A Hidden Surprise in a Most Unexpected Place…

As gardeners, most of us are used to finding surprises in the garden.  Some are welcome and some are not.  Yesterday, as I walked outside in my front garden, I was greeted by the following sight….

finding surprises

Aren’t these flowers just beautiful?

I would love to share with you the story of how I discovered the plant the produces these very pretty pink flowers…..

Fresh out of college, armed with a degree in horticulture my first job was to manage the landscape areas and trees of a golf course.  On a good day, I would have a couple of crew members along to help as long as there was not too much to do on the golf course.  The golf course itself rested around a desert mountain and the grassed areas actually made up a small part of the golf course.  Landscape areas flanked the golf course while the surrounding hills remained untouched.

Golf course

 Golf course feature area with Ironwood trees (Olneya tesota), Little Leaf Palo Verde (Parkinsonia microphylla), Bursage (Ambrosia deltoidea) and Brittlebush (Encelia farinosa).

Unfortunately, some of the ‘untouched’ desert areas were designated for future homes and were due to be cleared.  Before an area was to be cleared I would venture out with my crew and harvest what cacti and native plants that I could.  We would then replant them around the golf course.  

Much of the native desert in our area is covered by a low-growing shrub known as Bursage (Ambrosia deltoidea).  Certain times of the year, it is leafless and ugly.  However in the rainy season, they are covered with sage green leaves that you can see in the photo above.  

It was during the month of April that I glimpsed a spot of pink underneath a particular Bursage.  As I walked closer to it, I found a little cactus, covered in rings of pink flowers.

finding surprises

Finding surprises

Known by various names such as Pincushion Cactus or Arizona Fishhook Cactus (Mammillaria grahamii or Mammillaria microcarpa), I was so excited with my discovery.  Armed with a pick, my foreman and I quickly dug it up in order to save it from the coming bulldozers.  We then began to look to see if we could find more of these little cacti in areas soon to be bulldozed.

If it had not been for the fact that they were flowering, it would have been much harder to find them – they only grow to about 6 inches tall at maturity.  But I started seeing glimpses of pink everywhere.  We started walking all over the desert areas slated to be leveled for homes and were able to save countless little cacti.

Tonto National Forest

This is ‘untouched’ desert and part of the Tonto National Forest. The low shrubby plants are what Bursage looks like before they leaf out.   The small cacti often hide underneath.

Nowadays, whenever I visit a client whose homes are surrounded by native desert, I often look to see if I can find any of these cacti.  I love to show the homeowner the surprise that lurks beneath their somewhat boring Bursage.

You do have to look closely, especially when they aren’t flowering.

finding surprises

It blends fairly well doesn’t it?  Actually, it is hard to believe that the ugly, leafless Bursage has anything of value underneath.  The cactus is rather boring when not in flower.  But just wait until spring and summer arrive….

Back when I worked at the golf course, my boss gave me permission to take a cluster of little cacti home to plant in my garden.  **Note, this is a protected species and cannot be removed unless on private land with the owner’s permission.  

I planted my Fishhook Cactus over 10 years ago and each year, the clump grows larger and produces more flowers.  

finding surprises

Finding surprises

One of my favorite things about my Fishhook Cactus is that it blooms repeatedly in the summer months in response to the rain.  Once it has finished blooming, small, bright red fruits are formed that are edible – they have a tart taste.

One of the common names, Arizona Fishhook Cactus, comes from the fact that their spines are hooked.

finding surprises

My garden has very few cacti and this one is my favorite.  When the day comes that we move from our home, I will dig up my favorite cactus and take it wherever I go 🙂

The Aftermath….

Yesterday evening, I started to see the signs….

Gusty winds, thunder clouds, the smell of rain in the air and raindrops starting to fall.  A monsoon storm was on it’s way.

Monsoon storm, Clouds gathering over my house and Eucalyptus tree

Monsoon storm, Clouds gathering over my house and Eucalyptus tree.

When I first moved to the desert southwest from California, I was quite surprised that it rained in the desert frequently in the summer months.  Where I came from, summer rain was quite rare.

Another surprise awaited me when I experienced my first monsoon storm….flying dust followed by high winds, thunderclouds, lightning and torrential downpours – these were definitely things that I had not experienced in California.

