beautiful ‘plum’ color.

Other years, I have peeled the plums by boiling them first for 40 seconds. It is a rather tedious process, but some people prefer plum jam without the peels.

For me, I like to make things simple – so the peels stayed.

Every summer brings a wonderful fruit harvest. First are the peaches followed by the plums. In a couple of weeks, I will be busy with the apple harvest. I got a new recipe for apple caramel jam that I can’t wait to try out.

For more information on how to make your own jam, check out my post “A Harvest of Peaches and Jam”.

**It may be hot outside, but there a lot growing in the garden. Join me every day this week as I post what is happening in my garden.

The Green Spaces of Chicago

AZ Plant Lady

Downtown Chicago is a very beautiful place with its architecture and the river flowing through it. However, most of my attention was focused on the green spaces.

How much can we see in 2 1/2 hours of walking?

My husband and I found ourselves with a few hours to kill before flying home after seeing our daughter’s graduation from the Naval base. So, armed with our camera and walking shoes, we set off.

We began our journey at Millenium Park, which is nestled in the heart of downtown Chicago along Michigan Avenue.

“Cloud Gate” or as most Chicagoans refer to it “The Bean” is a must see.

It looks like liquid mercury and reflects the skyline and city towers.

You can walk underneath it AND take a picture with your husband without having to ask someone else because of the reflection.

After viewing the ‘shiny bean’, we started walking along Michigan Avenue toward the Art Institute of Chicago.

I just love buildings with large lions standing in front of the entrance.

There was a huge line of people waiting to go inside once it opened. But, I must admit that I wasn’t going to waste my time going inside when I could see the pretty gardens surrounding it.

As we approached the South Garden of the Art Institute, I was surprised to learn that it was built upon a parking garage…

Staggered rows of hawthorn trees in raised beds provided a beautiful, shady oasis inviting passersby to stop and rest, read a book or even eat lunch.

Green Spaces of Chicago

Rows of ornamental alliums lined the pathway through the North Garden.

These flowers were large and so beautiful.

The North Garden was filled with beautiful perennials that had different shaped foliage and heights, which is a great way to add texture and interest to the garden.

Here is another example of two plants that have contrasting foliage. By placing them together, you highlight the differences between them showcasing their individual beauty.

This perennial plant caught my eye with its tiny blue flowers and pretty foliage.

It is called Brunnera macrophylla ‘Jack Frost’ and is a really wonderful plant that grows well in the shade. Slugs, deer and rabbits DON’T like it, which makes it a popular choice for woodland gardens. Which means that I won’t be growing it in my garden – it’s too hot with too little shade where I live).

Now, we were continuing our walk onto the Lurie Gardens.

On the way, we say a few hot dog carts selling Chicago-style hot dogs. I didn’t get one because I LOVE using ketchup on my hot dogs and didn’t want to offend anyone 😉

The Lurie Gardens were beautiful. Just look at the deep purple of the Meadow Sage.

The tulips were on their way out, but we could still see some white ones hanging on. Look at the layers of plantings above, with the different textures – I love it!

Green Spaces of Chicago

Whenever I visit new places, I like to see the different types of plants that grow there.

This interesting plant is known as ‘Prairie Smoke’. It is easy to see where it got its name.

I love blue flowers in the garden because blue is a color that is often absent in the garden.

This is Willowleaf ‘Blue Star’.

Peonies ready to bloom. One of two plants that I really wish would grow in my desert garden…but peonies need cold winters.

I liked the blue spiky flowers of Quamash.

There were docents, leading tours of the garden, which is free to all who visit.

In fact, to this point, we had not spent any money except for parking. The parks and gardens were all free.

Now, it was time to explore the streets of Chicago where I was happy to see many beautiful examples of creative container plant combinations.

Please come back to see more of our adventure in downtown Chicago where you will see my second favorite plant that I wish I could grow in my garden…

A Tiny Investment And a Huge Harvest

AZ Plant Lady, Vegetable Gardening

I love getting a great deal, don’t you?

Back in October, I spent $2.40 for eight heads of garlic, from my local grocery store.

I planted them and 7 months later, it was time to harvest them.

As I stepped into the side vegetable garden, I took a good look at my garlic. It was a lot bigger then in previous years.

I started pulling and realized that it was a lot harder to pull out then last year.

It was the biggest garlic that I had ever seen in my garden and I was thrilled.

Until I realized that I had planted twice as much garlic as last year and still had to pull out all of the remaining garlic.

A couple of hours later, I hauled in my garlic harvest…

All this for an initial investment of $2.40!

