Over this past weekend, I found myself overwhelmed with an abundance of new plants.  

It all started with a visit to the Desert Botanical Garden’s annual fall plant sale.    

Desert Botanical Garden's annual fall plant sale.

I brought my son, Kai with me who was happy to follow me around pushing the cart.    

The best place to find great quality plants along with those that can be hard to find is this plant sale.  I also like to see the newest plant varieties so that I can stay up to date.  

I’ve learned over the years to come to the sale with a list or else a number of unplanned plant purchases make their way home.

Desert Botanical Garden's annual fall plant sale.

This year, I was proud of myself since I stuck to my list other than one extra plant.  Coral fountain, damianita, elephant’s food along with purple and white trailing lantana were going to replace plants lost this summer due to a problem with irrigation.

Desert Botanical Garden's annual fall plant sale.

Ironically, I found a picture of me shopping at the plant sale, posted by the Desert Botanical Garden on their Facebook page (I’m the one on the right wearing sunglasses).  

The silver lining for my husband was that despite the fact that I came home with 14 plants, most were being replaced, so no new holes or irrigation was needed.

Southern Living Plants

Later that afternoon, two UPS deliverymen showed up at my door with several boxes filled with new plants.

Yep, MORE plants!  

These plants were sent to me by Southern Living Plants to test how they will perform in Arizona.  

To say that I was happy would be an understatement.  Fourteen plants from the plant sale plus 8 of the newest varieties of plants to try out in my garden – I was in heaven.

Saturday morning dawned and we all found ourselves outdoors ready for a morning filled with gardening.

vegetable garden in preparation

My husband and daughter, Gracie, added a new layer of compost and manure to the vegetable garden in preparation for planting carrots, garlic, leaf lettuce, radishes and Swiss chard.  Meanwhile, I got to work opening up the boxes holding my newest plants.

'Sunshine' shrub.

The first new plant variety to test was a Ligustrum ‘Sunshine’ shrub.

Desert Botanical Garden's annual fall plant sale.

I liked the yellow-green color, which would add great color contrast to the garden.

Desert Botanical Garden's annual fall plant sale.
Desert Botanical Garden's annual fall plant sale.
'Lemon Lime', 'Obsession' and 'Pink Blush'

Several new varieties of Nandina including ‘Flirt’, ‘Lemon Lime’, ‘Obsession’ and ‘Pink Blush’ will find a home along the side of my house, which faces south.

Opening each box and discovering a beautiful plant made me feel like it was Christmas Day.

desert tortoise called Aesop

As I was opening up the boxes of plants, the newest addition to our family (a desert tortoise called Aesop) came out to see what we were up to.

Desert Botanical Garden

He kept walking around the patio, circling around us before he would travel to the grass for a quick snack…

Aesop has grown quite friendly and will venture out when he sees us out and about.  He will also let us pet him.

We were pleasantly surprised at how much time he spent with us.  Aesop would walk around and around the patio, just watching what we were doing.

As you can see, he can walk quickly (for a tortoise).

Desert Botanical Garden
Desert Botanical Garden

Back to the plants, I opened up boxes that contained two new salvias – ‘Killer Cranberry’ and ‘Little Kiss’ which will be located in filtered shade, next to the patio, where they will do best.

The last box that I unpacked revealed a completely new plant to me, which I was anxious to try.

Platinum Beauty

Lomandra ‘Platinum Beauty’, which is a variegated ornamental grass.

Of the new plants, I expect the nandina varieties to do well since regular nandina does.  Salvia will also perform well in filtered shade in desert gardens.

However, I am looking forward to seeing how the ligustrum and lomandra will do in an Arizona garden.

I promise to keep you updated as to how they all perform.

Sonoran Tortoise Adoption Facility - checking out the baby tortoises

Photo: Sonoran Tortoise Adoption Facility – checking out the baby tortoises.

It has been just over a month since we adopted Aesop and we have all been surprised at how much fun it has been seeing him walking to and fro in the backyard or looking outside and seeing him outside our patio door taking a drink of water from his dish.

hibernate time

With the cooling temperatures, he will soon hibernate, but in the meantime, Aesop has been spending more time walking around during the day as the temperatures have begun to cool somewhat.

