Tag Archive for: how to

Have you ever seen shrubs that have been planted too closely together?

overcrowded shrubs

At first glance, it looks like the new plants in the landscape above fit just fine into this area.  

But, what if I told you that those small shrubs grow 6 feet high and wide at maturity?

overcrowded shrubs

As they grow, out come the hedge trimmers, and over-pruned, ugly shrubs are the result.  

Unfortunately, this is a problem that has reached almost epidemic proportions in areas throughout the Southwest.  

Why else would people prune beautiful flowering shrubs into something that resembles anonymous, green blobs?  

The good news is that you can avoid this from happening in your landscape.  Even if you currently have overcrowded shrubs, you can solve the problem.

I recently wrote an article for Houzz.com on how to avoid overcrowded and the resulting over-pruning…

I hope that you find this article helpful – I’d love to hear your thoughts.

10 Tips for Drought Tolerant Gardening

This is my last post on unique containers.  To date, we have looked at containers on four, two and one wheels, one that fits on your feet as well as some ‘trashy’ ones as well.

Today, I’d like to show you two containers that you shouldn’t sit on.

Chair planter in Downtown Noblesville, Indiana.

Chair planter in Downtown Noblesville, Indiana.

I saw these two chair planters sitting in front of a gift shop in downtown Noblesville, Indiana.

The seat of these old chairs have been taken out and a planter, much like those you would use for hanging baskets were inserted into each empty seat.

This type of whimsical planting is fun and hopefully people won’t make the mistake of sitting them.

Note that in dry climates, like Arizona and other desert climates – you can do this in the cooler months of winter and spring, but not in the summer.  The roots would literally ‘cook’ in the hot temperatures.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of my favorite unique containers that I have encountered on my travels.

I have found a unique container of my own on a recent trip to Minnesota that I can’t wait to plant in fall once the temperatures cool.  I’ll be sure to share it with you!

Indiana, Illinois and Abe Lincoln

I enjoy growing vegetables in both my garden and in containers.  While some of my containers are rather traditional, one of mine is not.

vegetables in a grocery bag

This was one of my favorite projects because it was an unexpected sight for visitors to my vegetable garden.

While you would expect to see leaf lettuce poking up from a grocery bag – you certainly don’t expect to see it growing inside of one.

This is a very simple DIY project, which are the kinds that I like best.

“What Am I Growing in a Grocery Bag?”

You can grow many different types of vegetables in a grocery bag.  Would you consider doing this in your own garden?

I enjoy growing herbs for two reasons.  First, they are easy to grow and second, I love to use them when I cook.

dried herbs

In addition to fresh herbs, I also use dried herbs from time to time, especially in winter when some of my favorite herbs (basil) aren’t growing.

While drying herbs is rather simple, there are some guidelines to follow, which I wrote a blog post about…

“How to Grow and Dry Your Own Herbs”

Do you have a favorite herb that you like to use when you cook?

Do you grow your own herbs?

Did you know that you can preserve them by freezing them?

Freeze Herbs Into Ice Cubes

I frequently freeze my freshly-harvested herbs into ice cubes so that they are easily on hand, even when they are out of season.

“Freeze Herbs Into Ice Cubes”

Whenever I need them in my favorite dish, I simply pop out an ice cube from the freezer.

Do you have a border in your garden? 

How about a decorative garden that you made yourself?

decorative garden

Last year, I visited a garden that had a beautiful border that the owner made herself using concrete mix, broken dishes and glass beads.

decorative garden

There were also lovely step stones as well.

The creator of this functional garden art was kind enough to show me how she made them.

“DIY Stepping Stones and Border”

Have you ever made a piece of art that you display in your garden?

I have spent the past few weeks indoors whenever possible avoiding the desert heat.  While I do venture outdoors occasionally to do consults and take a weekly tour of the garden to make sure everything is okay.

We did lose a small tree and some branches during a fierce monsoon storm over the weekend, but I was grateful for the rain and the cool temperatures that followed.

Last week, I showed you some of my favorite plant photos.  This week, I would like to share with you some of my favorite DIY blog posts, most of which you can do inside.  

Natural Air-Fresheners

One of my favorite DIY projects was creating natural air-fresheners.

I don’t know about you, but I do not like the heavy, artificial smells of air-freshener sprays – not to mention the idea of chemicals floating through the air.  So, the idea of making air-fresheners using  plants definitely appealed to me.

“DIY Create Natural Air Fresheners From the Garden”

I hope you are inspired to make you own!

Did you know that certain flowers are edible?

It’s true.

Last week, I mentioned on my Facebook page that I was “channeling my inner Martha Stewart”, preparing for a future diy blog post.


Here are the ingredients I used…

edible flowers

Distilled water, ice-cube trays and edible flowers such as violas.

Here is what I ended up with…

 floral ice cubes

Wouldn’t these look great on your Easter table?

It was very easy to do, but there are some tricks to doing it just right.

*Not all flowers are edible and you must be sure to use flowers that have not been treated with chemicals or pesticides.

I wrote about how to make your own floral ice cubes along with a list of edible flowers, in my latest blog post for Birds & Blooms, which you can access here.

Mexican Fence Post

A Tale of New Beginnings: The Mexican Fence Post Cactus and Rachele’s Journey

This is a story about new beginnings – one for a new cactus and another beginning for my second-oldest daughter, Rachele.

Believe me when I say that both stories are connected in a way.

The Connection Between a Mexican Fence Post Cactus and a Daughter’s Departure

This cactus, above, is a Mexican Fence Post (Pachycereus marinatus), which has been happily growing in my front garden.

What may not be initially obvious is that 11 years ago, I started this cactus from a 2 ft. piece of one (called a ‘cutting’) given to me by a client from their large Mexican Fence Post cactus.