I had so much garlic that I couldn’t carry it in one load.

harvest garlic

The larger heads were almost 4 inches wide. However, the garlic that I grew in containers was quite a bit smaller – more like the size you find in the grocery store, which was fine with me.

Now all I have to do is to let my garlic ‘cure’ for a month in a dark, dry spot. That usually means that I put them on top of my large freezer in the laundry room.

Garlic will last about 8 months if kept in a dark, dry spot out of the heat. I don’t think we will be able to use all our garlic. Thankfully, I have plenty of people to share it with.

For more info on how to grow and ‘cure’ garlic, you can check out my earlier post “Got Garlic?”.

A Small Island

AZ Plant Lady

If you have been following my road trip, I wanted to show you a side trip that we made on our first full day:

We visited a small island off the coast of Georgia called Tybee Island.

Located just outside of Savannah, Georgia – Tybee Island is a barrier island and faces the Atlantic Ocean.

The walkway to the beach was flanked by dense growth. I even saw some Lantana growing wild. It is considered invasive in many humid climates.

As we walked out onto the beach, I couldn’t wait to get my feet into the water.

The beach was beautiful.

I love visiting the beach. I grew up on the Southern California coast and spent many a summer trying to get my fair skin to tan. (It didn’t work and now I am religious on putting sunscreen on).

It always surprises me how much warmer the Atlantic is then the Pacific ocean.

Up the beach was a wooden swing. I have never seen one at a beach before, but I thought – how perfect! If my husband had been there with me, I would have sat with him and watched the tide come in.

I like how these footprints in the sand lead through the grasses, don’t you?

Growing up on the West coast, I am used to seeing the sun set over the ocean.

However, I have never seen the sun rise over an ocean before, like many East coast residents do.

Near the beach, was a large concrete building, which was a ‘severe weather safe site’.

I could only imagine the hurricane and tropical storms that this island has had to weather over the years.

This post, shows how high the storm surges are for the different levels of hurricanes.

It’s hard to believe, isn’t it?

There is great shopping, dining and places to stay on Tybee Island along with beautiful beaches. I only wished that we had had more time to visit…

***************

Our road trip has been going very well, besides a solid day and a half of rain. I’ll post more about our adventures in North Carolina and Tennessee soon!

Home Again…

Unexpected Gardens

AZ Plant Lady

The past couple of days on the road have been both eventful AND uneventful.

Yesterday morning found us in Columbia, SC. We set on our way to find a folk art festival that was scheduled near the campus of University of South Carolina (USC), but couldn’t find it.

What we did find, driving through the campus, was a community garden, a rose garden and beautiful perennial beds along the roadside.

We parked near the university book store in the only spot we could find – we had only 30 minutes to explore or else we could get a ticket.

These perennial beds were filled with vegetables like artichoke and swiss chard, which look great as ornamentals alongside the pansies, dianthus and lamb’s ears.

Pink and coral poppies were in full bloom.

The red poppies in my garden at home were just beginning to fade before I left.

The campus of USC also has historical significance during the Civil War, where the parade grounds and barracks were located.

As we continued our walk, I kept seeing more things that got me excited.

As we turned the corner, we found ourselves in a small rose garden.

Isn’t this Peace rose, pretty? It was raining lightly as you can see.

This climbing rose used a nearby tree as a support.

I have grown many different kinds of roses, but never climbing roses. Maybe I should try?

Being from a dry climate, I am fascinated in observing the differences in gardens of wetter climates.

Okay, I know that those of you who live in more humid climates may be rolling your eyes at this point when you look at the photo, above.

But, I thought these ferns looked just beautiful growing out from the brick wall.

I am also always interested in seeing familiar plants, adapted to dry climates, being represented in other areas, like the Yucca, below.

We came upon the largest agave that I have seen, which is saying something because I see a LOT of agave.

I was having a great time and looking at my watch, realized that we had to start heading back to our car so we wouldn’t get a ticket.

But then, we came upon this community garden.

I was in heaven!

These raised beds were filled with delicious vegetables.

Next to the raised beds, was a garden with herbs, including these flowering broccoli.

The separate beds were divided, not with boxwood hedges, but rosemary. I really liked how it looked.

At the back wall of the herb garden, stood a ‘tipsy-topsy’ planter.

There was a different herb in each pot – chives, cilantro, basil, oregano and rosemary.

As the clock was ticking and we didn’t have any time to spare, we walked by this beautiful bed of flowers, containing one of my favorite plants – Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii).

USC has a beautiful campus and I was so happy to have to found such an unexpected garden ‘jewel’.