To find out more about our adoption journey with Aesop, click here

For those of us who love to garden, we are often looking out for new inventions and products to decrease the amount of time we need to maintain our garden while also increasing our enjoyment.

annual Garden Writer's Conference

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the annual Garden Writer’s Conference, which was held in Pasadena, CA.

In addition to informative seminars and tours of beautiful gardens, there was also a tradeshow connected to the conference.

The tradeshow was made up of vendors connected to the garden industry.  Their goods ranged from newly invented tools to make gardening tasks easier, unique garden items as well as the new plant introductions.

Today, I’d like to show you a few of the garden products that I felt would interest you.

(My next post will involve some of the newest plants on the market.)

Bloem Living

Soft-sided garden containers were a prevalent item at the show.  I particularly liked these colorful options offered in small to large sizes by Bloem Living

‘Bloem Bagz’ are made from recycled water bottles and can be used for growing flowers, herbs,  vegetables or whatever type of plant you like.

new inventions

They even have a raised bed with bamboo supports that begins flat and easily folds out.  I can just picture growing herbs in this container.

new inventions , Smart Pots

Along the same line, Smart Pots, offers larger fabric raised beds that are ideal for creating raised vegetable beds.

new inventions , Smart Pots

Also offered are bags that you can be used to create your own compost bin.  Imagine not having to build a compost bin out of wood?

new inventions , Smart Pots

As you can see, the bags come folded flat.

new inventions , Smart Pots

They then easily unfold to create a portable and inexpensive container.

According to their literature, Smart Pots have excellent drainage, last for years and decrease the amount of heat retained inside the soil during summer.

innovative garden container

Before we leave the innovative garden container products, I’d like to show you ‘Ups-A-Daisy’.

new inventions , Smart Pots

These are planter inserts that fit inside of containers, decreasing the amount of expensive planting soil that goes into pots.

rainbow-colored

I really enjoyed myself in this booth with its rainbow-colored products.

The Dramm display was largely dedicated to devices for watering plants.

From long and short watering wands in any color you could imagine to innovative hose-end spray nozzles that have a multitude of settings from watering plants, washing your car or even your dog.

rainbow-colored

There was even a chocolate colored spray wand, which lent a somewhat elegant look to a garden tool.

Greenview Fertilizer

The folks from Greenview Fertilizer had a variety of organic fertilizers.

For Southwest gardeners, the citrus, palm, rose and all-purpose plant food would be a welcome addition to the garden.

I was given samples of the citrus fertilizer, which I can’t wait to use for my lemon and orange trees.

Stretch Tie

Stretch Tie is an expandable plant tie.  This innovative tie expands and moves with plants as they grow, instead of girdling them as inflexible ties can do.

You can use these plant ties for houseplants, tomatoes, trees, and vines.  I will be giving some to my mother for helping her train her gourd vines.

 Garden Connects.

Another garden tie product that I found interesting was Garden Connects.  I met the woman who invented them and it was easy to see how these silicon connectors could be used to canes and small stakes such as those used to create teepees  for vegetable vines to crawl up on.

different varieties of flower and vegetable seeds

While the sight of a rack filled with many different varieties of flower and vegetable seeds may not look out of the ordinary…

Renee's Garden Seed Company.

One that has seeds free for the picking isn’t something you see every day.

Not surprisingly, this was a popular display – not just because the seeds were free, but because the types of seeds offered.  Many new or hard to find varieties of seeds were offered through Renee’s Garden Seed Company.

I can’t wait to grow the white, pink and pale yellow California poppies seeds that I got as well as some new varieties of nasturtium and poppy flowers.

Botanical Interests and Irish Eyes Seed companies also had impressive seed displays, several of which, made their way into my suitcase for the trip home. 

I hope that you are intrigued by many of these garden products as much as I am.

new inventions

Next time, I will share with you some of the new plant introductions that were on display and my attempt to bring many home in my suitcase 🙂

**If you haven’t had a chance yet, I invite you to enter the giveaway for a great gardening book called “Getting Potted in the Desert”.  The drawing is this coming Monday!

Imagine a garden with containers filled with a variety of colorful flowers, herbs, ornamental grasses, succulents and even vegetables.

beautiful plants

Wouldn’t you love to have pots that look like this, overflowing with beautiful plants?

But, what if you live in the desert?  Can you grow plants in pots that aren’t just beautiful but that can thrive in our hot, dry climate?  

