I must admit that I have really enjoyed sharing with you my favorite things…..
Not because I think you are all waiting with baited breath to hear more about what I like, but because when I think of my favorite things, it makes me happy.
My last favorite thing that I would like to share with you is a rather newer interest for me…..
I just love my new vegetable garden!
Now I have grown vegetables in the past. I had my first vegetable garden in my parent’s backyard and remember growing carrots and broccoli. But then I turned into a teenager and my budding interest in gardening was forgotten so that I could concentrate on more important things such as clothes, friends and boys 😉
In college, I had to grow vegetables for one of my horticulture classes and I worked hard on my school garden because I wanted to get an ‘A’ in the class.
As a professional, I have worked with clients, teaching them how to grow vegetables and I have also created vegetable gardens for service organizations.
But, I did not really get into vegetables until last year. It makes me sad to think of how many years I wasted, not experiencing the joy of growing my own vegetables.
But, it is never too late to get started. So, we selected an area in our back garden that received at least 6 hours of sunlight and then made the trip to our local big box store to get the necessary materials.
The kids were very excited too.
Because vegetables like fertile soil (who doesn’t), we bought bagged compost, aged steer manure, blood meal, bone meal and slow-release fertilizer.
Add some vegetable seeds for our summer garden and we were ready.
Now all we needed was the muscle…..
I’ve said it before and I will say it again….
Nothing says “love” more then a man who will shovel manure for you 😉
He even built the raised bed and fence for our garden.
Why did we need a fence, you may ask?
There are two reasons, named Tobey and Missy.
In our first summer vegetable garden, we grew basil, cucumbers, sunflowers, sweet corn, tomatoes and watermelon.
We even grew a pumpkin!
You know how people tell you that nothing beats the taste of vegetables that you grow yourself?
They are totally right! Our vegetables were delicious. I just wished that we had more.
Soon, summer was waning and it was time to plant our winter garden. So, we added some more bagged compost, a little slow-release fertilizer and we were ready to go…..
Lettuce, broccoli, spinach, bunching onions, carrots and garlic were planted along with companion plants such as Marigolds and Nasturtiums to help repel damaging insects.
It has been so nice to be able to pick my own lettuce instead of buying bagged salad at the grocery store.
We have eaten through the broccoli, lettuce and spinach. Soon we will be able to harvest our carrots and garlic.
Soon, it will be time to plant my summer garden this March. I plan to stick with cucumbers, corn, tomatoes, basil and sunflowers. Growing watermelon and pumpkins was fun, but the vines took up a lot of room.
What about you? Do you have a vegetable garden? If so, what do you like to plant?
If you do not have a vegetable garden, why don’t you plant one? You can dig one in your back garden or build a raised vegetable garden (they are available in kits as well).
If you do not have much space, how much planting vegetables in a container? You really can!
Even Vegetables Need Friends…..
Journey Into My Backyard – The Sonoran Desert…
CaliforniaI apologize, but life is kind of crazy this week, so I promise that I will get to back to my ‘Tree Planting’ posts soon. In the meantime, I would like to share with you one of my favorite posts that I wrote about 1 1/2 years ago. I was rather new at blogging at the time so most of you probably have not read it. I hope you enjoy it 🙂
When people think of a desert, most envision a place of intense heat, sparse plants, snakes and lots of sand. Well, some of that is true, but there is much, much more which I have discovered. I am not a native desert dweller. In fact, I was born and raised near the beach in Southern California and I never thought that I would live in the desert. However, here I am, having lived in Arizona for over 23 years and I wouldn’t have it any other way….
All of the photos were taken in an area about 30 minutes northeast of Phoenix.
The desert that I live in is called the Sonoran Desert and it occupies over 120,000 sq. miles covering parts of Arizona, California and Mexico. Although deserts around the world do not receive much rainfall, the Sonoran Desert receives more then any other desert in the world. We have two seasons of rain. In the winter our storms come from the west from the Pacific coast and the rains are usually gentle. In the summer our rains come up from Mexico and are called “monsoons”, which means “wind shift”. These summer storms are sporadic and result in torrential rainfall and high winds. Often, when we receive these torrential downpours, my kids and I just stand inside our front door, just watching the rain.
