This past weekend, I was on a mission.
My mission was to replace the few plants that had died in my in-laws garden as well as replace their warm-season annuals with cool-season ones.
Unfortunately, I could not indulge my creative side and re-design the landscape that I had originally created 9 years ago because my mother-in-law wanted to keep everything the same as it was before.
My father-in-law was a meticulous gardener and was beautiful, perfectly pruned and very neat and tidy (very much unlike my own messy and untidy garden 😉
As his illness progressed, I started to take over care of his prized landscape. Now that he has passed away, I still care for it. Every Sunday night, we go over and have dinner with my mother-in-law. We always arrive a bit early so that my husband can do miscellaneous tasks around the house and I help in the garden.
And so back to my mission – I had to find the exact same plants that had died over the summer. Now for those of you who do a lot of planting – you know it can be hard to find everything you need at a single nursery.
Well, I still harbored unrealistic hope that I would miraculously find all that I needed in one place. I started at our big box store and found the geraniums that I needed (they had to be red).But, unfortunately, they had nothing else that I needed.
So, off to the second nursery, which is a locally owned chain. I scored a bit “zero” there. Then I drove on the a third nursery.
Local Nursery
I love this particular local nursery. It is very large, they have a huge selection and the staff is very knowledgeable.
You may be wondering at this point, why I didn’t start at this nursery first if it all that wonderful?
Well, the problem I find myself often being tempted to buy some of the unique and hard to find plants that they offer.
And so, I arrived at the nursery and started searching for the plants my mother-in-law needed – Angelita Daisy, Blackfoot Daisy, Firecracker Penstemon and Golden Barrel.
I did my best as I walked through the nursery to stay focused on my mission – to buy plants only for my mother-in-law and NOT for myself.
Local Nursery
I found the Firecracker Penstemon, which is hard to find this time of year. Now, I realize that it is not all that impressive looking in a small black container. But, it looks fabulous once you plant it and it blooms in winter and in spring….
I also found the other plants that I needed except for the Blackfoot Daisy.
Now, I had all the plants that I needed. But did I leave the nursery at this point?
No. I decided that my resolve was strong and that I wouldn’t buy any plants for myself and so it was okay to stroll through the nursery and take some pictures.
Local Nursery
They had many cool-season annuals to choose from, but I already had all I needed at home, so I wasn’t the slightest bit tempted.
Until….
I spotted this Black Petunia.
Aren’t the flowers just gorgeous?
I looked to find a plant tag to see what variety they were, but it was missing.
Well, I really liked these Petunias, but didn’t really have a place to put them, so I pressed onward.
I walked by a mini grove of Bamboo. Many people are surprised to find the Bamboo can grow in the desert. As long as they receive enough water, they do well in our zone 9 area.
Among the cool-season annuals, I spotted a bunch of Blue Salvia. Normally, they are grown as warm-season annuals and they do very well. I used to plant them in pots around golf courses, but I haven’t used them in years. I’m not sure why, but I think I will try planting them late next spring.
As I pressed, on I noticed movement among the plants. This rooster was busy eating the tops of the plants.
You know, I think that roosters and chickens give a nursery a ‘homey’ feel, don’t you? Kind of like a cat in a bookstore or knitting shop.
Of course, no nursery located in the desert is complete without its succulent collection.
Golden Barrel, Argentine Giant Cactus, Fishhook Barrel, Cereus, Saguaro, Agave and much more was available.
Here is a helpful hint….
Did you know that often Agave have more then one plant in the container? That is because many species of Agave reproduce ‘pups’.
So, when you are out to buy an Agave, look for one that has more then one plant in the container. Then when you are ready to plant them, simply cut the smaller agave from the mother plant and plant them as well.
The nursery had a large collection of bare root Ocotillo.
I love Ocotillo and was given one by my kids on Mother’s Day a few years ago.
Ocotillo do leaf out off and on throughout the year and produce vermillion colored flowers….
As you can see, I was having a great time at the nursery.
There is more I would like to share with you. I found some different ways to use everyday plants AND I have yet to show you two different plants that I was sorely tempted to buy.
At this point however, I think this post is long enough and I don’t want to bore you, so please come back for “Part Two”.
Further Temptations at the Nursery…
Changing Out the Old for the New…
AZ Plant LadyThere is a gardening task that I both enjoy and dread when I have to do it twice every year.
Now, I am not only doing it for myself, but also for my mother-in-law.
So what it is this task?