Believe it or not, you can. Whether your container garden is limited to one pot or several – you can grow plants in pots in the desert garden.  

beautiful plants

Now before you say, “I’ve got a black thumb…everything I plant in pots die”, I have a great resource for you.

Container Gardening Book

“Getting Potted In The Desert” is a wonderful resource that shows you step-by-step instructions on how to create beautiful potted gardens that will thrive in our desert climate.

Getting Potted In The Desert

While you can find other books that offer helpful advice on how to create potted gardens, “Getting Potted In The Desert” speaks specifically to those of us who live and garden in the desert Southwest where our hot, dry summers bring about special challenges.

Beyond the helpful advice on selecting containers and the right location, the book also talks about plant choices including flowering annuals, perennials, grasses, herbs, succulents and vegetables.

Getting Potted In The Desert

Clear and easy to understand guidelines are given on how to water, fertilize and how to adjust to changing weather conditions including freezing temperatures.

What’s even better, the guidelines are broken up into monthly guides, making growing plants in pots, easy.

Lists of plants that do well in the desert container garden are also given along with lovely photographs of pots filled with plants, which will inspire you.  

Herb Container Garden

Herb Container Garden 

The author, Marylee Pangman, has over 20 years of experience growing potted plants in the desert.  In fact, she is a certified Master Gardener and had her own company, “The Contained Gardener”, where she designed and maintained container gardens for clients.

In addition, she has taught numerous classes on growing potted gardens that can withstand hot summers and desert winters.  

Flower and Vegetable Container Garden

Flower and Vegetable Container Garden

As a horticulturist who has planted and maintained container gardens over the years, I can tell you that Marylee’s book is a godsend for those who love container gardening and need practical guidance.

You can order your own copy of “Getting Potted In The Desert” and find out more about Marylee at  www.potteddesert.com

*I was provided with a free copy of this book for my honest review.

Book Review: Potted, DIY Stylish Garden Containers

Fall is finally here and it’s time to get busy in the garden.  Did you know that fall is the best time of year to add new plants?  It doesn’t matter where you live, planting in fall gives plants three seasons to grow a healthy root system before summer arrives.

shrubby germander(Teucrium fruiticans).

Teucrium fruticans Azureum

Today, I’d like to share with you another drought tolerant and beautiful plant – shrubby germander(Teucrium fruiticans).

While it’s name may not be impressive, this shrub certainly has a lot to boast about.

Shrubby germander planted alongside Mexican honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera)

Shrubby germander planted alongside Mexican honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera) 

First, it has blue flowers that add welcome color that contrasts with other colors such as orange and red.

Young shrubby germander growing alongside red autumn sage (Salvia greggii)

Young shrubby germander growing alongside red autumn sage (Salvia greggii) 

The silvery foliage also adds great color contrast to the landscape when paired near plants with darker green foliage.

Shrubby germander

Shrubby germander can grow 5 – 6 ft. tall and wide, however, there is also a more compact variety ‘Azureum’ that only reaches 3 ft.

For more reasons why you’ll want to add this attractive shrub to your landscape, check out my latest plant profile for Houzz.com.

 

Drought Tolerant and Beautiful: Bear Grass

The beginning of fall is only a few weeks away as the long summer winds down.  Fall is a wonderful time in the garden and is the best time of year for adding new plants, allowing them a chance to grow before the heat of next summer arrives.

Fall Blooms for the Southwest Garden

Turpentine bush (Ericameria laricifolia) in bloom

When deciding what plants to add to your garden, many people concentrate on incorporating plants that bloom in spring and summer, but there are a number of attractive plants that bloom in fall.

Pink muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris)

Fall Blooms, Pink muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris)

Using plants with overlapping bloom periods ensure year-round beauty for your landscape.

Damianita (Chrysactinia mexicana)

Damianita (Chrysactinia mexicana)

Many plants that flower in fall also flower at other times of year as well such as damianita(Chrysactinia mexicana), Mexican honeysuckle(Justicia spicigera) and autumn sage(Salvia greggii).

Early October is a great time to start adding new plants, so now is a great time to decide what type of fall-blooming plants to add.

I recently shared 10 of my favorite, drought tolerant fall bloomers in my latest article for Houzz.  I hope you’ll include some of these in your landscape where they will help to decorate your fall landscape.

 

Do you have a favorite fall-blooming plant?