After leaving USC, we decided to visit the Confederate Museum in Columbia.

You see, my mother and I love to learn about history and that entails visiting museums and historical sights.

I am both a product of both the North and the South in regards to my ancestry.

It was time to leave Columbia for our next destination.

*The community garden was so wonderful that I will need to feature it in an upcoming post.

**Tipsy-topsy pots are very popular right now and aren’t hard to make. I found a tutorial that you can click on here.

Keeping America (and Phoenix) Beautiful

AZ Plant Lady, az plant lady family

A few Saturdays ago, I woke up early in the morning instead of sleeping in.

I drove to a site in downtown Phoenix in order to participate in our local chapter of Keep America Beautiful.

The gate led into a 15-acre site on Indian School Road and Central Avenue.

This site is “the largest transformation of vacant land happening right now in the country.”

Other volunteers were trickling into the area and we met in the center where we were given t-shirts, tools and assignments.

TroyBilt, is a huge supporter of The Great American Clean-Up and they had TroyBilt equipmen ready to be used to help clear weeds from the lot.

Over 4 million volunteers across the country, come together to help improve their community through a chapter of ‘Keep America Beautiful’.

The focus is on “waste reduction, recycling, beautification and community greening.”

The available assignments that day included weeding, trash pick-up, painting and creating ‘art’ from recycled materials.

I volunteered to help paint picnic benches and raised garden beds.

We used clear deck stain on all the wood surfaces.

I was able to make some new friends while we worked side by side.

After I had finished painting, I walked around seeing the other projects being done including some of the recycled art that will later be displayed at the site.

A group of girls were working hard on making a shield for a figure that was to be created out of recycled material.

This was the first time that I had participated in this kind of event and it was such a rewarding experience.

Click on the following links to see how you can participate in keeping your community beautiful:

Keep America Beautiful

Keep Phoenix Beautiful

An Unexpected Big Hole…

AZ Plant Lady

Earlier this week, I stepped outside to receive a delivery and was quite surprised at the sight that greeted me…

There were two men and a BIG hole in my landscape.

Of course, I knew that we had utility boxes for the phone and cable companies on our property. But, in the 14 years that we have lived here, no one has ever paid any attention to them.

Some of you may wonder if I was angry that I had a huge hole in my front yard.

Well, I wasn’t mad. You see, even though we own the property, I knew that utility boxes have an ‘easement’ that allows the utility companies to dig on your property without your permission.

In my work out in the field, I have encountered this often and when I design landscapes, I am careful to keep plants at least 3 ft. away from utility boxes AND keep a clear route to them from the street.

Now, utility boxes are ugly and no one likes to look at them. But, you can add shrubs and other plants to screen them from your view.

BUT, be careful! If plants are in the way – the utility company can pull them out. The Red Yucca, above, would most likely be removed if work had to be done since they are in the way.

Be sure to keep a clear route to the street when hiding utility boxes.

A few of these Purple Ruellia are also in trouble if work needs to be done.

I would advise decreasing the lawn area by 3 ft. and planting the Purple Ruellia there and leaving free access for utility work that may be needed.

Utility workers will make reasonable attempts to protect your plants as long as they are not in the way. They put a nylon tie around my Globe Mallow to keep it out of their way an put plastic down to protect the gravel.

It is normal to ignore the utility boxes, if you have them on your property and screening them out using plants is often, the first thing homeowners do when installing a landscape.

But, be careful where you place your plants. Try to keep them at least 3 ft. off to the side of the utility boxes and NOT in front.

Because sooner or later, the utility company will have to dig a hole to repair and/or upgrade their wires.

********************

Yesterday, we received a box of my daughter, Rachele’s civilian belongings. You see, as soon as she arrived at basic training for the Navy, she had to put all her clothes, shoes and other belongings into a box that was sent home.

It was a clear sign of her leaving behind her civilian life and the beginning of her military career.

In the box was also her cell phone charger. But I couldn’t find her cell phone.

Of course, leave it to my street-smart oldest daughter, Brittney, who simply looked inside one of the shoes where it was safely tucked away.

We are hoping to get our first letter from Rachele this week. We can’t send her any letters until we receive a letter from her because we don’t get her address until she sends us that information.

We all have written her letters and I just bought a lot of stamps – so I am ready!

Church Landscape Renovation 1 Year After…

Why Adding Trash to Pots is a Good Idea

AZ Plant Lady

In my last post, “Pots, Trash and Goodbyes“, I talked about how I bought some new glazed pots for my front entry.

