California

Shopping for Plants California Style

Do you like to visit plant nurseries?

I do – especially when I am traveling. It is always nice to see what plants are popular in other areas.

Last weekend, my husband and I made at trip to California to visit our daughter who is serving in the Navy.

I always enjoy visiting California – not just for its nice weather, beautiful beaches, laid back people and the scenery – although those are all things that are reason enough to visit. The real reason that I enjoy spending time in California is that I grew up here.

I am a 4th generation, native Californian. Those who came before me were farmers, lumbermen, a city sheriff, a truck driver who worked his way to oil company executive and a social worker (who was my dad).

Now that my daughter is stationed in California, I now have more reasons to make the trip over.

During the course of our trip, we stopped by one of our favorite small towns, Carpinteria, which is located a few miles south of Santa Barbara. This is a wonderful beach town that is backed up by tall mountains.

As we got out of our car with the intent of heading to our favorite cupcake place, I noticed not one, but two plant nurseries just a few yards away. So, my husband and daughter patiently waited for me while I headed into to see what discoveries I could find.

I had not brought my nice camera on our trip, so I had to rely on my iPhone camera, which did a pretty good job, except that I tend to take a lot of pictures and my battery soon died. Luckily, my husband had his phone and I used it to take the rest of my pictures.

Believe it or not, I don’t buy a lot of plants when I visit nurseries – my landscape has more than enough plants in it. But I am always on the lookout for plants that I don’t know about or are new to the market.

Often, nurseries can serve as inspiration for your own garden with creative plant pairings as shown in the photo, above.

This particular nursery was filled with mostly flowering perennials, annuals and vegetable transplants.

purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and black eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)

I love a colorful garden and was excited to check out the flowering perennials. I did find a new perennial introduction called ‘Echibeckia’, which is a cross between purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) and black eyed Susan (Rudbeckia).

I saw this shrub that had been pruned into a tree. Its brilliant purple flowers were almost blinding. I’m not sure what it is – but it’s gorgeous!

*Update – a very kind reader (Rusthawk) was kind enough to identify this plant as Tibouchina – thank you!

I love Mediterranean climates and the plants that grow well in them. Many of these plants also grow well in the desert garden like lavender and lantana.

Like I mentioned before, I do love flowering perennials and I have both black eyed Susan and purple coneflower growing in my garden. However, I don’t have them in my regular landscape areas where it is not fertile enough and doesn’t get enough water. I plant a them among my vegetable gardens where they help to attract pollinators.

In addition to pretty perennials, I am a sucker for beautiful containers like these. Too bad that I don’t have a big enough budget to even consider buying these. I’m still figuring out what to do with my free Tuscan planters.

Butterflies and hummingbirds were flying about, enjoying the nectar from the colorful flowers.

Butterfly Weed

If you add butterfly weed to your garden, you’ll be bound to attract any butterflies nearby.

There were so many butterflies fluttering about that people were able to get up close to them.

A monarch butterfly was feeding on the purple blossom of a butterfly bush, seemingly ignorant of the people who stopped to admire it. A very nice woman, standing next to me, took a video and was kind enough to share it with me – Thank you, KD!

After I tore myself away from staring at butterflies, I decided to see what else this nursery offered in addition to to flowering perennials. My attention was immediately drawn by the variety of potted succulents. If you like succulents – there is no better place to grow them than in California where they enjoy the Mediterranean climate with its warm, relatively frost-free temperatures.

As I was looking at the succulents, I saw a bright flash of purple and bright green off to the side.

New leaf lettuce transplants had just arrived along with potted artichokes.

While my garden is not quite ready for fall planting, I am already envisioning rows upon rows of leaf lettuce, which is my favorite vegetable to grow.

Who says that vegetable gardens can’t be beautiful?

I plant both red and green leaf lettuce varieties in my garden each year. I like the gorgeous color contrast that also looks great in your salad bowl.

I also like these assorted kale transplants. I didn’t add any to my garden last year, but may consider doing so this year.

Have any of you grown kale? How did it do for you?

As I slowly walked back through the nursery, I stuck my phone in my pocket and was ready to join my husband and daughter who were patiently waiting for me.

BUT, as I walked out the entrance I found myself facing another nursery.

I’ll give you this glimpse of the entrance of the most unique nursery that I have ever had the opportunity to visit.

Behind its fairly unremarkable entrance, lay secret gardens filled with unusual plants that I will show you next time.