*The Sonoran Desert has two rainy seasons, one in the winter and one in the summer.  Because of this our desert has the most animal and plant species of any North American desert.  We have over 2,000 native plant species alone.  

Although I love monsoon storms, I would dread going to work the day afterward because I knew that there could be a lot of tree damage to deal with due to the high winds…especially on the golf courses.  I would have to personally check all of the trees…some were completely blown over with roots sticking out and my crew would quickly cut them up.  Other trees would half in and half out of the soil and I would have to decide if we could save them or not.  

One summer brought a severe micro-burst over the area where I worked and the damage to the trees on the golf courses were thankfully, minimal, except for a large Saguaro cactus that was lost and just a handful of trees.

Monsoon storm

However, it was the damaged trees that I saw as a result of the storm in the residential areas that was shocking.

There were the trees that had been completely blown over…

Monsoon storm

 Fallen Mesquite

Monsoon storm

 Fallen Palo Verde

Fallen Ironwood

 Fallen Ironwood

Some trees were completely snapped off at their base….

Palo Verde

Palo Verde

Some trees that completely lost their head…literally.

Palo Verde

This Palo Verde snapped off halfway up the trunk.

Some trees looked like they were swallowing up homes….

monsoon storm

Although we did suffer some losses on the golf courses and landscape areas, the homeowners were hit the hardest in regards to damaged trees – mostly because their trees were either somewhat top-heavy or had not been pruned recently, or pruned correctly.  

You may be asking, what can I do to avoid having this happen to my tree?  Well, there are some steps that you can take to help prevent wind damage, BUT even if you maintain your trees correctly, wind damage may be unavoidable.  Following these tips will increase your chances of escaping severe wind damage, but nothing can totally prevent it due to circumstances beyond your control.

First, you may notice that all the trees in the pictures had a single (standard) trunk.  Imagine holding a lollipop at the base of the stick.  The top of the lollipop is quite heavy, isn’t it?  Well, this is the same for many single trunk trees.  Many desert trees such as Mesquite, Palo Verde, Sweet Acacia and Ironwood are available in both standard (single) or multi-trunk forms.  In my opinion, multi-trunk trees are more attractive in addition to the fact that they are less likely to suffer damage from wind because the weight of the branches is more evenly distributed among multiple tree trunks.

Second, proper pruning will help your trees to weather the storms.  I would always schedule our annual tree pruning to be done before the monsoon season would begin.  The International Society of Arboriculture has excellent information on how to prune mature trees which can be found here.  Trees add lots of value to your house – not just aesthetically, but in dollars as well.  So, it is worth the investment to hire a Certified Arborist to advise you on the correct way to prune your trees.  Most also offer pruning services for your trees as well.   *You can find a Certified Arborist in your area by following this link.

Last, make sure that your trees are watered correctly.  Trees need to be watered deeply, so that their roots will grow down into the soil.  Repeated shallow watering results in tree roots that are close to the surface and are not able to anchor a tree against high winds. 

monsoon storm

As I write this, I see storm clouds gathering to the east.  I am hoping for a nice rainstorm tonight, without the high winds 😉 

“Raise Your Hand If You Have Ever Killed a Plant”

I asked this question years ago, to a room full of people as I was giving my first landscape presentation.  I was quite nervous as I began my presentation, but once I asked the question, “Raise your hand if you have ever killed a plant,”  almost everyone raised their hands.  A few people also laughed when my hand also went up and I immediately felt a little less nervous.

I think it would be very hard to find anyone who has a garden who has never killed a plant, don’t you?  Over the years, I have heard many stories, some very humorous about mishaps in the garden which ended with dead plants.  I would like to share mine with you….

Raise your hand if you have ever killed a plant

Over 18 years ago, we  moved into our new home in Phoenix.  It was a small, older, ranch style house that had quite a few roses and a lot of room for a garden.  I was so excited to have my own piece of land to grow plants in, I could hardly wait to get started.  I sent for plant catalogs and couldn’t wait to select what I would grow.

I selected a beautiful Clematis vine and some Shasta Daisies.  It seemed like it took forever for them to arrive in the mail.  As soon as they arrived, I opened the box and was a little disappointed at how small the plants were.  But, I planted my Clematis and Daisies and had visions of how wonderful they would look once they started flowering.