By the way…..you know you are an ‘official’ desert dweller when you rejoice whenever it rains.
Because of our dual rainy seasons, the Sonoran Desert has the most animal and plant species of any North American desert. We have over 2,000 native plant species alone. In the spring, the desert is awash in wildflowers and cactus blooms. The rain brings out the distinct, yet pleasing, scent of the Creosote bush (if you rub the leaves in your fingers, it smells like the rain). I live in zone 8b and we do experience occasional freezing conditions during the winter.
Interestingly, the western part of the Sonoran Desert, located in California (Palm Springs and surrounding area), is regarded as a sub-desert called the Colorado Desert. It differs in appearance and in that the soils are sandy, there is less rainfall in the summer and as a result there is less plant density and native plant species. The Saguaro cactus does not grow naturally in the Colorado Desert. If you have a chance to drive across the California – Arizona border, you can see the difference as you cross over the Colorado River. This sub-desert has a beauty of it’s own and I enjoy visiting this part of the Sonoran Desert.
The Sonoran Desert is a fascinating place with cactus and snakes (I rarely see them), but is also filled with trees, shrubs, flowers and wildlife. Far from being a barren wasteland, this desert is full of life and beauty.
It is my home….
Two Iconic Sonoran Desert Plants: Saguaro and Ocotillo
How to Plant a Tree – Part 1
TreesSome of you may be surprised to find that many trees are not planted correctly. As a Certified Arborist, I have seen countless trees that are suffering from problems that are caused by improper planting. The damage can actually take years to show up in some cases.
As a young horticulturist working for a 36-hole golf course, I had hundreds of trees that I was in charge of. At that time, there was we were planting quite a few more trees around the golf courses. During I was fortunate to work with a Consulting Arborist whose company we would hire annually to prune the very tall trees that my crew could not reach.
I learned so much from him and he inspired me to obtain my Certified Arborist certification.
Growing beautiful and healthy trees is not very difficult, especially if you start them out right. So over the next few posts, we will cover how to prepare the hole, how to plant trees, stake and water them.
Okay, so you have your tree all picked out and you are ready to plant. Before you dig your hole, you need to do one thing first if your tree is a box tree or in a container.
Gently scrape the top layer of soil until you reach the part of the tree trunk where it begins to flare out.
Many trees from nurseries and even those that have been boxed, often have an extra layer of soil. This layer can smother the roots if it is too thick. Roots need oxygen and if there is too much soil, that decreases the amount of oxygen that is available to them.
Okay, now we are ready to dig ‘the hole’.
Now if you are like me, I love it when someone else is digging the hole 😉
So at this point, may you are just quickly reading through this post, which is fine with me. BUT, if you will only remember a little bit of this post, this is the most important piece of information:
Make a hole at least 3X as wide as the root ball of the tree and just as deep as the root ball (once you have scraped off any excess soil from the top).
There, that wasn’t so bad was it?
You want the hole wider then the root ball so that the roots can grow easily outwards.
The hole should be no deeper then the root ball because the roots can be easily smothered.
Now if you live in an area with poor drainage, you will need to check the drainage in your hole. To do this, simply fill the hole with water and let it drain (this may take a while). Then fill it up again and if it does not drain out within 24 hours – you have a drainage problem.
You can either locate your tree in an area with better drainage, or create a ‘chimney’ through the bottom of the hole to break through the impermeable layer, known as caliche. This is back breaking work, but it will be worth it when your tree lives instead of dying.
Look at the original soil level that this boxed tree had (where the shovel is) and where the trunk flare is at the bottom. The workers actually had to dig their newly planted tree up and add more soil to the bottom of the hole so that the soil level would be where the trunk flare started.
Okay, we are almost done with preparing our hole.
Now many of you would probably think that this would be a good time to add organic matter such as compost and maybe a handful of fertilizer.
Well the answer is actually NO…..
Numerous studies have shown that when people add organic matter to enrich the soil for ornamental trees that something interesting happens…..
Imagine that you are a tree root and you have just been planted in a mixture of really rich soil. So, you begin to grow outwards and then you reach an area where the soil is not rich…..in fact it is rather boring. Well, at this point you decide to just stay where the soil is rich and you do not grow outwards any further.