Blue Bells: A Beautiful, Yet Tough Shrub for the Desert Garden

Arizona, California

A few years ago, while visiting my sister in the Palm Springs area in California, we visited the Living Desert Museum. This is a combination botanical garden and zoo.

We had a great time exploring along with our kids and I enjoyed taking pictures of the different plants that I saw.

While walking through the gardens, I noticed a small shrub, which at first glance, I assumed was a small species of Leucophyllum (Texas Sage).

I took a quick photo and then walked on.

Fast forward 2 years later, where I found myself learning about a newer plant on the market that thrives in desert heat, is drought-tolerant, flowers all year and needs little to no pruning.

Now any plant that looks great but isn’t fussy in desert gardens is one that I definitely need to get to know better.

I found out that this particular shrub was supposed to look a lot like a gray Texas sage. That was when I remembered taking the photo, above.

I was thrilled to find out that I had been introduced to this plant earlier, but hadn’t known it.

There is so much that I can say about Blue Bells (Eremophila hygrophana ‘ Blue Bells ‘) and I have written an article about this beautiful, yet tough shrub, which you can read in my latest Houzz plant profile…

Great Design Plant: Try Blue Bells for Blooms in Dry Soil

Kitchen designs, bathroom designs, and more ∨

Hire residential landscape architects to help with all aspects of landscape design, from selecting or designing outdoor patio furniture, to siting a detached garage or deck.
A home remodeler or residential architect will see the potential in the architecture and building design of your home.

I strongly encourage you to be a trendsetter in your neighborhood by planting this lovely shrub in your garden!

Purple, Prickly and Gorgeous!

Arizona, California, desert, Southwest garden

If anyone asks me what is on my list of succulent favorites, Santa-rita prickly pear would be near the top.

Santa-rita prickly pear with new pads.

This beautiful prickly pear is also often referred to as ‘purple prickly pear’.

I love how the its gray/blue pads become gradually tinged with purple as the temperatures get cold.

To learn more about this particular prickly pear and why you’ll want to plant one in your garden, check out my latest article for Houzz.com…

Great Design Plant: Santa Rita Prickly Pear for Purple Appeal

Architects, interior designers, and more ∨

Use the help of top home decorators to select matching bedside tables and a new lamp shade for your own bedroom design.
Find a wall shelf, customizable closet organization and stylish furnishings to whip your closet into shape.

I hope you enjoy my latest plant article for Houzz. I’ve been working on profiling plants that thrive in the desert southwest.

Stay tuned later this month for another great plant!

A Garden Stroll Through Memory Lane

California

A week ago, my husband and I took a stroll through our past, visiting the campus of Westmont College in Montecito, California, where we met 28 years ago.

What is special about this place is not only the memories, but the beautiful gardens that surround it.

Last week, I introduced you to the converted mansion, the courtyard with its iconic fountain, the ocean view from my dormitory window and a glimpse of a beautiful flower garden.

Today, I would like to show you the small chapel, hidden among the trees, a beautiful pond, an area burned by wildfire and a garden filled with bird-of-paradise.

This small chapel sits underneath the canopy of large oak trees.

I have always loved oak trees because I grew up in Southern California where the hills are dotted with with these magnificent trees.

The chapel was built in the 1960’s to honor the memory of the then college president’s daughter who died tragically in an auto accident while attending college here.

Students can often be found spending a few moments in prayer here and I did my share, while attending.

Regular chapel services aren’t held here, but they do host weddings at the chapel.

I just love the view of oak trees from the windows, don’t you?

As you walk away from the chapel, you are greeted by the sound of water.

I like the simplicity of the water fountain in the form of am earthen jug, which does not compete with the surrounding, lush plantings.

The Weeping Mulberry, while leafless in winter, adds a graceful, drooping element to the water.

Believe it or not, Weeping Mulberry is also grown in Arizona. There is a large one at my other alma mater, Arizona State University.

As we left the chapel and its pond, the path led into a truly beautiful garden…

This was the favorite part of the landscape surrounding the college.

Boxwood hedges enclosed rectangular areas of lawn that were surrounded by staggered plantings of Tropical Bird-of-Paradise (Strelitzia reginae).

The bright orange and blue color of this tropical plant are quite familiar to me. They are the official city flower of Los Angeles, California where I was born.

Tropical Bird-of-Paradise is native to South Africa, but thrives in warm climates all over the world. Sensitive to frost, it is hardy to zone 9 and does grow in the low desert, when protected from afternoon sun. However, it does not grow as well in desert locations as it does in milder areas such as Southern California.