Shasta Daisy

*Courtesy of Wikipedia

You may notice that the picture of the Shasta Daisy above is not mine.  There is a good reason for that….I killed all of my Shasta Daisies.  You see, I decided that the tiny plants that arrived in the mail needed a little help growing.  So, I gave each 2″ plant a handful of lawn fertilizer. 

I was sure that the added fertilizer would work miracles and I couldn’t wait to see how much faster they would grow.  Well, most of you are probably already laughing at my mistake, but I was so surprised when I went out into the garden the next morning to find little brown, dried out plants.  So, lesson #1 that I learned was to read the directions on the fertilizer bag and that more is definitely not better when it comes to fertilizer.  I burned my little plants by adding too much fertilizer.

So, now that I learned my first lesson, I was sure to fertilize my new Clematis vine carefully.

Raise your hand if you have ever killed a plant

*This is my photo, buy NOT my Clematis vine.   I took this photo in a garden full of flowers in Wales.

Again, I do not have a photo of my Clematis vine flowering for one very good reason….it never flowered.  It did grow foliage, but after a year, it was only about 3 ft. high and kind of sad looking.  Lesson #2, just because a plant says it will grow in zone 9, does not mean that it will thrive in my desert climate.  The USDA Plant Hardiness zones is based on the lowest average temperature of a given region.  Phoenix is in zone 9.  But, the zones do not take into account the heat of a particular area.  It turns out that Clematis does not like the intense heat of our summers and as a result, mine never flowered.  

And so, a recap of what I learned….

First – a tiny amount of fertilizer goes very far and amending the soil with organic matter is preferable.  I now only fertilize when a plant that shows a specific nutrient deficiency (I make exceptions for citrus trees and roses, which fertilize regularly).

Second, just because a plant looks pretty in a catalog and says it grows in zone 9, it doesn’t mean that it can handle the heat of our summer.  Sunset magazine has created a new hardiness zone map that factors in many different variables of a given region: low and high temperatures, humidity, soil type, length of growing season and rainfall.  You can access this information, which covers all regions of the United States.  *Many nurseries and those in the plant industry in the western US use the Sunset zones instead of the USDA hardiness maps since they are much more accurate.

 Well, for those of you who may be new to gardening, I hope my experiences will help you so that you don’t make the same mistakes I did.  Many beautiful plants are very easy to grow in our desert climate….you just have to do a little research to find out which ones.  

I would like to offer one last bit of advice….wherever you live, don’t rely on the plants you see offered in the big box stores – they are notorious for selling bright, flowering plants that will soon turn brown and die after you plant them.  This doesn’t mean that you have a black thumb….it means that some of the plants that they sell do not necessarily thrive in your climate.

Now, I would love to hear your stories…..have you ever killed a plant?

A Harvest of Apples….

Nothing can beat the taste of apples freshly picked from the tree.  When I moved to the desert, I was surprised that apple trees could grow here.  I came to find out that most fruit trees not only can grow in our climate, but thrive.

This summer, my mother (Pastor Farmer) of Double S Farms, undertook the daunting task of teaching me how to can fruits.  We made peach jam together and I then made plum jam on my own.  You know, nothing quite beats the feeling you get when you have a row of freshly canned fruit that you have made yourself.  I am definitely getting hooked on canning.

Double S Farms has many different kinds of fruit trees, including two Anna’s apple trees.  They are prolific producers of apples and I couldn’t wait to make applesauce.

freshly canned fruit

Another reason that I was looking forward to spending the day with my mother was that I have been with my kids 24 hours a day since school has been out for the summer and to be honest, I needed a small break.  Normally, I do go out on a few landscape consultations during the week, but when the summer heat arrives, people do not want to spend much time outside in the garden, so my business slows down and I am home much of the time.  Please don’t misunderstand me – I have great kids and I love them, but it was so nice to have a few hours away.

There are many recipes for applesauce available online – sweetened, unsweetened, with cinnamon, chunky, etc.  A good reference guide for canning any type of fruit can be found at this link.  

