Summer is a season filled with warm weather (or hot if you live in the desert) and brightly colored blossoms.
While I usually enjoy the view of my summer garden from the comfort of my air-conditioned house, this year I’ve experienced a twist in my summer gardening experience.
I have spent time gardening this summer in an entirely different state.
It all started back in 2007 when my daughter, Brittney, met a handsome geologist and got married. Fast forward to 2015 and that same geologist finished his Ph.D. and got a job offer in Michigan. So, they packed up and moved to the picturesque town of Petoskey, which is located at the ‘top of the mitt’ as Michiganders like to say.
In June, they bought their first home, and I was on hand to help them with their new garden. Now, to be honest, my oldest daughter has never shown any particular interest in gardening to this point in her life, despite my best efforts. But, that was before she had her very own house and garden.
These next few posts will highlight our garden adventures, including me learning some new things about gardening in a climate where temperatures dip to -20 degrees in winter.
Planting roses for my daughter.
Whether you live in the desert southwest, Michigan or anyplace where you have a small area in which to garden – many of the same gardening guidelines apply, and I invite you to join me on a summer gardening adventure where I promise, you’ll learn a few helpful tips for your garden.
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My love affair with canning began a few years ago when I made my first batch of jam, under the guidance of my mother and I have never looked back.
The inspiration for me wanting to learn how to can food came with the family farm, which had a mini-orchard filled with apple, peach, and plum trees. Since then, I’ve made blackberry, peach, plum, and strawberry jams as well as applesauce.
In fact, I enjoyed canning so much, that I planted apple and peach trees in my garden.
I must admit that it took me a long time to decide what recipe to choose because all of them were so tempting. Who wouldn’t want to make blueberry-lemon jam, grapefruit marmalade, raspberry-lemonade jam, or vanilla bean-citrus marmalade?
In addition to creative jam recipes, there are also many delicious recipes for preserving fruits and vegetables as well as savory selections.
In the end, I chose to make a variation of nectarine-sour cherry jam.
For this recipe, you could use blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or even strawberries in place of the sour cherries. Because my husband and kids love blueberries, that’s what I chose.
Isn’t the color combination beautiful?
As it cooked, the jam mixture began to turn a delicious shade of purple.
Once the jam was finished cooking, I poured it into sterilized mason jars and processed it in a boiling water canner.
Now, I have seven jars filled with delicious jam for my morning toast.
It’s important to note that the cookbook doesn’t have a beginners section for those learning how to can and preserve fruit and vegetables – its focus is more on creative, canning recipes.
The equipment needed for canning isn’t expensive or complicated to use.
How about you? Do you like to can? What is your favorite fruit, meat or vegetable to preserve?
**I received the book, “Ball Brand, Can It Forward” for free. However, my review and opinions are my own.**
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Do you remember exploring your backyard as a child? I do.
I loved smelling my dad’s roses, digging into the soil for worms and hoping to find some interesting bugs (not spiders). My mother would give me a little margarine tub to put in any insects that I found along with some torn grass and leaves for them to eat. Sound familiar to anyone else’s childhood experience?
Last month, while in Michigan visiting my oldest daughter and her family, my granddaughter, Lily, showed me her little bug container, which was filled with bits of grass and leaves and a bug that I honestly couldn’t see.
It was during our trip that I found myself at the local store where I saw a plastic magnifying glass just for kids. So, I did what any self-respecting grandma would do and bought it.
Plastic Magnifying Glass
Lily could hardly wait to get home and explore the front garden with her new toy.
First, we had to examine the intricacies of a dandelion.
And then, the little white daisies at the base of the maple tree.
An ant hill was next on her list as she watched them busily scurrying about.
When I told her that these were lily flowers, she was delighted since they share the same name as she does.
I admit, that I had so much fun watching Lily explore the world around her and it did bring back some fond childhood memories of my own.
All said, it was probably the best $5 I’ve spent in a long while.
*What did you use to explore your garden when you were young?
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10 Drought-Tolerant Shrubs That Thrive in Full Sun and Reflected Heat in the Southwest
One of the most challenging situations in landscaping involves cultivating plants in areas exposed to both full sun and the unforgiving embrace of reflected heat. Reflected heat is the result of surfaces like sidewalks, walls, and patio decks absorbing daytime warmth only to radiate it back out later.
It’s easy to understand that the combination of intense sunlight and reflected heat can make it a daunting task to find plants that not only survive but also enhance these areas with their beauty.
