Entries by arizonaplantlady@gmail.com

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Chihuly Art in the Desert Garden

Have you seen the Chihuly art display at the Desert Botanical Garden?   What did you think? Do you love seeing his beautiful artwork displayed in the garden? Or, are you of the opinion that it detracts from the plants and their more subtle beauty? For those of you not familiar with Dale Chihuly, he […]

DIY in the Garden: Floral Ice Cubes

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… Distilled water, ice-cube trays and edible flowers such as violas. Here is what I ended up with… […]

Tour of Southwestern Sustainable Landscapes: Part 2

I am always on the lookout for beautiful landscapes that are well-designed and need minimal care.  I like to call them sustainable or ‘fuss-free’ landscapes. A week ago, my friend and fellow-blogger, Pam Penick came into town on a quest to see examples of gardens that use little water.  So, I was more then happy to spend […]

Tour of Sustainable Southwestern Landscapes: Part 1

What do you think of when someone mentions ‘sustainable landscaping’ to you?   Do visions of stark landscapes with a few dried out plants and cactus come to mind?  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Sustainable landscapes are beautiful, low-maintenance and drought-tolerant. Scottsdale Xeriscape Demonstration Garden Last week, I spent an entire day visiting some […]

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Do You Have a ‘Life List’ for Plants?

Some of you who are birdwatchers may have heard of the term ‘life list’, which refers to the list of birds that they hope to see within their lifetime. While I like birds just fine, I don’t have a ‘life list’ of birds I want to see before I die. But, I started wondering whether […]

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Blue Bells: A Beautiful, Yet Tough Shrub for the Desert Garden

A few years ago, while visiting my sister in the Palm Springs area in California, we visited the Living Desert Museum.  This is a combination botanical garden and zoo. We had a great time exploring along with our kids and I enjoyed taking pictures of the different plants that I saw. While walking through the gardens, […]

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New Beginnings For a Cactus and a Daughter

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 […]

3 New Plants To Try & New Speaking Engagement

I am busy putting the finishing touches on my presentation for an upcoming speaking engagement this Monday evening… The women’s ministry at Cornerstone Church in Chandler, AZ asked me to speak about desert gardening. Now, I love talking about how easy it is to have a beautiful and low-maintenance garden in the desert – yes, I said […]

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New Plants Worth a Second Look…

Do you ever get tired of seeing the same plants showing up in landscapes time after time?   It doesn’t matter whether you live in the desert or in more temperate climates – there are always 5 – 10 varieties of plants that are used over and over. Even though these plants may be attractive, the […]