What to Do In The Southwest Garden – September

It has been a week since we adopted Aesop, our desert tortoise.

I must admit that I initially thought that tortoises were rather boring.  But, Aesop is anything but.

our desert tortoise (Aesop)

our desert tortoise (Aesop)

Our backyard is fairly big and Aesop has been busy exploring every nook and cranny.

Yesterday, I had a rare day where I was able to sit at my computer and write all day.  When I would pause now and then to look outside, I often saw Aesop making his way across the lawn toward his favorite clump of shrubs or sitting eating grass.

our desert tortoise (Aesop)

In the afternoon, when I looked out the window to see where he was, I was surprised to see him on the patio, looking in the window at me!

Besides hanging out underneath our shrubs and eating grass, Aesop likes to drink water and has even tried some cilantro.

Tobey

Last evening, we were alerted to Aesop’s presence by our smallest dog, Tobey, who gets very excited whenever he sees him walking.  But this time, Tobey seem extra agitated.

When I looked out the window, I saw Aesop entertaining a visitor…

feral cats

One of the feral cats who visit our garden from time to time, was standing a couple of feet away from Aesop.  It was obvious that the cat had never seen a tortoise before and didn’t quite know what to make of him.

Aesop didn’t seem intimidated by the cat’s presence as he was busy eating grass.

We are enjoying Aesop’s adventures and are so happy with our decision to adopt him!

Meet “Aesop” Our Sonoran Desert Tortoise

We recently welcomed a new member to our family and have named him “Aesop”.

Newest Addition "Aesop".

We chose him from a selection that included several of his ‘friends’.

Newest Addition "Aesop".

My husband and daughter, Gracie, were very excited about the newest member of our family.

Newest Addition "Aesop".

We strapped him in and began our journey home where his new home awaited.

Now at this point, you may be wondering if Aesop is a cat or dog.

The answer is neither.  

However, I will give you a couple of hints:

– We did adopt Aesop from a shelter (of sorts)

-We don’t actually own him – we are his ‘caretakers’.

-His name may give you a clue as to what type of animal he is.

If you think you know that answer OR are tired of guessing, click here to see the newest member of our family.

 
 

The newest member of our animal family is unique in that he isn’t furry and just happens to carry his house on his back.

Meet "Aesop" Our Sonoran Desert Tortoise

Sonoran Desert Tortoise

I’d like to introduce you to “Aesop”.

Aesop is a Sonoran desert tortoise who make their home in the deserts of the Southwest .

You may be wondering why someone would want to adopt a desert tortoise and how the process works.

As for the why, as a child, my best friend’s family had a tortoise who lived in their backyard.  His name was “Lopez”.  I always enjoyed watching him munching on grass as he slowly made his way through the backyard.

Meet "Aesop" Our Sonoran Desert Tortoise

Sonoran Desert Tortoise

In my career as a horticulturist who has spent a lot of time in the desert, I’ve come in contact with these special animals including helping one cross a busy road.

Due to loss of habitat in the desert as well captive tortoises breeding, there are many looking for homes.

My husband and I had always liked the idea of getting a tortoise, but with our dogs having free run of our backyard, it wasn’t feasible.

We recently created a dog run along our rather large side yard, so our dogs no longer have access to the backyard.  So, our dream of acquiring a desert tortoise could be fulfilled.

So how do you get a desert tortoise?

First, if you live in Arizona, California, Nevada or New Mexico, you visit your state’s Game & Fish Department’s website, where you learn about desert tortoises and then fill out an application.

Guidelines on creating a tortoise shelter is found on the website, which must be completed before you till out the application.

The application itself is fairly simple.  You need to take photographs of your backyard space and tortoise shelter, which you submit along with the application.

Once you are approved, you are invited to pick up your new tortoise.  

desert tortoise adoption facility

My husband, daughter and I headed out to the nearest desert tortoise adoption facility, which for us was at the Arizona Game & Fish Department’s facility off of Carefree Highway in Phoenix.

*There are several other adoption facilities throughout other areas in Arizona and other Southwestern states. 

desert tortoise adoption facility

We arrived on an adoption day where they were trying to have 50 desert tortoises adopted.

We showed them our application, gave a donation and went inside the gates.  

adult tortoises

There were several adult tortoises, sitting in boxes just waiting for someone to pick them and take them home.