Fortunately, there’s a selection of attractive plants ready to thrive in these sun-soaked and heat-kissed spaces.
1. Pink Fairy Duster (Calliandra eriophylla)
Native to the desert Southwest and northern Mexico, Pink Fairy Duster boasts airy foliage that transforms in spring with pink, feather duster-like flowers. These blossoms not only please the eye but also attract hummingbirds. While it can survive on natural rainfall, deep watering once a month in spring and fall and twice a month in summer enhances its appearance and flower production.
Hailing from the arid regions of Australia, Feathery Cassia presents fragrant yellow flowers against finely textured gray-green leaves in late winter and early spring. Its foliage adds a gentle green contrast to the landscape when not in bloom. The plant’s resilience to reflected sun and light shade makes it a versatile choice.
3. Beloperone (Justicia californica)
A native of the Sonoran Desert, Beloperone or Chuparosa, graces your landscape with red trumpet-shaped flowers in winter. Its bright green heart-shaped foliage offers a visually refreshing element to your garden, although it may be absent during drought periods. Beloperone is a favorite of hummingbirds, providing them with nectar during lean blooming times.
4. Little-Leaf Cordia (Cordia parvifolia)
Native to the Mexican desert regions, including Baja, Chihuahua, and Sonora, Little-Leaf Cordia offers papery white flowers that complement other colors in your landscape. Despite its delicate appearance, this shrub is robust and can withstand heat, sun, and drought, making it an excellent choice for low-maintenance gardens.
5. Texas Ranger (Leucophyllum frutescens)
Commonly known as the barometer bush, Texas Ranger bursts into purple blooms during periods of increased humidity following rain. Its gray foliage, covered with tiny hairs, reflects sunlight and has a velvety texture. Texas Ranger’s beauty shines when it’s allowed to grow naturally rather than being pruned into formal shapes.
6. Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis)
Jojoba, native to desert regions in Arizona, California, Baja, and Sonora, stands out for its evergreen foliage. The leaves are covered in a waxy coating that helps it withstand heat and reflected sunlight. Its vertically arranged leaves protect it from direct sun exposure, making it a hardy and versatile choice.
Native to South America, primarily Argentina and Uruguay, Yellow Bird-of-Paradise offers finely textured foliage and large yellow flowers with red stamens, adding color to sunny garden areas. It thrives in hot temperatures and can withstand both extreme heat and occasional frost.
8. Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spp.)
Bougainvillea graces your garden with vibrant colors during spring, with bracts surrounding tiny cream flowers. Its lush green foliage conceals thorns and thrives in areas with full sun and reflected heat. Proper irrigation includes deep watering followed by drying out before the next watering. These shrubs do great in containers as well.
9. ‘New Gold’ Lantana (Lantana ‘New Gold’)
Butterflies are attracted to ‘New Gold’ Lantana’s golden yellow flowers, covering bright green foliage from spring through fall. With its low growth habit, this shrub adds color to your garden’s lower sections. While typically grown in zones 9 to 11, it can survive winters down to Zone 8.
10. Natal Plum (Carissa macrocarpa)
With dark green leaves, Natal Plum offers an alternative to boxwood in intensely sunny locations. It produces white star-shaped flowers with a jasmine and orange blossom fragrance in spring. This South African native comes in various sizes, making it suitable for different sunny areas. Note that the sap of Natal Plum can irritate the skin, and the plant has thorns.
The above 10 shrubs are fantastic examples of plants that can handle full sun as well as reflected warmth. All the shrubs need consistent irrigation, but strong drainage.
Do you have a plant that you like that does well in full, reflected sun?
**For additional shrub suggestions, I recommend Mary Irish’s book, Trees and Shrubs for the Southwest.
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I did. My dad gave my siblings and me, each a small raised bed in the backyard. We would spend hours leafing through the latest Burpee catalog, deciding what seeds we would buy to plant in our little gardens.
I never forgot my introduction to gardening under my father’s guidance, and I enjoy doing the same thing with my granddaughter, Lily.
Lily, and her mom and dad, just moved into their first house, and she was very excited to be able to garden.
So, I took her to the local nursery in their town of Petoskey, Michigan and told her that she could pick two types of flowers.
After some deliberation, Lily decided on cosmos and marigolds.
Gardening With Kids
We brought them home and got ready to create a pot filled with flowers.
The pot was purchased from the local big box store and painted a bright shade of blue using spray paint.
The first step was filling the pot with planting mix, which is specially formulated for container gardening as it holds onto just the right amount of soil as opposed to potting soil, which can become soggy.