So, just use the existing soil when planting ornamental trees, which will result in the roots growing outwards for greater distances.
Okay, so now we have the perfect sized hole and our tree is ready.
Stay tuned for Part 2 on how to plant and stake your tree….
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Please check out my latest Birds & Blooms post
“A Hummingbird Takes a Bath”
Strange and Unusual Flowers….
AgaveOne of the iconic plants of the Southwest flowers only once and produces the most unusual flowers you will probably ever see.
What is even more interesting, is that each one of these plants produces a different type of flower depending on the species.
Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that the plant dies after flowering.
So, by now you may have guessed that I am talking about Agave, sometimes referred to as Century Plant, although they do not take that long to flower.
As I was preparing this post, I was going through my photos of flowering agave and I was struck again at how unusual they are and how different they look from species to species. Some form a single stalk and others branch out from the single stalk.
I would like to share with you some of my favorites….
When an agave flowers is largely dependent on the species. Some only take 8 years, while others can wait up to 25 years before they flower.
Some people inadvertently hasten the flowering process by over watering and fertilizing their agave.
Not all agave flower at the same time. Some start in the spring while others begin in the fall.
Contrary to popular opinion, removing the flowering stalk, will not keep your agave alive.
In fact, you are interfering with the agave’s crowning glory – their life’s work by removing their flower.
It is fascinating to see how the stalk begins to rapidly grow and then transforms as you can see from the following photos of an Octopus Agave (Agave vilmoriniana).
The stalk begins to appear.
It is so interesting to view up close.
The flowering stalk has reached its full height.
Small Octopus Agave that are just waiting to fall and root. Or you can pull them off and plant them yourself.
The entire flowering process can take months and in many cases, the flowering stalk is quite beautiful and is highly prized.
You can even keep it after it has dried out. Believe it or not, people pay money for dried agave stalks.
In my own landscape, I have 4 different types of agave and I am always thrilled when I see the flower stalk appear and can witness the strange and beautiful flowering process.
The flower of Agave desmettiana
So, how about you? Have you witnessed an agave flowering?
Awakening to Spring
A Wonderful Memory…..
az plant lady familyHave you ever been given the gift of a wonderful memory?
I have…..
Nassau, Bahamas
Earlier this week, I wrote about our recent vacation to the Caribbean.
We went with my husband’s parents and his sister’s family as well. We all had a fabulous time, (except for me coming home sick).
My husband and I had a great time just hanging out with our family and having no agenda other then eating, swimming and visiting different islands.
Me with 4 of my 5 kids in front of our ship in St. Maarten
Of course, being on a cruise, we enjoyed wonderful food (especially my husband), and none of us got seasick.
We visited different ports and had fun walking around town.
I didn’t know that I was in this picture 😉
We enjoyed the beautiful scenery and spending time with my husband’s parents and his sister’s family.
St. Thomas
Our vacation was very relaxing and the kids were eager for the next adventure.
My kids met some interesting people along the way….
My favorite day was spent on the beach in the Bahamas with my husband, 5 kids and son-in-law.
Spending this day on the beach brought back memories of the countless times that I spent on the beach with my father. You see, I was raised along the coast in Southern California and my dad was the classic beach bum. He really wasn’t a bum, he was a social worker, but he loved going to the beach.
We would go to the beach all the time as kids and swim in the ocean, build sand castles and bury my dad as well. Later, he would do the same with my two oldest daughters.
I missed him especially this day. He has been gone for almost 4 years. But on that day in the Bahamas, I stepped in and taught my youngest kids how to make sand castles, just like my dad taught me.
Since my father’s death, my father-in-law has become even more special to me. He is both a wonderful father and a fantastic grandfather. I am blessed to live close to him and my mother-in-law and they have been fixtures in my life for over 25 years.
My daughter, husband and son.
This vacation was a gift to us all from my father-in-law. It was meant to be a special time to be spent with family, building even more memories then we already have.
While we all had a wonderful time, it was also rather bittersweet. You see, we do not have much time left to enjoy with my father-in-law.