But, we passed them by so that we could see the baby tortoises.  

several young tortoises

There were several young tortoises walking around in a plastic swimming pool

Meet "Aesop" Our Sonoran Desert Tortoise

The smaller tortoises in this photo were about 3-years old.

Meet "Aesop" Our Sonoran Desert Tortoise

This tiny tortoise was the size of a cookie and was 1-year old.

We weren’t in the market for a baby tortoise, since our new home for our tortoise was not enclosed and we were afraid that they would get lost.

It was fun to see them though and get a better understanding on how slowly these reptiles grow.

 adult tortoises inside.

We walked back to the row of boxes to examine the adult tortoises inside.

Meet "Aesop" Our Sonoran Desert Tortoise

There were a few young females, which we decided against since they can carry sperm for up to 4 years and we didn’t want the chance of having baby tortoises.

Meet "Aesop" Our Sonoran Desert Tortoise

And another tortoise who had three legs.  He got along fairly well on his three limbs and we asked whether he was a male or female.

Meet "Aesop" Our Sonoran Desert Tortoise

At that time, we were given a lesson on how to tell the difference between males and females.

Meet "Aesop" Our Sonoran Desert Tortoise

The underside of males are slightly concave while females had a flat underside. This tortoise was a male.

While we liked this one very much, we were worried that the may have trouble navigating the concrete curbing around our lawn, filled with Bermuda grass, which is a favorite food of desert tortoises.

Meet "Aesop" Our Sonoran Desert Tortoise

As we moved down the row of tortoises, we finally found one that was perfect.

male tortoise

This male tortoise was a good size and was very active…for a tortoise 😉

desert tortoise
desert tortoise

We took our tortoise and loaded him up in the car.

I don’t know who was more excited, my husband or my daughter, Gracie.

When you adopt a desert tortoise, you don’t ‘own’ them.  You are caretakers and aren’t allowed to take them outside of the state where you adopted them from.

Tortoises live up to 100 years, so people often hand them down to friends of family members.  Of course, you can always take them back to the facility where you adopted them from.

Aesop his new home

Once we arrived home, we showed Aesop his new home.

We created it out of an old plant container that we cut in half and buried with several inches of soil, which helps to insulate it against extreme cold and heat.

Aesop his new home

Aesop was curious about his new home.

Aesop his new home

We decided to name him “Aesop” in a nod to Aesop’s fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare.”

Aesop his new home

After a minute of looking in his shelter, Aesop headed out to explore his new habitat and then wWe stood and watched him slowly walk around.

Aesop his new home

He nibbled on a few red bird-of-paradise leaves as he walked by.

walk on our lawn

Grass is a favorite food of tortoises and he was happy to walk on our lawn.

**The unevenness of our lawn is a rather recent development since our 13-year old son is learning how to mow.  As you can see, he has a bit more practicing to do before he gets it right.

Sonoran Desert Tortoise

Sonoran Desert Tortoise

Exploring the areas against our block wall, Aesop soon found my globe mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua), which is found on lists of plants that they like.  Our desert willow will also provide him with some of his favorite flowers too.

In the 3 days since we adopted him, he had spent a lot of time exploring the entire backyard including the patio and the areas underneath our shrubs and vines.

In the morning and late afternoon, we see him grazing on our lawn, taking a stroll on the patio before heading to his favorite spot…

Sonoran Desert Tortoise

Underneath our purple lilac vines, where he likes to spend the night.

We have fun walking outdoors and looking for him to see where he is.

In October, Aesop will hibernate until spring, but in the meantime, we will enjoy the privilege of hosting one of these desert animals.

**For more information on desert tortoise care and how to adopt them, click here.**

Have you ever seen a desert tortoise or know someone who has one?

Goodbyes are always hard. Today, I had to say goodbye to both my daughter and granddaughter as they start their new lives in Petoskey, Michigan along with my son-in-law.

my daughter and granddaughter moved to Petoskey, Michigan

My daughter is an Arizona native and this is the beginning of a wonderful adventure for her and her young family.

my daughter and granddaughter move to Petoskey, Michigan

The past 3 weeks have been a whirlwind of packing, saying goodbye to her students at the local  high school where she is was a history teacher.

So why are they moving to Michigan – a place that my daughter has never visited before?

My son-in-law was hired as a professor at Northern Central Michigan College in Petoskey, which sits near the top of the ‘mitten’ of Michigan.