The seasonal task of changing out flowering annuals or in this case perennials, that are treated as annuals.
I had to this last Sunday when we stopped by for dinner. Since my father-in-law’s death in September, we come over with the kids every Sunday and help around the house and garden and then have dinner.
My mother-in-law hasn’t felt like cooking much and likes the idea of having us trying a different kind of pizza each week in order to determine what restaurant makes the best. So far Papa John’s and Pizza Hut are our favorites….but there are still more to try. The kids especially enjoy eating pizza every week 🙂
Getting ready to pull out the Vinca and plant Red Geraniums
I blogged earlier about searching 3 different nurseries for plants to replace those that had died in my mother-in-law’s garden. But, I also had to buy Geraniums (Pelargoniums) as well.
Now, I couldn’t buy just any Geraniums….I had to buy red ones – not orange and definitely not pink. You see, my mother-in-law wants the garden to look the exact same as it did when my father-in-law was alive and did the work himself.
I must admit, that I was a bit late in doing this – I usually wait until late October to change out my warm-season flowering plants for cool-season ones. But, there was still plenty of time before the cold weather settled in.
Okay, here is that part that I dread….
Flowering annuals
It is so hard to pull out beautiful flowering plants.
Now I realize that technically, I could leave them in their pots and these Vinca would survive our winter as long as they were protected from frost and would flower again in spring.
Or, I could transplant them elsewhere and overwinter them in an out of the way place.
But the majority of people just rip them out and throw them out (or put them on their compost pile) since they are relatively inexpensive.
I admit that I pulled them out and threw them out (please don’t hate me for pulling out perfectly good plants 😉
Now it was time to plant the red Geraniums (which are really Pelargoniums, but everyone including the nursery calls them Geraniums, so I will too).
There was a potential problem, however. You see, my mother-in-law was used to my father-in-law planting huge, red Geraniums in full bloom. But, I could not find large red Geraniums, much less ones in full bloom…
Flowering annuals
From a horticulturist’s point of view – it is better to select flowering plants that have few flowers in the nursery because the transplanting process is stressful for plants and those in full flower will soon drop their flowers. When buying those that haven’t bloomed yet, you give the plant more resources to grow roots and will soon be rewarded with blooms that will last longer.
I was tempted to tell my mother-in-law this, hoping that it would make her feel better about the lack of blooms. But it turns out that she didn’t mind, so I didn’t tell her.
I sprinkled slow-release fertilizer before I planted the Geraniums and will follow-up in a couple of weeks with a liquid fertilizer, just like my father-in-law did.
Of course, you can go the organic route if you prefer. There are plenty of products available at your local nursery and even stores like Home Depot and Lowes are carrying organic fertilizers.
In addition to the red Geraniums, I also had to plant Bacoba around the potted Geraniums. It can be hard sometimes to find Bacoba and of course I had trouble too.
But, I found a solution. I found a decorative container filled with Verbena and Bacoba at the nursery, so I bought it and used the Bacoba in the container.
And then my husband planted the Verbena, which replaced the one that died in their front garden last year…
So I killed two birds with one stone (although I would never literally kill a bird 😉
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On a personal note….life is crazy, but good.
I will update you soon on the happenings in my personal life.
I hope you are all enjoying this fall season 🙂
Flowers From Abroad….
Further Temptations at the Nursery…
AZ Plant LadyDo you suffer from temptation when you visit your local plant nursery?
I certainly did during my last visit. I had such a great time and took quite a few photos, so I had to split them up into two separate posts.
(You can read the first post here if you like).
I have saved my two most tempting moments for this post, so I guess we should get on with it…
Further Temptation
Sage shrubs (Leucophyllum species) are available in many different species. ‘Green Cloud’ Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens ‘Green Cloud’) is perhaps the most popular and I have two growing in my front garden.
However, I must admit that my favorites are ‘Rio Bravo’ Sage (Leucophyllum langmaniae ‘Rio Bravo’), which grows in my back garden and the other is called ‘Thunder Cloud’ Sage (Leucophyllum candidum ‘Thunder Cloud’).
This shrub has silver gray leaves and blooms off and on spring through fall.
The flowers contrast so beautifully with the silvery foliage.
I must confess, that I don’t have any in my garden – but I may need to find a space for these beautiful shrubs.
Further Temptation
On nursery visits, I frequently take the opportunity to take pictures of plants such as this Arborvitae. They aren’t favorite plants of mine, but that really doesn’t mean anything – it is just a matter of personal preference.