As we planted the flowers, I took the time to explain to 4-year-old Lily how the roots help the top part of the plant grow and flower.
I dug the holes, and she would put each plant inside.
Gardening With Kids
Then we patted down the soil and watered them well.
When we were finished, we had a colorful pot filled with cosmos and marigolds ready to sit by the front door.
As the flowers mature and eventually dry out, Lily will collect the seed and save it for next year’s garden.
We had a lovely time and Lily would call me “Plant Lady” and herself the “Plant Girl”. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon.
Have you ever spent time teaching kids to garden? What did you plant?
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I am always on the lookout for great examples of plants in the desert landscape. In my work as a landscape consultant, I drive through countless neighborhoods, which allows me to see lots of ideas.
A few years ago, I drove by a house that had a beautiful Hop Bush shrub (Dodonaea viscosa).
This evergreen, drought-tolerant shrub does wonderfully in our southwestern climate, and it is a frequent addition to landscapes I design.
It’s versatility is one of the reasons it is near the top of my favorite shrub list.
Hop Bush is a great substitute for Oleander shrubs.
They can grow up to 12 feet tall or be maintained at a shorter height – basically you can decide how large it gets.
Their height makes them a great choice to screen out an unattractive view in spaces where a tree won’t fit while providing shade for for windows.
Hop Bush can be allowed to grow into their natural shape or pruned more formally.
Native to the Southwest, Hop Bush is quite versatile and relatively fuss-free, especially if maintained by pruning every 6 months or so, as shown above. Here is another example of a hop bush shrub that has been pruned more formally, which it handles well.
Of course, you can always let it grow into its more natural form as a large shrub.
For more information on hop bush including what its flowers look like and why it’s becoming a popular substitute for oleanders, you can read my earlier blog post – “Drought Tolerant and Beautiful: Hopbush the Alternative to Oleanders.”
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Do you enjoy reading magazines about home and gardening? I do.
Often with the busyness of life, I don’t have as much time to read magazines as I used to. But, always make time for my favorite subscription, which is Phoenix Home & Garden Magazine.
I enjoy thumbing through the pages that are filled with colorful photographs and articles about beautiful landscapes and lovely home decor with a Southwestern flair.
I must admit that I have been impatiently waiting for the June issue in my mailbox. Day after day, I volunteered to go out to get the mail and several times, would come away with a handful of junk mail and bills and little else.
But, finally, it came.
So, why was I so excited about this particular issue?
Because my first article for Phoenix Home & Garden Magazine was contained within its pages.
Two months ago, I was contacted by one of the editors and was asked if I was interested in writing for them. Of course, I said yes!
I visited a stunning garden and met with the homeowners as well as the architect who helped them create their landscape.
It was a slightly new experience for me as I had to interview the homeowners, their architect, gardener, and builder.
There was so much to see from multiple water features laid with handcrafted Spanish tiles, beds of roses around the pool, a Southwestern Zen garden and an edible garden.
If you have a chance, I highly recommend grabbing a copy so you can see this spectacular outdoor space. There are also several other lovely gardens featured in the magazine as well.
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One of the many things that I enjoy about my job is when I am asked to visit school gardens.
You can read about a previous school garden visit here.
Yesterday, I was asked to come to my daughter, Gracie’s, class to talk about what I do as a horticulturist.
As I’ve shared before, Gracie has autism. She and the other kids in her class have been learning about gardening, which includes having their own school garden.
The kids were so excited to show me what they were growing.
Healthy, green tomato plants were laden with new fruit that the kids took the time to show me. Even though they were hidden underneath the foliage and still green, they knew where each new tomato was.
Gracie was anxious to show me a young squash growing.
The only red tomato in the garden took center stage.
In addition to growing plants, the kids were also learning how to compost, which they will use to help enrich the soil around their garden.
At the end of the garden plot, was a grove of struggling citrus trees along with a few grape vines.
The teachers and class had just inherited this neglected citrus grove and wanted to learn how to care for them.
Despite years of neglect, the trees were still had some fruit.
An old grapevine was growing into the grapefruit tree and Gracie had to show me the lone cluster of grapes growing on it.
Finally, the kids showed me their new peach tree, which they earned the money to buy from their recycling efforts.
The peach tree will be the first, of hopefully many new fruit trees, that will line the walk to the garden.
I had a wonderful time with the kids and found myself teaching the teachers how to care for their new garden.