Even unopened, I think that the flowers resemble birds.

It was somewhat surreal to be walking through a garden in full bloom at the end of December when most of the nation was blanketed in ice and snow.

Tropical Bird-of-Paradise bloom in winter and spring.

While I love this flower, I don’t grow them in my desert garden. The reason for this is that they can struggle in our extreme heat and cold winters. It is a rare occurrence when I see one that is thriving and blooming in our low-desert climate.

As we walked through the garden, we heard the sound of running water, but could not see where it was coming from.

So, we headed up the stairs toward the sound.

The sound led us to a narrow, stone-lined trench, filled with water.

As you can see, the fountain part is subtle and understated. Its main purpose is to lend the sound of water to the garden setting.

As we continued our journey, we came to an area that is still struggling to recover after a wildfire burned parts of the school grounds in 2008.

A lone oak tree is the only survivor in this large, formerly treed area.

As you can see, there used to be a lot of trees.

There were signs that construction was soon to take place, so it will be nice to see what they will do with this area.

Our walking tour was almost over and I admit that I was doing a bit of huffing and puffing while walking up and down the mountainside where our college is situated. It was much easier to walk up and down when I was a 19-year old student 😉

Before we leave, I’d like to show you where my husband and I met, by our old dormitory 28 years ago…

Our dormitory was divided into men and women’s sections. It was connected by a bridge and you would often find us taking turns walking over to visit the other…

Our stroll through memory lane was almost over and I was sad to go.

Years after I left Westmont College, I finished my degree in horticulture. As a new horticulturist, I was given the task of re-designing the landscape around a golf-course country club building.

There is a popular saying with young women at the school, “I went to Westmont and came away with my ‘MRS’ degree.”

While I did not get my bachelor’s degree from Westmont, I did meet my husband there and become ‘Mrs.’ Johnson.

Thank you for allowing me to share memories and the beauty of the gardens of this special place.

A Visit to the Past and Through Beautiful Gardens…

California

Last weekend, our family loaded our suitcases into the car and headed out to Southern California to visit my second-oldest daughter, Rachele, who is stationed there at a Navy base.

I was excited to see Rachele, but also to visit that part of California since it is near where I grew up and also where I met my husband while attending college.

On Saturday morning, we left our younger kids with Rachele and ventured up into the hills outside of Santa Barbara in order to visit our college.

Westmont College is located on side of the mountains in the small town of Montecito.

Most people haven’t heard of Westmont. It is a small Christian, liberal arts college with an enrollment of 1,200.

The college is set among beautiful gardens that echo the Spanish/Mediterranean style.

Believe it or not, I was not interested in the gardens or plants when I attended Westmont. I was more focused on having fun, dating and passing my classes. At the time, I was decidedly “undecided” in what I wanted to major in.

I spent 2 years at Westmont before I got married and moved to Arizona.

Now, whenever I am visiting Santa Barbara, I like to take time to visit the beautiful gardens of my former alma mater.

I’d love to take you on a little tour of my favorite spots and share some memories…

This is the main administration building, which used to be the mansion that stood on this estate.

This is where my husband and I met. We both had part-time jobs in adjoining offices and I thought he was awfully cute and nice.

My favorite part of the building was the courtyard outside with its fountain.

I love the detail of the water fountain.

Years ago, I posed for this photo with my friend, Mary by the same fountain.

I love the look of stone finials, don’t you?

It may have been the end of December, but there were still blooms to be seen like this pink azalea and the hibiscus, below…

I couldn’t help but think of those whose gardens are frozen and/or covered in snow right now. The Mediterranean climate is truly wonderful – this area rarely experiences temps below freezing.

An old bougainvillea grew up among the stair railing.

I can only imagine how old this bougainvillea is.

I love garden gates, don’t you?

Especially when you notice the detail.

While the converted mansion and its surroundings were beautiful, the college has its share of plain, boring dormitories.

This was my freshmen dorm where I lived on the third floor. The dormitory looked much the same as when I attended except that there were video cameras and electronic door locks with card readers.

While the dorm wasn’t too impressive, the view from my room was…

I could see the ocean and the Channel Islands from my window.

Up above the dorm, on the mountainside was an old tea garden that was part of a large estate. Students would climb up and explore the ruins.

As we left the dorm, we walked along the path lined with Simplicity roses toward a building where I must admit that I did NOT spend much time…

This is the large boulder located by the library. Students could be found sitting on top studying or catching some rays.