Many nurseries showcase ways to combine plants.
I am frequently inspired during my nursery visits by some of their ideas like this Sweet Potato Vine among Sago Palms and Umbrella Plant.
Can you guess what plant was used to create this dense shrub?
Believe it or not, it is Pyracantha.
Usually, you find it growing along the walls….
You can frequently find new uses for plants at your local nursery.
I found a bunch of Mexican Heather (Cuphea hyssopifolia) in full bloom. I like to use these as groundcovers in areas with light shade.
There were many different types of succulents available like this Lophocereus schottii ‘Monstrosus’.
If you tend to accidentally kill your plants, you can always buy this reproduction of an agave…
I guarantee, you won’t kill this one. I have seen these beautiful plant sculptures ‘planted’ in pots with gravel or small pebbles instead of potting soil.
Well, my visit was drawing to an end, when I saw two plants that I was sorely tempted to buy….
Further Temptation
I love Autumn Sage. Usually you see them in red, hot pink, peach and even white. But I saw these Autumn Sage with light pink flowers called (Salvia greggii ‘Heatwave Glitter’).
In my garden, I love to use cool colors like pink. I wanted to buy one of these plants so badly, but I couldn’t think of where I would put it.
My last temptation of the day was a plant that I have seen occasionally in landscapes, but rarely in the nursery.
At first glance, this may look like Purple Trailing Lantana (Lantana montevidensis), but look closer.
Can you see white flowers mixed in with the purple?
Believe it or not, this Lantana has both purple and white flowers. It is called ‘Lavender Swirl’.
I love this look of both flowers together.
Now, if you cannot find this type of Lantana, there is a solution….
Simply plant a White Trailing and Purple Trailing Lantana in the same hole. As they grow, their stems and flowers will intermingle together.
I really could have bought this plant, but I already duplicated their appearance already by planting White and Purple Lantana together in my front garden.
And so, I left the nursery, only purchasing the plants that my mother-in-law needed.
When I got home, my husband couldn’t believe that I hadn’t bought any plants for myself. Normally, he has the shovel ready before I even get home from the nursery because he knows me so well 😉
Nursery Visit and Temptations…
AZ Plant LadyThis past weekend, I was on a mission.
My mission was to replace the few plants that had died in my in-laws garden as well as replace their warm-season annuals with cool-season ones.
Unfortunately, I could not indulge my creative side and re-design the landscape that I had originally created 9 years ago because my mother-in-law wanted to keep everything the same as it was before.
My father-in-law was a meticulous gardener and was beautiful, perfectly pruned and very neat and tidy (very much unlike my own messy and untidy garden 😉
As his illness progressed, I started to take over care of his prized landscape. Now that he has passed away, I still care for it. Every Sunday night, we go over and have dinner with my mother-in-law. We always arrive a bit early so that my husband can do miscellaneous tasks around the house and I help in the garden.
And so back to my mission – I had to find the exact same plants that had died over the summer. Now for those of you who do a lot of planting – you know it can be hard to find everything you need at a single nursery.
Well, I still harbored unrealistic hope that I would miraculously find all that I needed in one place. I started at our big box store and found the geraniums that I needed (they had to be red).But, unfortunately, they had nothing else that I needed.
So, off to the second nursery, which is a locally owned chain. I scored a bit “zero” there. Then I drove on the a third nursery.
Local Nursery
I love this particular local nursery. It is very large, they have a huge selection and the staff is very knowledgeable.
You may be wondering at this point, why I didn’t start at this nursery first if it all that wonderful?
Well, the problem I find myself often being tempted to buy some of the unique and hard to find plants that they offer.
And so, I arrived at the nursery and started searching for the plants my mother-in-law needed – Angelita Daisy, Blackfoot Daisy, Firecracker Penstemon and Golden Barrel.
I did my best as I walked through the nursery to stay focused on my mission – to buy plants only for my mother-in-law and NOT for myself.
Local Nursery
I found the Firecracker Penstemon, which is hard to find this time of year. Now, I realize that it is not all that impressive looking in a small black container. But, it looks fabulous once you plant it and it blooms in winter and in spring….
I also found the other plants that I needed except for the Blackfoot Daisy.
Now, I had all the plants that I needed. But did I leave the nursery at this point?
No. I decided that my resolve was strong and that I wouldn’t buy any plants for myself and so it was okay to stroll through the nursery and take some pictures.