Last fall, my father-in-law was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) last year. The type of ALS that he has moves rather rapidly and he wanted to give us all the gift of wonderful memories spent with him while he is still able to move freely.
This truly horrible disease is moving very quickly. In the short 5 months since we heard of his diagnosis, he can no longer speak and is losing muscle strength and will be getting a feeding tube soon since eating is so difficult to do now.
Despite the challenges he faces, my father-in-law is a wonderful example of grace and courage. As a believer in Christ, he is not afraid of death. But, he is very sad about leaving us all behind until we can join him in heaven.
As a family, we are grieving for the fact that we will lose him much too soon. But, I am so grateful for the wonderful memory of this vacation that we will all treasure in our hearts.
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When I first started this blog, I focused solely on plant and gardening information. But, I soon found myself sharing bits and pieces about myself and my family.
I found that I actually like to know a little about the people whose blogs I read. It makes them seem more real to me somehow.
So, I will probably share with you from time to time how my father-in-law is doing. It is a major part of what is going on in my life right now.
We would appreciate your prayers as we journey through the next few months 🙂
**Please check out my latest Birds and Blooms blog post “Flowering Shrubs for Hummingbirds”
Spring’s First Monthly Garden Bouquet…
azplantladyFirst of all, I would like to apologize for not coordinating a Monthly Garden Bouquet for February. I wish that I had a great excuse for not doing one such as maybe not having any flowers in my garden. But, that would not be true.
The reality was that I was just awfully busy last month and I did feel a bit guilty about it. So, even though I am still recovering from pneumonia, I drug myself outside, (in my pajamas I might add), to find flowers to cut.
It really wasn’t hard to venture outside. A clear blue sky and temperatures in the 70’s…..it was so beautiful.
Here is what I came up with…..
The blue flowers are Bachelor’s Button, which I have growing as a companion plant in my vegetable garden to help attract pollinators. This is the first year that I have grown them and I just love their vibrant blue color.
The yellow flowers are from my Desert Marigold (Baileya multiradiata) perennials that I have dotting my front garden. They survive on rainfall alone and are flowering off and on all year. I do give them a ‘haircut’ three times a year to help them look their best.
Lastly, are some pink flowers from my potted Dianthus, which have done so well throughout the entire winter in my front entry.
I ventured outside in my PJ’s because I was sure that I would only take 2 minutes and no one would see me. But no….. my wonderful neighbor saw me and I spent a delightful 1/2 hour talking with her in my front garden in my pajamas 😉
**I would like to thank you all so much for your kind comments and well wishes for my recuperation from this awful pneumonia. I have a lot of medicine to take and am feeling much better. I am just feeling tired and weak now, which is hard when I see the spring pruning that needs to be done in my garden. Thankfully, my husband is more then willing to help out.
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Okay, so maybe some of you are wondering about this Monthly Garden Bouquet. Well, here are the details below…..
If you would like to participate in this month’s MGB, here are the guidelines:
1. MGB begins on the 21st of each month and runs until the end of each month. Bouquets can be submitted during this time (or even later 🙂
2. Create your own garden bouquet as fancy or simple as you like.
3. I would appreciate it if you would provide a link back to my post inside of your MGB post, but it is not required 🙂
4. Add your link to Mr. Linky below and that’s it!
It can be as simple or fancy as you like. Each month, I cannot wait to see what you all come up with.
**Please stop by and read my latest blog post about “Welcome Residents in the Vegetable Garden” on Birds & Blooms. Your support means a lot to me and the editors 🙂
Tropical Beauty and Silence…..
AZ Plant LadyI love visiting tropical places, don’t you?
Some of you may not have noticed, but I have been gone on vacation for the past.
I do love the capability to schedule my blog posts so that I don’t have a one week lapse in my blog.
Well, my family and I have just returned home from a vacation to the Caribbean.
Bougainvillea
I would love to tell you all about it, but I can’t……
At least not verbally.
You see, I haven’t been able to speak for the past three days.
If I could speak to you, I would tell you about the beautiful plants and gardens that I saw.
However, I can show you pictures of some of the strange and unusual plants that I saw….
I would remark at how warm and beautiful the ocean water was and the breathtaking beach views.