There was a Chaparral Sage (Salvia clevelandii) flowering next to the boulder. This shrub can be grown in the desert, if given some afternoon shade.

I hope you have enjoyed the tour so far.

Next time, I will show you the small chapel nestled within the trees, a small pond, a stunning garden filled with flowers and the area that was burned in a large wildfire a couple of years ago.

c

Arizona, California, Citrus

something wrong with citrus tree

Last week, I came upon this citrus tree while I was doing a consultation.

At first, there was one problem that I noticed right away. As I peered closer, I saw that there was another problem affecting this tree.

The tree was well-fertilized and I could see no sign of nutrient deficiencies.

Can you tell what is wrong with this tree?

Leave your guesses below in the comment section and I will reveal the answer tomorrow 🙂

*You may be wondering why you should care about the problems of this particular citrus tree. Well, if you have citrus growing in your garden, you may have the same problem(s) and not even know it.

My hope is to help others identify and correct problems with their plants that they may not be aware of until it is too late.

Journey Into My Backyard – The Sonoran Desert…

California

I apologize, but life is kind of crazy this week, so I promise that I will get to back to my ‘Tree Planting’ posts soon. In the meantime, I would like to share with you one of my favorite posts that I wrote about 1 1/2 years ago. I was rather new at blogging at the time so most of you probably have not read it. I hope you enjoy it 🙂

When people think of a desert, most envision a place of intense heat, sparse plants, snakes and lots of sand. Well, some of that is true, but there is much, much more which I have discovered. I am not a native desert dweller. In fact, I was born and raised near the beach in Southern California and I never thought that I would live in the desert. However, here I am, having lived in Arizona for over 23 years and I wouldn’t have it any other way….

All of the photos were taken in an area about 30 minutes northeast of Phoenix.

The desert that I live in is called the Sonoran Desert and it occupies over 120,000 sq. miles covering parts of Arizona, California and Mexico. Although deserts around the world do not receive much rainfall, the Sonoran Desert receives more then any other desert in the world. We have two seasons of rain. In the winter our storms come from the west from the Pacific coast and the rains are usually gentle. In the summer our rains come up from Mexico and are called “monsoons”, which means “wind shift”. These summer storms are sporadic and result in torrential rainfall and high winds. Often, when we receive these torrential downpours, my kids and I just stand inside our front door, just watching the rain.

By the way…..you know you are an ‘official’ desert dweller when you rejoice whenever it rains.

Because of our dual rainy seasons, the Sonoran Desert has the most animal and plant species of any North American desert. We have over 2,000 native plant species alone. In the spring, the desert is awash in wildflowers and cactus blooms. The rain brings out the distinct, yet pleasing, scent of the Creosote bush (if you rub the leaves in your fingers, it smells like the rain). I live in zone 8b and we do experience occasional freezing conditions during the winter.

Interestingly, the western part of the Sonoran Desert, located in California (Palm Springs and surrounding area), is regarded as a sub-desert called the Colorado Desert. It differs in appearance and in that the soils are sandy, there is less rainfall in the summer and as a result there is less plant density and native plant species. The Saguaro cactus does not grow naturally in the Colorado Desert. If you have a chance to drive across the California – Arizona border, you can see the difference as you cross over the Colorado River. This sub-desert has a beauty of it’s own and I enjoy visiting this part of the Sonoran Desert.

The Sonoran Desert is a fascinating place with cactus and snakes (I rarely see them), but is also filled with trees, shrubs, flowers and wildlife. Far from being a barren wasteland, this desert is full of life and beauty.

It is my home….

Two Iconic Sonoran Desert Plants: Saguaro and Ocotillo

Beautiful Flowers and Fragrant Foliage….Try This Lesser Known Plant

California

I have been enjoying sharing with you some of my favorite lesser-known plants. These are plants that are not used enough in the landscape and can brighten up an otherwise boring landscape filled with over-used landscape plants such as Lantana, Dwarf Oleander, etc. My last post featured the beautiful Valentine shrub.

I am very excited to talk about this lesser known plant. Let me introduce you to chaparral sage (Salvia clevelandii).

Isn’t it beautiful?

Years ago, I planted the chaparral Sage above along with many others around a golf course. Their blue-purple flowers were a definite focal point in the spring time landscape.

The striking flowers begin to form in the spring and continue on into early summer.

This shrub is native to San Diego county and performs well in well-drained soil.

Like most of my favorite plants, this flowering shrub is low-maintenance. There are also many other reasons that I think you should definitely try this out in your garden:

Hardy to 10 degrees F.