You would expect that planting pots is pretty straight forward. But, what many of you didn’t expect was the ‘trash’ that I put in the bottom of my containers.

recyclable trash

You can see that the trash at the bottom of this pot consists of mostly recyclable trash such as milk cartons, soda and pasta bottles.

So why on earth would someone put trash in the bottom of a pot?

Here is a clue…

Have you bought potting mix lately?

It is expensive AND many pots are so large, that plant’s roots don’t reach down to the bottom.

So, why waste all that expensive, unused soil at the bottom?

Because this pot was to be filled with shallow-rooted annuals and perennials – I filled the bottom third of the pot with empty plastic containers.

I not only have saved myself money, but my pot also weighs a lot less then if I had filled the entire pot with soil.

If you are planting shrubs, trees or other deep-rooted plants, then you need a lot of soil for the roots to grow into – so, don’t use this trick for these types of plants.

The next time you plant containers, be sure to raid your recycle bin first for ‘trash’.

**You can also use foam packing peanuts in place of empty plastic containers.

**************************

Thank you all for your kind words of support as my daughter, Rachele, left for basic training yesterday.

We got a 1-minute phone call, telling us she was okay and that we would receive a letter in one week and a phone call in three.

My sister-in-law attended her swearing in ceremony in downtown Phoenix just before she boarded a plane for basic training.

She got her hair cut ahead of time.

Rachele didn’t want her dad and I to go because she said it would be too hard for her not to be sad and cry. So, I was happy that my sister-in-law, who worked nearby, was able to go and support her and take photos for us all to see.

We are all starting to write her letters and the ones that the kids wrote are so sweet and just break my heart because they miss her already.

Potting Demonstration

AZ Plant Lady

With warming temperatures, many of us begin to think about changing out our cool-season annual flowers for plants that can take the heat of summer.

Last week, I gave a potting demonstration for attendees of a local home tour.

Potting demonstration

The pots were then to be raffled off.

I planned on creating two succulent pots and one using a combination of perennials and annual flowers.

My daughter, Rachele, came with me to help carry the bags of soil, pots, plants, etc.

It was also an opportunity to spend time together before she left for the Navy.

There were to be two different potting demonstrations. I created one succulent pot ahead of time…

This container has pink-flowering Crown of Thorns, tall Lady’s Slipper, Variegated Elephant’s Food and a gray-colored cactus.

I like to create container plantings with a tall plant for vertical interest. The Crown of Thorns provides striking floral color. The Elephant’s Food will trail over the edge of the pot as it grows, which adds texture and softens the container’s lines.

Lastly, the gray-colored cactus (I admit that I don’t know what kind it is), adds great color contrast with its gray/blue color.

Soon, it was time for the first demonstration. My daughter took photos of me talking. The lighting is terrible because I was in the shade and behind me was the sun, but you can still see what I was doing.

Looking down at my notes. Can you tell I use my hands when I talk?

Planting the orange Calendula.

Adding Purple Verbena and filling the spaces with Celosia.

I just need a bit more Celosia in the front, don’t you think?

For this container, the tall vertical interest comes from Mexican Feather Grass. The bright color is from the Calendula. The trailing plant is Purple Verbena and gray Lavender provides the color contrast.

I used Celosia to fill in the empty spaces. I was pretty happy with how it turned out.

When planning on what plant combinations will look good in a container, I simply arrange the plants, while they are still in their containers at the nursery.

Now it was time for planting the second succulent pot.

First, adding the Elephant’s Food.

Ever wonder how to plant a cactus without getting pricked?

An old towel, folded into quarters (4 layers thick) works great. I covered the top of the Golden Barrel Cactus with the towel as I turned it over to plant. The towel came off easily once I was finished.

Newspaper is also helpful in planting cactus.

Almost done…

Finished!

The Blue Elf Aloe provides the height for this planting combination. Elephant’s Food will grow to trail over the side. The Golden Barrel cactus adds color contrast with its round shape and yellow spines. Ice plant with brightly-colored red flowers adds a needed splash of color.

The pots each went to good homes and raised money for future community projects.

Do you like growing plants in containers?

Or maybe, you haven’t tried before.

Well, it’s not difficult. Come back for a visit in a couple of days and I’ll share with you my container guidelines.

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Neglected Herbs Lead to Beautiful Flowers…

A Harvest of Plums

A Tiny Investment And a Huge Harvest

A Small Island

Unexpected Gardens

Keeping America (and Phoenix) Beautiful

An Unexpected Big Hole…

Why Adding Trash to Pots is a Good Idea

Potting Demonstration

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