Last weekend, my husband and I went away to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We’d been looking forward to leaving kids and work behind and spending time alone eating great food, sleeping in and long walks enjoying beautiful surroundings.
30 years ago
Now with past anniversary milestones, my husband would give me a piece of jewelry, and you would think that being married for 30 years would be marked by maybe a ring or necklace, but I wanted something else for this milestone anniversary.
Last month, one of my blog followers sent me a photograph of his stunning torch cactus (Trichocereus/Echinopsis hybrid), ‘Flying Saucer’. Ever since I saw the brightly-colored flowers of this cactus, I knew that I wanted one for my garden.
Since our anniversary trip was to take us through the city of Tucson, we planned a short diversion to B&B Cactus Farm.
As we pulled up to the nursery, I was hoping that they had a ‘Flying Saucer’ torch cactus just for me.
These cacti are native to South America and do very well in the desert Southwest. Their large blooms come in many different colors and often repeat throughout late spring and summer.
Walking through the cactus nursery, there was a large number of agave, cacti, and other succulents, which were somewhat distracting me from my mission to find the section where the torch cacti were located.
Finally, I found them!
Some were in full bloom like this ‘Blood’ variety.
Toward the entrance, they had the larger specimens including a few large ‘Flying Saucer’.
There were also some other hybrids as well.
It hard to believe that even the younger torch cacti could produce large, colorful flowers.
The blooms last only a couple of days, but there are often multiple blooms.
At this point, I should mention that while I appreciate many different types of cacti and use many in my designs, I only have a few in my landscape.
But, because I love flowers, I wanted to make room for one of these lovely cacti.
It is hard to believe how these cacti, that blend into the background throughout most of the year, are completely transformed by these breathtaking blossoms.
Now, back to my decision. As you might have expected, I was tempted by the other varieties of torch cactus. While they did have the ‘Flying Saucer’ one that I wanted, they only had a few large specimens. So my choice was to buy one large one or two smaller torch cacti for less money.
I elected to buy a smaller ‘Ember’, which looked similar to the ‘Flying Saucer’ and I picked the ‘First Light’ since I love pink flowers.
As we drove away, I looked back at my new torch cactus in the back seat thinking that I couldn’t wait to plant them when we got home. My husband smiled and said, “You never cease to surprise me, choosing cactus to mark our 30th anniversary rather than jewelry”.
We had a wonderful weekend together, and my torch cacti will be planted this week. I’ll be sure to show you pictures of their blossoms. Have you ever seen a torch cactus or perhaps, have one yourself?
For more information on these cacti and their beautiful flowers, click here.
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Drive through any Southwest neighborhood and you are highly likely to see cacti growing alongside shrubs and groundcovers.
I must admit that I don’t have a lot of cactus in my own landscape – there are three to be exact. But, the few that I have, I find myself particularly attached to.
This is my Mexican fence post cactus(Pachycereus marginatus), which I brought home as a single cactus cutting over 10 years ago. As you can see, it has grown a lot since then, growing taller and producing new stems.
Three years ago, we took a cutting from this cactus and gave it to our friends and neighbors, who live kitty-corner from our house.
Newly planted – March 2013.
Every since then, I’ve kept my eye on this newly planted cactus watching with interest as it grew.
November 2013
Eight months later, two new stems began to emerge. You can see the parent cactus in our yard in the background.
March 2014
A year later, the new stems were becoming more noticeable.
March 2015 – 2 years later
I was surprised at how quickly it grew.
Three years after planting.
Today, as I was driving home, I noticed a new little stem beginning to emerge.
Many different types of cacti can be planted from cuttings and it has been so much fun watching this one go from a single ‘spear’ to one with multiple stems.
Have you ever planted a cactus cutting? If so, what kind and how did it grow for you?
Click here, to read how to plant a cactus cutting.
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Summer Garden Adventures With a Twist
azplantladySummer is a season filled with warm weather (or hot if you live in the desert) and brightly colored blossoms.
While I usually enjoy the view of my summer garden from the comfort of my air-conditioned house, this year I’ve experienced a twist in my summer gardening experience.
I have spent time gardening this summer in an entirely different state.
It all started back in 2007 when my daughter, Brittney, met a handsome geologist and got married. Fast forward to 2015 and that same geologist finished his Ph.D. and got a job offer in Michigan. So, they packed up and moved to the picturesque town of Petoskey, which is located at the ‘top of the mitt’ as Michiganders like to say.
In June, they bought their first home, and I was on hand to help them with their new garden. Now, to be honest, my oldest daughter has never shown any particular interest in gardening to this point in her life, despite my best efforts. But, that was before she had her very own house and garden.