He had to leave quickly to get settled in before the new semester began, leaving my daughter to get everything packed up.

my granddaughter, Lily

Moving day was exciting for my granddaughter, Lily who watched as the movers took everything that was near and dear to her and put it in a big truck.

my granddaughter, Lily

After standing for awhile, she pulled out a chair to sit and watch all the activity until it was time to load up the chair she was sitting on.

my granddaughter, Lily with her grandpa

Her grandpa and I did our best to keep her occupied with all of the changes going on.

The best part of this entire process was that they moved in with us for several days while my daughter finished her last week teaching.

my granddaughter, Lily

We helped Lily keep in touch with her dad by texting him pictures that she drew for him.

With all the changes, Lily very well for a 3-year old girl whose world is going through a momentous change.

Our last week together was spent reading favorite books together, including “Goodnight Moon”, which I always read to her before her nap.  I gave her new one to take to Michigan.  

my granddaughter, Lily
my granddaughter, Lily

A date at our favorite McDonald’s was a must-do before they left.

This morning, we got up early and drove to them to the Phoenix airport for their flight.  This was to be Lily’s first time on an airplane and she was excited.

my granddaughter, Lily

This was the moment that I dreaded…saying goodbye to my daughter and Lily.

I realize that I have been incredibly blessed to have always had them living close by.  

my granddaughter, Lily

From being there the day Lily was born 3 1/2 years ago, seeing her take her first steps, wiping away her tears and enjoying her sunny presence twice a week when I would babysit her – there will be a hole that is hard to fill.

my granddaughter, Lily

Lily has also been my gardening buddy.

my granddaughter, Lily

From helping take care of the herb container we made for her mom…

my granddaughter, Lily

To watching her collect wildflowers for her ‘flower collection’ that she keeps in her jewelry box – I will miss her love for flowers.

my granddaughter, Lily

So, how am I doing after bidding goodbye to my oldest daughter and Lily?

After hugging them “goodbye” at the airport, I was doing pretty good – in fact I was rather proud of myself…no tears were shed.

That is until we were shopping at Costco a short time later and I saw a grandmother with her granddaughter and I completely broke down, making a spectable of myself.  Shoppers were probably wondering what it was at the meat counter that was making me so sad.

I regained control of myself, but then we passed by the bank that my daughter used to work at years ago and the tears started up again.

And then we passed by Lily’s favorite McDonald’s on our way home – and so it goes…

So, while my mother and grandmother’s heart is sad, it is also happy for them and their new adventure in beautiful Michigan.

Petoskey, Michigan

Petoskey, Michigan

As I mentioned before, they are moving the picturesque town of Petoskey.

Coincidentally, I visited Petoskey just last year along with my mother on one of our annual road trips.

Petoskey, Michigan

Petoskey, Michigan

It sits right on the water’s edge of Lake Michigan.

Petoskey, Michigan

The gardens are beautiful and I look forward to visiting them as often as I can – hopefully this fall.

There will be new adventures to be had discovering this new area.  I can hardly wait to help them create their new Michigan garden in the future.

As I write this, I am looking at Lily’s little work space next to my desk.

Goodbye Arizona...Hello Michigan!

On it is her latest coloring page alongside her much-loved crayons.  She would often sit next to me and “work with Grandma” while I wrote garden articles or worked on my latest landscape design.

I’ll put them away for awhile where they will wait for her to come back and visit – hopefully at Christmas.

Thank you for spending a few moments out of your day allowing me to share what’s on my heart. I already feel better 🙂

**How about you? Do your family members live close by or far away?  How often are you able to visit?

A Small Town Visit and Holiday Traditions

If you like colorful blooms that attract butterflies and hummingbirds then you’ll want to take a close look at this drought-tolerant beauty.

Drought Tolerant and Beautiful: Mexican Bush Sage

Mexican bush sage has lovely grey-green foliage, white stems, and velvety spikes of purple.

Drought Tolerant and Beautiful: Mexican Bush Sage

It thrives in arid climates and provides glorious color from spring through fall.

You may be surprised to find that the actual flowers aren’t actually purple – they are white.

Learn more about this drought-tolerant beauty and why you’ll want to add it to your garden in my latest article for Houzz.com.

 

Goodbye Arizona…Hello Michigan!