Caribbean Vacation, St. Thomas
We were able to visit St. Maarten, St. Thomas and the Bahamas.
Even if I cannot speak, I can still show you pictures of some of the plants that I saw that I cannot identify, hoping that maybe some of you may know what they are. Like this flowering tree below….
If only I could speak, I would tell you that we had a wonderful time with our entire family.
We went with my husband’s parents and his sister’s family.
I was sad to see our vacation end. But, I must say that I glad to be home again.
There is nothing that can compare to sleeping in your own bed, don’t you agree?
St. Maarten
I am thankful that I do not need to rely on my voice to communicate with all of you 🙂
Sadly, that is not true with trying to communicate with my family.
Unfortunately, I lost my voice on the last day of our vacation.
Yesterday, I visited the doctor, who diagnosed me with not only a virus that is affecting my vocal cords, but also with pneumonia.
I have never had pneumonia before…..
My mother stopped by today with lunch and to give me some TLC.
You know what? You never outgrow your need for a little mothering now and then 🙂
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I hope that you are all staying well.
I am going to take a nap now……
A Wonderful Memory…..
My Newest Favorite Thing…..Vegetable Gardening!
Vegetable GardeningI must admit that I have really enjoyed sharing with you my favorite things…..
Not because I think you are all waiting with baited breath to hear more about what I like, but because when I think of my favorite things, it makes me happy.
My last favorite thing that I would like to share with you is a rather newer interest for me…..
I just love my new vegetable garden!
Now I have grown vegetables in the past. I had my first vegetable garden in my parent’s backyard and remember growing carrots and broccoli. But then I turned into a teenager and my budding interest in gardening was forgotten so that I could concentrate on more important things such as clothes, friends and boys 😉
In college, I had to grow vegetables for one of my horticulture classes and I worked hard on my school garden because I wanted to get an ‘A’ in the class.
As a professional, I have worked with clients, teaching them how to grow vegetables and I have also created vegetable gardens for service organizations.
But, I did not really get into vegetables until last year. It makes me sad to think of how many years I wasted, not experiencing the joy of growing my own vegetables.
But, it is never too late to get started. So, we selected an area in our back garden that received at least 6 hours of sunlight and then made the trip to our local big box store to get the necessary materials.
The kids were very excited too.
Because vegetables like fertile soil (who doesn’t), we bought bagged compost, aged steer manure, blood meal, bone meal and slow-release fertilizer.
Add some vegetable seeds for our summer garden and we were ready.
Now all we needed was the muscle…..
I’ve said it before and I will say it again….
Nothing says “love” more then a man who will shovel manure for you 😉
He even built the raised bed and fence for our garden.
Why did we need a fence, you may ask?
There are two reasons, named Tobey and Missy.
In our first summer vegetable garden, we grew basil, cucumbers, sunflowers, sweet corn, tomatoes and watermelon.
We even grew a pumpkin!
You know how people tell you that nothing beats the taste of vegetables that you grow yourself?
They are totally right! Our vegetables were delicious. I just wished that we had more.
Soon, summer was waning and it was time to plant our winter garden. So, we added some more bagged compost, a little slow-release fertilizer and we were ready to go…..
Lettuce, broccoli, spinach, bunching onions, carrots and garlic were planted along with companion plants such as Marigolds and Nasturtiums to help repel damaging insects.
It has been so nice to be able to pick my own lettuce instead of buying bagged salad at the grocery store.
We have eaten through the broccoli, lettuce and spinach. Soon we will be able to harvest our carrots and garlic.
Soon, it will be time to plant my summer garden this March. I plan to stick with cucumbers, corn, tomatoes, basil and sunflowers. Growing watermelon and pumpkins was fun, but the vines took up a lot of room.
What about you? Do you have a vegetable garden? If so, what do you like to plant?
If you do not have a vegetable garden, why don’t you plant one? You can dig one in your back garden or build a raised vegetable garden (they are available in kits as well).
If you do not have much space, how much planting vegetables in a container? You really can!
Even Vegetables Need Friends…..
One of My Favorite Things…..Hiking the Superstition Mountains
AZ Plant LadyHiking is very popular here in the Desert Southwest. I enjoy hiking with my husband and family during the cooler months of the year.