These next few posts will highlight our garden adventures, including me learning some new things about gardening in a climate where temperatures dip to -20 degrees in winter.
Planting roses for my daughter.
Whether you live in the desert southwest, Michigan or anyplace where you have a small area in which to garden – many of the same gardening guidelines apply, and I invite you to join me on a summer gardening adventure where I promise, you’ll learn a few helpful tips for your garden.
Summer Adventures: Pick Your Own Strawberries and Cherries
Can It Forward: Making Nectarine and Blueberry Jam
AZ Plant Lady, Book Review, Product Review*This blog post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). Thanks for your support in this way.
I love to can fruit, and so I was very excited when the publishers of The All New Ball Book Of Canning And Preserving: Over 350 of the Best Canned, Jammed, Pickled, and Preserved Recipes asked me to test a recipe from their book, free of charge, for my honest review.
My love affair with canning began a few years ago when I made my first batch of jam, under the guidance of my mother and I have never looked back.
The inspiration for me wanting to learn how to can food came with the family farm, which had a mini-orchard filled with apple, peach, and plum trees. Since then, I’ve made blackberry, peach, plum, and strawberry jams as well as applesauce.
In fact, I enjoyed canning so much, that I planted apple and peach trees in my garden.
I must admit that it took me a long time to decide what recipe to choose because all of them were so tempting. Who wouldn’t want to make blueberry-lemon jam, grapefruit marmalade, raspberry-lemonade jam, or vanilla bean-citrus marmalade?
In addition to creative jam recipes, there are also many delicious recipes for preserving fruits and vegetables as well as savory selections.
In the end, I chose to make a variation of nectarine-sour cherry jam.
For this recipe, you could use blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, or even strawberries in place of the sour cherries. Because my husband and kids love blueberries, that’s what I chose.
Isn’t the color combination beautiful?
As it cooked, the jam mixture began to turn a delicious shade of purple.
Once the jam was finished cooking, I poured it into sterilized mason jars and processed it in a boiling water canner.
Now, I have seven jars filled with delicious jam for my morning toast.
It’s important to note that the cookbook doesn’t have a beginners section for those learning how to can and preserve fruit and vegetables – its focus is more on creative, canning recipes.
The equipment needed for canning isn’t expensive or complicated to use.
Shop Ball® and Kerr® products at FreshPreserving.com
I blogged about my first canning lesson from my mom, when we made peach jam several years ago, that you can read here.
I’ve also written about my experience at making applesauce and blackberry jam recipes.
How about you? Do you like to can? What is your favorite fruit, meat or vegetable to preserve?
**I received the book, “Ball Brand, Can It Forward” for free. However, my review and opinions are my own.**
A Dime Store Magnifying Glass and a Whole Miniature World at Your Doorstep
Gardening With KidsDo you remember exploring your backyard as a child? I do.
I loved smelling my dad’s roses, digging into the soil for worms and hoping to find some interesting bugs (not spiders). My mother would give me a little margarine tub to put in any insects that I found along with some torn grass and leaves for them to eat. Sound familiar to anyone else’s childhood experience?
Last month, while in Michigan visiting my oldest daughter and her family, my granddaughter, Lily, showed me her little bug container, which was filled with bits of grass and leaves and a bug that I honestly couldn’t see.
It was during our trip that I found myself at the local store where I saw a plastic magnifying glass just for kids. So, I did what any self-respecting grandma would do and bought it.
Plastic Magnifying Glass
Lily could hardly wait to get home and explore the front garden with her new toy.
First, we had to examine the intricacies of a dandelion.
And then, the little white daisies at the base of the maple tree.
An ant hill was next on her list as she watched them busily scurrying about.
When I told her that these were lily flowers, she was delighted since they share the same name as she does.
I admit, that I had so much fun watching Lily explore the world around her and it did bring back some fond childhood memories of my own.
All said, it was probably the best $5 I’ve spent in a long while.
*What did you use to explore your garden when you were young?
Goodbye Arizona…Hello Michigan!
10 Shrubs for Full Sun and Reflected Heat
Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting10 Drought-Tolerant Shrubs That Thrive in Full Sun and Reflected Heat in the Southwest
One of the most challenging situations in landscaping involves cultivating plants in areas exposed to both full sun and the unforgiving embrace of reflected heat. Reflected heat is the result of surfaces like sidewalks, walls, and patio decks absorbing daytime warmth only to radiate it back out later.