And so mine is still green despite temps dipping into the low 20’s this winter.

Has a beautiful, naturally round shape. Only requires pruning by at least 1/2 its size in February and removal of spent flowers in the summer.

Hummingbirds will be congregating around the beautiful flowers.

Reaches a mature size of approximately 4′ x 4′.

The foliage is highly fragrant and is attractive even when not covered with flowers.

In the low deserts, it is wise to place the shrubs where they will receive filtered shade in the afternoons. In high desert locations, they can be set out in full sun.

The foliage is quite fragrant and while most people enjoy its fragrance, some do not. So, be sure to find a Chaparral Sage plant ahead of time to make sure that you enjoy the fragrance as much as I do before you buy some for your garden.

The fragrance is best enjoyed from a short distance, so I recommend not planting right next to walkways or windows.

Chaparral Sage looks great when planted near yellow, red or pink flowering plants.

I hope you will decide to try this shrub out in your garden. I absolutely love mine.

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

For those of you who are determined to be trendsetters in your garden, try these beautiful, fuss-free plants in your garden.

Refuge in the Desert

California, California desert garden, desert

For those of you who have read my blog from time to time, you have already met some of the members of “The Refuge” and seen glimpses of their gardens.

Today, I would like to take the opportunity to introduce to all of the residents and show you more of their garden and the beautiful desert that surrounds them.

The Refuge is a beautiful, green oasis, located in the California desert, near Palm Springs. Stark, beautiful, desert mountains surround them that are often covered in snow in the winter.

It does rain in the desert and is always a time of celebration. Dry desert washes, are suddenly filled with running water.

In the middle of this desert are the home and gardens of my sister and her family.

Peach Tree Blossom

In the middle of the desert, you will find life in this desert garden.

Yellow Daisy (Euryops pectinatus)

Flowers are lovingly grown by my sister, Daisy Mom.

Cape Honeysuckle (Tecomaria capensis)

Vegetables are grown by my nephew, Mr. Green Jeans.

My sister and niece, Fruity Girl, also lend a hand to the vegetable garden.

A large Mesquite tree graces the front garden….

And if you look closely, you will often find one of the residents of “The Refuge” high up in the tree.

We have heard from Mr. Compost, my brother-in-law, about how why we should compost and his guest post can be read here.

All that is left for me to do now is to introduce you to the supporting cast, which includes, Gimli, who is the son of my dog.

Missy….and their shy cat.

The beauty of the surrounding desert, the gardens of “The Refuge” along with it’s residents make this a very special place to visit.

There is so much that I am looking forward to sharing with you…we will visit the vegetable garden in depth and view more of the beautiful flowers that my sister grows.

We will also be going on a field trip to see a wind farm which is located close by “The Refuge”.

As the seasons change, we will be visiting the garden to see the changes that they bring.

Thank you for visiting “The Refuge” with me.

Cold Weather in the Desert ? Are You Kidding ?

California

This may come as a shock to some of you, but it does get cold in the desert. Tonight’s temperatures are dropping to the low 30s, which for us desert dwellers is cold. Below is a sampling of how winter looks in the desert.

I was surprised when I moved here from Southern California, that is actually got much colder here in the winter. I live in zone 8b and we do have a few nights a year with the temps in the 20’s, occasionally dipping into the high teens. Tonight, my neighbors have their frost-sensitive plants covered with either frost cloth or old towels. I just covered my 3 Lantana shrubs in the front yard with some old sheets.

I have enjoyed the photos of frost-covered landscapes that many of you have posted. My most memorable experiences with frost is of driving through the golf courses where I worked when there was a solid layer of frost on the grass. Everything was white and looked so beautiful.

I do enjoy the winter months, but I am always ready for the spring and warm weather….

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Shopping for Plants California Style

Blue Bells: A Beautiful, Yet Tough Shrub for the Desert Garden

Purple, Prickly and Gorgeous!

A Garden Stroll Through Memory Lane

A Visit to the Past and Through Beautiful Gardens…

c

Journey Into My Backyard – The Sonoran Desert…

Beautiful Flowers and Fragrant Foliage….Try This Lesser Known Plant

Refuge in the Desert

Cold Weather in the Desert ? Are You Kidding ?

Popular Classes and Membership Club

Shop for My Recommended Garden Products:

Sign-Up For My Free Guide to Gardening in the Desert!

Order My Newest Book!

My Award-Winning Book!