Well, exactly 1 year ago, I repeated the favor for our neighbors.

Mexican Fence Post

Sharing the Beauty: Providing a Piece of the Mexican Fence Post Cactus to Neighbors

Look carefully at the photo above and compare it with the first one. Can you see where we cut off a piece of the cactus?

Our neighbors had recently re-landscaped their front yard and wanted a cactus like ours. Of course, they knew that they would have to start out with a much smaller one – but they were unprepared for how expensive it would be to buy one at the nursery.

Our cactus had been growing so well, we decided to offer them a piece (cutting) off of our Mexican Fence Post. So, my husband, daughter and I gathered together to take a cutting from our cactus.

Here is how we did it…  

Mexican Fence Post

How to Properly Take a Cutting from a Cactus

We selected a good-sized length of cactus and while I held onto it, my husband took a pruning saw and started sawing it off at the bottom.

Multiple layers of newspaper and gloves are helpful to use to grab onto cacti with short thorns. For cacti with longer thorns, you can use carpet remnants. When you cut out a piece of cactus, it will be much heavier then you are expecting – so be prepared.

Mexican Fence Post

My husband and daughter wheeled the cactus cutting over to our neighbor’s house using our wheelbarrow.

Mexican Fence Post

Preparing the Cactus Cutting for Planting

We then placed the cutting in a dry, shady spot for 2 weeks in order to allow the cut site to ‘callus’ over, which would protect the cacti from rotting when it is replanted.

*Exactly 3 days after helping us with the cactus cutting, my daughter, Rachele, left for the Navy and basic training.  It was a sad goodbye for us, but a new beginning for her.

After 2 weeks had passed, the new cactus was planted in its new location with a wooden stake for support.

No water was applied for the first month after planting, in order to make sure that the entire cut end had callused over.

One month after planting, the cactus was watered deeply, monthly, until November.

my second-oldest daughter, Rachele

*Whenever I looked at the newly-planted cactus, thoughts of my daughter and how she was doing in her new Navy life always crossed my mind.

new cutting

One year later, the new cutting is doing so well and has even grown two new sections.

You can see the parent cactus in the background.

Now, I may not be located as closely to my daughter as these two cacti, but like the new cactus, she is growing and doing so well in her new career with the Navy.  We are so proud of her!

You can read more about Rachele’s adventures, here.

How to Propagate Cactus Via Cuttings


Propagating cactus via cuttings can be done with many species of cacti. Here are a few guidelines to follow for success:

1. Propagate cactus during the warm season, when the threat of frost is over.

2. Make the cut at the joint where the segment attaches to the parent plant. For prickly pear cacti, you can cut a segment that consists of 1 – 3 pads.

3. Place the new cutting in a dry, shady spot for 2 weeks to allow the cut site to ‘callus’, which protects the cacti from rot when it is replanted.

4. Plant your new cactus in full sun with well-drained soil.

5. Don’t water for a month after planting.  Then water deeply, monthly until fall.

6. Provide temporary shade for the first summer. You can do this by placing a plastic patio chair over the top or using shade cloth.

Soon, you will begin to see new growth on your cactus.

Have you ever been on live television?  

If you had asked me a year ago, I would have said “no”.  I had done some filming for “how-to” gardening videos for SheKnows.com – but they weren’t live and took place in my back garden.  Somehow, live TV is quite different.

Last time, I told you about my upcoming appearance on our local ABC station to talk about creative container gardening tips.

Posing next to my newly-planted container filled with purple basil, thyme, rosemary and parsley.  White petunias add beauty to the pot.

Posing next to my newly-planted container filled with purple basil, thyme, rosemary and parsley.  White petunias add beauty to the pot.

This was the second time that I had been asked to appear on Sonoran Living, which is a local morning program.

Last time I was on the show, I spoke about ‘Fuss Free’ Plants.  This time, I would be talking about  creative tips for container gardening.  

So, I went shopping for my ‘props’.  I decided to plant an herb container as well as a pot filled with vegetables and flowers.  I bought several medium-sized pots, a variety of potting mixes and of course, plants.

 Sonoran Living

My sister came along with me to help with the props and setting up.  I had planted the pots ahead of time, so setting up wasn’t too difficult.

The main focus of the demonstration would be the three pots, the potting mixes and the recyclable grocery bag.

They tell you to bring a lot of props, which look good on television.  So, I brought gardening gloves, some hand tools and extra plants to help ‘set the stage’. My microphone was there for me to put on and I was almost ready.  

 Sonoran Living , Finishing up planting my vegetable/flower container.

Finishing up planting my vegetable/flower container.

Last time I was on the show, mine was the first segment.  It went very fast and we were back on the road before the show was over.

This time, I was to go last.  So after everything was set up, my sister and I were invited to wait in the staff break room.

To say that I wasn’t nervous would be an exaggeration.  But, I was not as nervous as my first time.  It’s actually not as hard as doing a “how-to” video where you have to talk to the camera.  On the show, I am talking to a person who asks me questions so I don’t speak directly to the camera at all.  If you lose your train of thought, they are there to get you back on track.

Of the tips I shared on air – using recycled, plastic containers to fill the bottom of large pots as well as using a recycled grocery bag as a container were the most popular with the hosts.

I had a great time and hope to be invited back again.

Below, is the link for my container gardening segment and at the end you see where I accidentally got involved in a conversation at the end about “Dancing With the Stars”.

“CREATIVE CONTAINER GARDENING TIPS”

I hope you enjoy it and come away with some helpful tips that you can use when creating your own container garden.

**You can view my first appearance on Sonoran Living where I talk about “Fuss-Free Plants” here.