It’s easy to understand that the combination of intense sunlight and reflected heat can make it a daunting task to find plants that not only survive but also enhance these areas with their beauty.
Fortunately, there’s a selection of attractive plants ready to thrive in these sun-soaked and heat-kissed spaces.
1. Pink Fairy Duster (Calliandra eriophylla)
Native to the desert Southwest and northern Mexico, Pink Fairy Duster boasts airy foliage that transforms in spring with pink, feather duster-like flowers. These blossoms not only please the eye but also attract hummingbirds. While it can survive on natural rainfall, deep watering once a month in spring and fall and twice a month in summer enhances its appearance and flower production.
2. Feathery Cassia (Senna artemisioides, formerly Cassia artemisioides)
Hailing from the arid regions of Australia, Feathery Cassia presents fragrant yellow flowers against finely textured gray-green leaves in late winter and early spring. Its foliage adds a gentle green contrast to the landscape when not in bloom. The plant’s resilience to reflected sun and light shade makes it a versatile choice.
3. Beloperone (Justicia californica)
A native of the Sonoran Desert, Beloperone or Chuparosa, graces your landscape with red trumpet-shaped flowers in winter. Its bright green heart-shaped foliage offers a visually refreshing element to your garden, although it may be absent during drought periods. Beloperone is a favorite of hummingbirds, providing them with nectar during lean blooming times.
4. Little-Leaf Cordia (Cordia parvifolia)
Native to the Mexican desert regions, including Baja, Chihuahua, and Sonora, Little-Leaf Cordia offers papery white flowers that complement other colors in your landscape. Despite its delicate appearance, this shrub is robust and can withstand heat, sun, and drought, making it an excellent choice for low-maintenance gardens.
5. Texas Ranger (Leucophyllum frutescens)
Commonly known as the barometer bush, Texas Ranger bursts into purple blooms during periods of increased humidity following rain. Its gray foliage, covered with tiny hairs, reflects sunlight and has a velvety texture. Texas Ranger’s beauty shines when it’s allowed to grow naturally rather than being pruned into formal shapes.
6. Jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis)
Jojoba, native to desert regions in Arizona, California, Baja, and Sonora, stands out for its evergreen foliage. The leaves are covered in a waxy coating that helps it withstand heat and reflected sunlight. Its vertically arranged leaves protect it from direct sun exposure, making it a hardy and versatile choice.
7. Yellow Bird-of-Paradise (Caesalpinia gilliesii)
Native to South America, primarily Argentina and Uruguay, Yellow Bird-of-Paradise offers finely textured foliage and large yellow flowers with red stamens, adding color to sunny garden areas. It thrives in hot temperatures and can withstand both extreme heat and occasional frost.
8. Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spp.)
Bougainvillea graces your garden with vibrant colors during spring, with bracts surrounding tiny cream flowers. Its lush green foliage conceals thorns and thrives in areas with full sun and reflected heat. Proper irrigation includes deep watering followed by drying out before the next watering. These shrubs do great in containers as well.
9. ‘New Gold’ Lantana (Lantana ‘New Gold’)
Butterflies are attracted to ‘New Gold’ Lantana’s golden yellow flowers, covering bright green foliage from spring through fall. With its low growth habit, this shrub adds color to your garden’s lower sections. While typically grown in zones 9 to 11, it can survive winters down to Zone 8.
10. Natal Plum (Carissa macrocarpa)
With dark green leaves, Natal Plum offers an alternative to boxwood in intensely sunny locations. It produces white star-shaped flowers with a jasmine and orange blossom fragrance in spring. This South African native comes in various sizes, making it suitable for different sunny areas. Note that the sap of Natal Plum can irritate the skin, and the plant has thorns.
The above 10 shrubs are fantastic examples of plants that can handle full sun as well as reflected warmth. All the shrubs need consistent irrigation, but strong drainage.
Do you have a plant that you like that does well in full, reflected sun?
**For additional shrub suggestions, I recommend Mary Irish’s book, Trees and Shrubs for the Southwest.
A Dime Store Magnifying Glass and a Whole Miniature World at Your Doorstep
Gardening With Kids: Painting and Planting a Flower Pot
Gardening With KidsDid you ever garden when you were a child?
I did. My dad gave my siblings and me, each a small raised bed in the backyard. We would spend hours leafing through the latest Burpee catalog, deciding what seeds we would buy to plant in our little gardens.
I never forgot my introduction to gardening under my father’s guidance, and I enjoy doing the same thing with my granddaughter, Lily.