Last year, my husband and drove to the Superstition Mountains, which is located just outside of the Phoenix metro area.
The Superstition Mountains are a very popular destination among hikers.
Some are hoping to perhaps find the legendary gold of the Lost Dutchman’s Mine. The legend is that a German immigrant, returning from the California gold rush, decided to search for gold in these mountains.
The story says that he came to Phoenix in the 1870’s with bags of gold and bragged that he had found a huge amount of gold in the mountains, worth millions of dollars. He would not reveal the exact location of his gold mine, but he implied that it was located in the Superstition Mountains.
He died in the 1880’s and some say that he revealed the location of the mine to the woman who was caring for him as he lay dying. Since his death, thousands of people have searched for his legendary mine, but it has never been found.
People still search for the mine to this day. So, why has no one found it?
Well, one reason may be that the Superstition Mountains occupy an area of over 159,000 acres, with rugged terrain. Many people become lost in the wilderness.
Another possible reason is that the mine maybe never existed in the first place.
The reason that we visited the Superstition Mountains was purely selfish on my part……
And no, I wasn’t searching for gold.
I wanted to enjoy a day of hiking in the beautiful outdoors with my husband and without my kids.
Isn’t that awfully selfish?
I encourage those of you who live close enough to visit these beautiful mountains. There are many different hiking trails that will take you to different areas of the Superstition Mountain wilderness.
You will enjoy your visit to this beautiful place, even if you do not ‘discover’ the Lost Dutchman’s Mine 😉
You can find more information about the Superstition Mountains here.
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I am so appreciative for those of you who take a couple of minutes to visit my Birds & Blooms blog.
Here is my latest post…
Bright, Sunny Flowers All Year
A Few of my Favorite Things – Apples, Peaches and Plums….Oh My
Double S Farms, Fruit TreesWhen my mother, sister and her family moved to Double S Farms, I had no idea that I would soon be the grateful receiver of their bountiful harvest of apples, peaches and plums.
Peaches
The peaches ripen first and I had the privilege of learning how to make my own peach jam.
I didn’t learn how to do it myself. My mother, Pastor Farmer, taught me how.
It was a special time for me since she was teaching me something that her mother had taught her long ago.
Besides that, the jam was delicious.
After the peaches ripened, the plum were ready a few weeks later and I decided to try to make jam myself.
I was pleasantly surprised that my plum jam turned out very well.
It is now mid-March and I still have peach and plum jam to spread on my morning toast.
Now it was time to try my hand at making applesauce from the apples.
My mother rejoined me in making the applesauce and I used it later to make my signature Applesauce Spice Cake.
I enjoyed learning how to preserve fruit. My only complaint is that I wish that I didn’t have to do it in the summer….my kitchen gets quite warm.
How about you?
Do you have a favorite fruit in your garden?
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My latest Birds & Blooms blog post is sure to bring a smile…
What Do You Do With a Dirty Chicken?
Citrus, September and Lemonade….
Some of my Favorite Things…..Butterflies
AZ Plant LadyThere is just something about the miraculous transformation that a caterpillar undergoes resulting into a beautiful creature. I think that is what continue to amaze us, even as adults.
Painted Lady
Last spring, my kids and I raised butterflies ourselves using a kit that I had found at Costco.
My daughter, Gracie, getting ready to let her butterflies free.
It was so much fun seeing them transform before our eyes and then getting ready to let them go.
It is hard for me to think of them as insects…..
I don’t particularly enjoy holding caterpillars in my hand, but I find intense enjoyment when a butterfly alights on my hand.
It is sometimes hard for me to get a good picture of a butterfly…..
Swallowtail feeding upon Lantana.
Believe me, I have tried, but they usually turn out blurry, like the one above.
Butterflies do not seem to understand that they need to sit still so that I can get the ‘perfect’ shot with my camera 😉
Thankfully, there are always butterfly pavilions at our local botanic garden where the butterflies are content to stay still so that I can take their picture…..
Beautiful creature
How about you?
Have you had luck taking pictures of butterflies?
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Please come and see my latest Birds & Blooms post
Beautiful Native Shrub With a Floral Surprise