Local Nursery
They had many cool-season annuals to choose from, but I already had all I needed at home, so I wasn’t the slightest bit tempted.
Until….
I spotted this Black Petunia.
Aren’t the flowers just gorgeous?
I looked to find a plant tag to see what variety they were, but it was missing.
Well, I really liked these Petunias, but didn’t really have a place to put them, so I pressed onward.
I walked by a mini grove of Bamboo. Many people are surprised to find the Bamboo can grow in the desert. As long as they receive enough water, they do well in our zone 9 area.
Among the cool-season annuals, I spotted a bunch of Blue Salvia. Normally, they are grown as warm-season annuals and they do very well. I used to plant them in pots around golf courses, but I haven’t used them in years. I’m not sure why, but I think I will try planting them late next spring.
As I pressed, on I noticed movement among the plants. This rooster was busy eating the tops of the plants.
You know, I think that roosters and chickens give a nursery a ‘homey’ feel, don’t you? Kind of like a cat in a bookstore or knitting shop.
Of course, no nursery located in the desert is complete without its succulent collection.
Golden Barrel, Argentine Giant Cactus, Fishhook Barrel, Cereus, Saguaro, Agave and much more was available.
Here is a helpful hint….
Did you know that often Agave have more then one plant in the container? That is because many species of Agave reproduce ‘pups’.
So, when you are out to buy an Agave, look for one that has more then one plant in the container. Then when you are ready to plant them, simply cut the smaller agave from the mother plant and plant them as well.
The nursery had a large collection of bare root Ocotillo.
I love Ocotillo and was given one by my kids on Mother’s Day a few years ago.
Ocotillo do leaf out off and on throughout the year and produce vermillion colored flowers….
As you can see, I was having a great time at the nursery.
There is more I would like to share with you. I found some different ways to use everyday plants AND I have yet to show you two different plants that I was sorely tempted to buy.
At this point however, I think this post is long enough and I don’t want to bore you, so please come back for “Part Two”.
Further Temptations at the Nursery…
Danger In My Vegetable Garden….
Vegetable GardeningOkay. It’s really happened to me.
I had heard about what can happen when you grow your own vegetables from other gardeners, but I didn’t think too much about it until….
It happened to me!
So, what happened you may ask?
I discovered the danger of growing a vegetable garden.
Oh, I know it looks quite innocent in the picture above.
But, there is a real danger lurking there.
What is the danger?
Well you see, I have discovered the wonderful benefits of growing my own vegetables. I love their delicious, fresh taste. I enjoy saving money and passing by the produce section at the grocery store.
So what is my problem?
Although I can grow vegetables all year long, unfortunately I cannot grow the same vegetables 12 months out of the year.
I still look back to that late spring day when I harvested my first planting of garlic from my garden.
We harvested quite a bit.
We let it cure for a couple of weeks, then cut off the leafy tops and stored all that garlic in a cool, dry place out of the sun.
Now, I love garlic and use it a lot for cooking. All I had to do when I needed some garlic was grab one from the bowl I was storing them in on a dark shelf.
But, the other day when I went in there, there was no more garlic.
Now, I have to buy it at the grocery store again.
I never used to mind buying garlic from the store.
But now, I sure do!
The same thing happens when I have to start buying lettuce from the store in summer after enjoying my own homegrown lettuce the rest of the year.
And it goes on and on with corn, broccoli, cucumbers, green onions, carrots and tomatoes.
So, now do you see the danger of growing your own vegetables?
You get spoiled!
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I would like to thank you all for your kind comments regarding my recent “grandmotherhood”.
I am relishing the time I get to spend with Lily Mae. I could just sit and hold her for hours 🙂
Nursery Visit and Temptations…
Reigning in the Chaos of My Containers…
AZ Plant LadyA few days ago, you may remember my post about my uncontrolled container plants.
Well, I pulled out some of my excess Trailing Lantana, which can be used in other areas of my garden.
Then I cut back the remaining Lantana and my Sweet Potato vine.
At this point, things were looking much neater, if a little bare.
I only bought a few new plants since I decided to keep much of my existing perennials.
I purchased Alyssum because I love their sweet fragrance.
I also bought Johnny-Jump-Ups, which are little Violas that are native to Spain.
I remember growing them in my little garden as a child and I loved how easily they grew for me.
Lastly, I purchased two Lavender. They make great container plants and I love their flowers.
And so I began….
First, I dug a hole for my Lavender and then as I was removing the container, I discovered that they were extremely root bound.