Lily, and her mom and dad, just moved into their first house, and she was very excited to be able to garden.
So, I took her to the local nursery in their town of Petoskey, Michigan and told her that she could pick two types of flowers.
After some deliberation, Lily decided on cosmos and marigolds.
Gardening With Kids
We brought them home and got ready to create a pot filled with flowers.
The pot was purchased from the local big box store and painted a bright shade of blue using spray paint.
The first step was filling the pot with planting mix, which is specially formulated for container gardening as it holds onto just the right amount of soil as opposed to potting soil, which can become soggy.
As we planted the flowers, I took the time to explain to 4-year-old Lily how the roots help the top part of the plant grow and flower.
I dug the holes, and she would put each plant inside.
Gardening With Kids
Then we patted down the soil and watered them well.
When we were finished, we had a colorful pot filled with cosmos and marigolds ready to sit by the front door.
As the flowers mature and eventually dry out, Lily will collect the seed and save it for next year’s garden.
We had a lovely time and Lily would call me “Plant Lady” and herself the “Plant Girl”. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon.
Have you ever spent time teaching kids to garden? What did you plant?
Gardening With Lily…
An Attractive, Drought-Tolerant Hedge for Southwestern Gardens: Hop Bush
ShrubsBeautiful Hop Bush Shrub (Dodonaea viscosa)
I am always on the lookout for great examples of plants in the desert landscape. In my work as a landscape consultant, I drive through countless neighborhoods, which allows me to see lots of ideas.
A few years ago, I drove by a house that had a beautiful Hop Bush shrub (Dodonaea viscosa).
This evergreen, drought-tolerant shrub does wonderfully in our southwestern climate, and it is a frequent addition to landscapes I design.
It’s versatility is one of the reasons it is near the top of my favorite shrub list.
Native to the Southwest, Hop Bush is quite versatile and relatively fuss-free, especially if maintained by pruning every 6 months or so, as shown above. Here is another example of a hop bush shrub that has been pruned more formally, which it handles well.
Of course, you can always let it grow into its more natural form as a large shrub.
For more information on hop bush including what its flowers look like and why it’s becoming a popular substitute for oleanders, you can read my earlier blog post – “Drought Tolerant and Beautiful: Hopbush the Alternative to Oleanders.”
My Favorite Home and Garden Magazine With a Surprise
Landscape DesignDo you enjoy reading magazines about home and gardening? I do.
Often with the busyness of life, I don’t have as much time to read magazines as I used to. But, always make time for my favorite subscription, which is Phoenix Home & Garden Magazine.
I enjoy thumbing through the pages that are filled with colorful photographs and articles about beautiful landscapes and lovely home decor with a Southwestern flair.
I must admit that I have been impatiently waiting for the June issue in my mailbox. Day after day, I volunteered to go out to get the mail and several times, would come away with a handful of junk mail and bills and little else.
But, finally, it came.
So, why was I so excited about this particular issue?
Because my first article for Phoenix Home & Garden Magazine was contained within its pages.
Two months ago, I was contacted by one of the editors and was asked if I was interested in writing for them. Of course, I said yes!
I visited a stunning garden and met with the homeowners as well as the architect who helped them create their landscape.
It was a slightly new experience for me as I had to interview the homeowners, their architect, gardener, and builder.
There was so much to see from multiple water features laid with handcrafted Spanish tiles, beds of roses around the pool, a Southwestern Zen garden and an edible garden.
If you have a chance, I highly recommend grabbing a copy so you can see this spectacular outdoor space. There are also several other lovely gardens featured in the magazine as well.
Guess What Came In the Mail?
School Garden Visit
Growing FruitOne of the many things that I enjoy about my job is when I am asked to visit school gardens.
You can read about a previous school garden visit here.
Yesterday, I was asked to come to my daughter, Gracie’s, class to talk about what I do as a horticulturist.
As I’ve shared before, Gracie has autism. She and the other kids in her class have been learning about gardening, which includes having their own school garden.
The kids were so excited to show me what they were growing.
Healthy, green tomato plants were laden with new fruit that the kids took the time to show me. Even though they were hidden underneath the foliage and still green, they knew where each new tomato was.
Gracie was anxious to show me a young squash growing.
The only red tomato in the garden took center stage.
In addition to growing plants, the kids were also learning how to compost, which they will use to help enrich the soil around their garden.
At the end of the garden plot, was a grove of struggling citrus trees along with a few grape vines.
