Entries by arizonaplantlady@gmail.com

Getting Away From It All

Did you have the opportunity to get away for awhile this summer? Our summer has been a bit tough this year.  The reason is that my son, Kai, had hip surgery (his 5th) and was confined to a wheelchair this summer.  He was in quite a lot of pain for the first few weeks, which […]

What To Do In The Garden: August Edition

August has arrived, which means that my kids have started school and peace has descended on my house 🙂 Soon fall will be here, which is a very busy time in the Southwest garden because it is the best time of year to add new plants to the garden. But in the meantime, there are […]

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Do You Prefer Pretty Flowers or Dead Stems?

For those of you who have read my blog for a while, you have probably heard me talk about the epidemic of over-pruning. But, that doesn’t mean that you should never prune. The other day, I was driving down a street in our neighborhood when I saw one of my favorite perennials, Angelita Daisies. The […]

Miniature Gardens – Creating Your Own Little World

*This blog post contains affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I may receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). Thanks for your support in this way.* Have you ever seen a miniature garden?  They are becoming very popular and are sometimes called ‘fairy gardens’. I must admit that I’ve […]

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Preserve Fresh Herbs By Freezing Into Ice Cubes

I love growing herbs in my garden and one of the reasons is that they thrive in our hot, dry summers with minimal fuss. I must admit that I sometimes forget to make use of my fresh herbs, or sometimes I have more than I need. Some frost-tender herbs like basil don’t grow in winter in […]

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A Tale of a Street and Two Trees…

Last month as I was leaving from a landscape consultation, I took some time to drive by a few of the landscapes in the neighborhood.   I immediately noticed that quite a few people had Olive trees growing in their front yards. Olive tree There was a large difference in how some of the homeowners […]

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A Lapful of Apples and Caramel Apple Jam

Last week, I shared with you our latest apple harvest. My kitchen was filled with bags and bags of delicious, crisp, apples from my mother’s apple trees. (I don’t have any apples from my trees yet because they are too young). admit that I didn’t get to my apples right away.  So, they sat in […]

An Apple Harvest in the Desert…

When I moved to the desert Southwest 27 years ago as a young bride, all I saw was a brown landscape, spiky cacti, landscapes covered in little bits of rock and very few trees. If you had told me that you could grow any kind of fruit tree besides citrus – I would not have […]

Stuck in a Wheelchair All Summer…

This summer has found us staying close to home for the most part as my son, Kai, is recovering from hip surgery. June 2013 This is Kai’s sixth hip surgery and he will be the first to tell you that it is not fun. The first part is always the worst because of the pain. […]

The Chicken vs. The Caterpillar

I don’t think that my sister’s chicken has ever seen a caterpillar that large before. Do you think she will eat it?  Or will the caterpillar emerge victorious? I’ll let you know at the end of this post… Those of you who have ever grown tomatoes probably recognize this green, horned caterpillar. If you are […]