Root-bound plants aren’t uncommon and are a result of being in the container too long. The roots start growing round and round since they can’t grow outward.
If you find yourself with a root-bound plant, it is easy to fix.
Here’s how…
You simply make cuts to the roots. This forces the roots to stop growing around and around and makes them grow outward into the surrounding soil.
I used my hand pruners to make the cuts, but you can use strong scissors or even a box cutter.
After you make the cuts, you need to ‘work’ the root ball. What I mean by this is give it a ‘massage’. This helps to further loosen the root ball and will help your plant to transplant much more easily….
Now my Lavender is ready to plant.
So, you may be wondering what happens if you don’t cut and loosen the roots of a root-bound plant? Well, the roots will tend not to grow out into the soil, where there is moisture and nutrients and you plant will not do all that well.
After I was finished planting, my containers looked nice a neat – but a bit bare. It will take a couple of weeks for my plants to grow and cover the bare spots.
In my purple container, I planted a mixture of Johnny-Jump-Ups and Alyssum.
In my yellow container. I planted one of my Lavender and pruned back my Sweet Potato Vine, which will grow back quickly.
My blue container has a Lavender and White Trailing Lantana growing. I pruned the Lantana back but like the vine, it will grow fast.
**Although both the Sweet Potato Vine and my Trailing Lantana are susceptible to frost damage – they are protected because my containers are located underneath the overhang of my house.
You may be wondering why I don’t fill my pots with colorful cool-season annuals such as Petunias, Pansies, Snapdragons and Stock?
I was thinking about this the other day and I think it is because when I managed landscapes, I was responsible for thousands of colorful annuals being planted twice a year, keeping them alive, fertilizing them often and trying to keep them from being eaten by Javelina and rabbits.
I also know a designer who creates beautiful containers filled with both annuals and perennials every year…
Her name is Maggie and someday, I may even try to recreate one of her beautiful container designs in my own containers.
But for now, I am happy with my humble containers.
I will show you some good ideas for cool-season container plantings with lots of color in the next week. (Just because I didn’t plant that many in my own garden doesn’t mean I don’t know how 😉
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Baby watch update:
Two days overdue.
I have a feeling it might come today, but then, I have been known to be wrong 😉
I’ll let you know!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
az plant lady familyAll too soon, we will be hearing little ghosts and goblins come knocking at our door.
But unfortunately, we won’t be home.
You see, Halloween is a very fun holiday in our family and we spend it at Double S Farms.
Last year’s celebration was lots of fun…..
As we walked in the door, we were greeted by the delicious scent of soup cooking.
My mother, always has a healthy dinner prepared since she knows we will be eating nothing but sweets later.
(Don’t you like her ‘fake’ tattoo sleeve?)
The table is set and there are fun party favors.
Do you like my new ring?
After dinner, but before trick-or-treating, it is time to play some games like throwing eyeballs into a pumpkin.
It’s a lot harder then it looks.
Then, as if the kids won’t get enough candy while trick-or-treating….
They get to try to hit the pinata, which is filled with candy.
The third pumpkin is carved into a “Mini-Cooper”, which is my nephew, Finley’s favorite car 😉
Soon, it is time to venture out and go trick-or-treating.
Fun holiday
I hope you all have a fun Halloween!
Uncontrolled Container Plants….
ContainersI came upon this group of containers yesterday.
Pretty uncontrolled plants, huh?
Well, hidden underneath all the plants are actually 4 containers.
AND
they are all mine…..
I know, I know.
How could I have let things get so out of control?
Well, life sometimes gets a bit crazy and other then watering my pots, they didn’t get any other attention this summer.
I didn’t go out of my way to plant colorful annuals this past spring, opting instead for perennials.
My Sweet Potato Vine did wonderfully despite being neglected. It is a newer variety called ‘Pink Frost’ (Ipomea batatas ‘Pink Frost’).
A single Vinca flower pushes its way through the other plants. I planted Vinca for my father-in-law, in his garden, this summer before he passed away in September. He gave me his leftover plants, which I threw in one of my containers.
Purple Trailing Lantana is spilling over and has reached the ground because I never pruned it back.
I also planted White Trailing Lantana, which is mixed in with my Sweet Potato Vine.
Now I must admit, that my container plants are usually better maintained. But under the circumstances, I think that they did great considering that all I did was water them.
Believe it or not, I used to be in charge of hundreds of of container plants every year (usually annuals). They had to look perfect because they were in high profile areas.