The teachers and class had just inherited this neglected citrus grove and wanted to learn how to care for them.
Despite years of neglect, the trees were still had some fruit.
An old grapevine was growing into the grapefruit tree and Gracie had to show me the lone cluster of grapes growing on it.
Finally, the kids showed me their new peach tree, which they earned the money to buy from their recycling efforts.
The peach tree will be the first, of hopefully many new fruit trees, that will line the walk to the garden.
I had a wonderful time with the kids and found myself teaching the teachers how to care for their new garden.
Who Needs Jewelry For an Anniversary When You Can Get a Cactus?
Arizona gardenLast weekend, my husband and I went away to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary. We’d been looking forward to leaving kids and work behind and spending time alone eating great food, sleeping in and long walks enjoying beautiful surroundings.
30 years ago
Now with past anniversary milestones, my husband would give me a piece of jewelry, and you would think that being married for 30 years would be marked by maybe a ring or necklace, but I wanted something else for this milestone anniversary.
Last month, one of my blog followers sent me a photograph of his stunning torch cactus (Trichocereus/Echinopsis hybrid), ‘Flying Saucer’. Ever since I saw the brightly-colored flowers of this cactus, I knew that I wanted one for my garden.
Since our anniversary trip was to take us through the city of Tucson, we planned a short diversion to B&B Cactus Farm.
As we pulled up to the nursery, I was hoping that they had a ‘Flying Saucer’ torch cactus just for me.
These cacti are native to South America and do very well in the desert Southwest. Their large blooms come in many different colors and often repeat throughout late spring and summer.
Walking through the cactus nursery, there was a large number of agave, cacti, and other succulents, which were somewhat distracting me from my mission to find the section where the torch cacti were located.
Finally, I found them!
Some were in full bloom like this ‘Blood’ variety.
Toward the entrance, they had the larger specimens including a few large ‘Flying Saucer’.
There were also some other hybrids as well.
It hard to believe that even the younger torch cacti could produce large, colorful flowers.
The blooms last only a couple of days, but there are often multiple blooms.
At this point, I should mention that while I appreciate many different types of cacti and use many in my designs, I only have a few in my landscape.
But, because I love flowers, I wanted to make room for one of these lovely cacti.
It is hard to believe how these cacti, that blend into the background throughout most of the year, are completely transformed by these breathtaking blossoms.
Now, back to my decision. As you might have expected, I was tempted by the other varieties of torch cactus. While they did have the ‘Flying Saucer’ one that I wanted, they only had a few large specimens. So my choice was to buy one large one or two smaller torch cacti for less money.
I elected to buy a smaller ‘Ember’, which looked similar to the ‘Flying Saucer’ and I picked the ‘First Light’ since I love pink flowers.
As we drove away, I looked back at my new torch cactus in the back seat thinking that I couldn’t wait to plant them when we got home. My husband smiled and said, “You never cease to surprise me, choosing cactus to mark our 30th anniversary rather than jewelry”.
We had a wonderful weekend together, and my torch cacti will be planted this week. I’ll be sure to show you pictures of their blossoms. Have you ever seen a torch cactus or perhaps, have one yourself?
For more information on these cacti and their beautiful flowers, click here.
A Newly Planted Cactus Cutting – 3 Years Later
Cactus/SucculentsDrive through any Southwest neighborhood and you are highly likely to see cacti growing alongside shrubs and groundcovers.
I must admit that I don’t have a lot of cactus in my own landscape – there are three to be exact. But, the few that I have, I find myself particularly attached to.
This is my Mexican fence post cactus (Pachycereus marginatus), which I brought home as a single cactus cutting over 10 years ago. As you can see, it has grown a lot since then, growing taller and producing new stems.
Three years ago, we took a cutting from this cactus and gave it to our friends and neighbors, who live kitty-corner from our house.
Newly planted – March 2013.
Every since then, I’ve kept my eye on this newly planted cactus watching with interest as it grew.
November 2013
Eight months later, two new stems began to emerge. You can see the parent cactus in our yard in the background.
March 2014
A year later, the new stems were becoming more noticeable.
March 2015 – 2 years later
I was surprised at how quickly it grew.
Three years after planting.
Today, as I was driving home, I noticed a new little stem beginning to emerge.
Many different types of cacti can be planted from cuttings and it has been so much fun watching this one go from a single ‘spear’ to one with multiple stems.
Have you ever planted a cactus cutting? If so, what kind and how did it grow for you?
Click here, to read how to plant a cactus cutting.