You certainly wouldn’t know it looking at my own containers right now would you?
I sometimes describe myself as more of a “Do as I say, not as I do” kind of horticulturist at times 😉
For those of you who maybe can’t stand my messy containers, don’t worry. I have plans for ripping out some of the plants, some pruning and some new additions.
I’ll show you what I did next time 🙂
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My daughter and her husband came over tonight for dinner. She is definitely ready to ‘pop’. I remember being so anxious for her to be born (she was 5 days late).
I think it is even harder now, waiting for my first grandchild to be born.
ONE more day until her due date!
I wonder if her baby knows that 😉
A Tree Given a Second Chance…
TreesLast winter, we suffered a severe cold snap. Okay, for those of you who live in more northerly climates, it wouldn’t seem all that cold to you perhaps. But, we had temps that ranged in the low 20’s for three days in a row, which is definitely below normal for us.
As a result, many trees and plants that normally stay green in the winter, suffered severe frost damage. That included my mother’s young Sissoo tree (Dalbergia sissoo).
Frost damage
I wrote about her tree and how the top died back to the ground. However, there were some new growth coming up from the bottom. So instead of taking out the tree, we opted to cut off the dead portion and let one the new growth take over.
We re-staked the little tree and waited to see how it would do.
That was in the beginning of June.
Now, just 4 1/2 months later, look at it now…
Doesn’t it look so much bigger?
That’s because it is.
Why has it grown so quickly? Well, that is because it had a great root system – actually the root system of a grown tree, so it had many resources to help it to grow quickly.
It is still hard to believe how quickly it grew. But, we are so happy with the decision to give it a chance instead of buying a new tree.
If we had planted a new tree, it would never have grown so quickly.
So, next time you have a frost-damaged tree, wait a few months to see if there is any re-growth – even if it is on the bottom.
You never know, it might end up with a fast-growing tree and save yourself some money at the same time 🙂
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5 days and counting until my daughter’s due date. We had a ‘false alarm’ on Monday. But, I guess our little granddaughter wasn’t ready to come yet 😉
Family Get Together on the Farm
az plant lady familyThis past weekend, the entire family was able to gather together at Double S Farms.
As I mentioned before, my brother-in-law was in town for final interviews for a new job. Although he was busy with meetings, we were all able to meet for Saturday breakfast on the farm.
I baked my Irish soda bread for the occasion and the kids couldn’t wait to eat eggs and sausage.
It was also time to check up on the new baby chicks and their new chicken coop….
New baby chicks
Their new coop has three levels and the girls really seem to like it.
One of the kids discovered an egg, from one of the older chickens…
The kids spent much of their time running around and wrestling in the shade of the apple trees…
My mother showed me the progress of her fall vegetable garden…
We have already enjoyed salad made from her romaine lettuce…
We visited with my twin nephews…
Dean, being held by my brother, is recovering well from his surgery, where he had a lobe of his lung removed.
My visiting sister, took her turn holding Danny.
Soda pop tried to find someone to throw her ball for her.
The ‘senior’ chickens, Effie, Ramona and Lucy, did their best to stay out of everyone’s way.
Indoors, my nephew, Oliver, showed off his ‘zombie’ makeup and did his best to scare us, but then he reassured us that it was really him behind the make-up.
Lastly, my daughter, Gracie, spent time with her Uncle Scott…
I love them time that we all spend together and we received great news yesterday – my brother-in-law was hired as the new children’s pastor of a local church. So they will be moving here next month.
I will be so blessed to not only have my mother, brother and youngest sister living nearby, but also my other younger sister 🙂
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Baby countdown is down to 7 days…..
A Tree Given a Second Chance…
Landscaper’s Trademark?
Landscape DesignYou know what? Sometimes it is easy to tell who in the neighborhood uses the same landscaper.
It is pretty evident from these photos that I took over the summer that quite a few people in this neighborhood are using the services of the same landscaper….
This is the first ‘mushroom-shaped’ Olive tree that I have ever seen.
To me, this Texas Sage looks somewhat like a small loaf bread, don’t you think?
For those of you who have seen Texas Ebony (Ebenopsis ebano) in its natural form, may not recognize this heavily pruned one, above.
These two Texas Sage shrubs remind me of a lumpy cake that you have just pulled out of the oven.
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I hope you are all enjoying a great start to your weekend.
This is the last weekend for awhile where I am not busy, so I plan to enjoy it 🙂