In order to make the applesauce, we first cut the apples into chunks.  You may notice that we did not peel the apples….we just removed the stem and end from each apple before we cut them up into chunks.

freshly canned fruit

We added water and then cooked them until they were soft.

freshly canned fruit

Then it was time to put them through the food mill.  *I have always wanted a food mill and had so much fun using my mother’s.  I really need to get one 🙂

freshly canned fruit

Besides being very easy to use, the food mill kept all the apple peels and cores out of the pureed apples that fell into the bowl.  Peeling apples is not a favorite activity of mine, so it was so nice to skip this part.

freshly canned fruit

In the foreground, you can see an old fashioned device which also worked well.  I am not sure what it is called, but it did work well.

While we were working, my two nephews came home from playing at the park.  They are always so much fun to play with.  Their new favorite books are my sister’s cupcake cookbooks.  They spend lots of time looking at all of the pictures and deciding which ones they are going to make.

cookbook

*I have actually have used the first cookbook and had some great results.

Okay, back to making applesauce….

Once the apples were pureed, we added sugar and lemon juice.

Harvest of Apple

Now back onto the stove for a few minutes to heat up.

Harvest of Apple

It already looked so good, it was hard not to dip my spoon in and try some.

Next it was time to put it into jars, making sure that there are not air bubbles and add the lids.

Harvest of Apple

 The last step…

Finished

Finished!

Finished

Now, I think it is time to make my Applesauce Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting 🙂

**If any of you would like the recipe, please send me an email and I would be happy to send you the recipe for the cake.

Can It Forward: Making Nectarine and Blueberry Jam

Evening In The Garden….

During the summer months, I enjoy spending time in my garden in the evenings, just as dusk settles in.  I love the warm dry heat, without the bright sun beating down on me.  I like how the light from the setting sun brings a new dimension to the garden.

Garden in Evenings

Garden in Evenings

One of my ‘Desert Museum’ Palo Verde trees is a late bloomer and is still in full flower, which this bee is taking full advantage of.  I love how the sunlight shines through it’s delicate yellow petals.

My attention is drawn to another one of my favorite trees, my Palo Blanco (Acacia willardiana).  The common name, translated into English means ‘white stick’, which refers to the white trunk.  I have three of these trees and I walked over to see the delicate foliage and seed pods.

my Palo Blanco

While I was standing there, my attention was captured by what was going on higher up in the tree.  There were two hummingbirds enjoying the setting sun, just as I was.

Garden in Evenings

Garden in Evenings

I couldn’t believe how close I was and they were aware of my presence, but I think that they were so focused on each other, they could care less about a human standing nearby.

Because of the lighting, I could not tell what color they were to identify what species they were.  I would make a guess that they were Anna’s though.  I am sure they are a mating pair.  I wonder where they have built their nest?  I will have to keep my eyes open.

I have never photographed two hummingbirds together and was so excited – I could hardly believe my luck in getting a picture of them.  On my way back through the garden, my attention was captured by the last bloom of my English Rose, Abraham Darby.  I say that it is the last bloom, because it will not produce more roses until late September, when the summer heat begins to abate.  

Garden in Evenings

The bloom was quite small, but lovely just the same.  **The heat of summer causes the rose blooms to open too rapidly, before the petals have fully formed.  

Before, I went back inside, I went to see how much larger our pumpkin has grown.  We have had so much fun growing pumpkins, even though it will be ready far before October.  But, my kids wanted to try growing them early, and they are having so much fun seeing how quickly it has grown.  You can read more about our ‘escaped pumpkin’ here if you like.

Here is what our pumpkin looked like one week ago…

pumpkin

And here is what 7 days of growth looks like….

pumpkin

Isn’t it amazing?  We are so proud of our little ‘escaped’ pumpkin.

As I prepared to go inside, I noticed that one of our sunflowers is beginning to open.  

sunflowers

It’s face points east, ready to welcome the start of a new day.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Unrequited Love In The Garden….

Do you have a plant that you would love to grow in your garden?  You close your eyes and you can just imagine how beautiful it would look and exactly where you would plant it.

Then, you open your eyes and look out into your garden and sadly, that plant is no where to be seen.  Okay, I don’t mean to get all melancholy on you.  But, is there a plant that you just love, but cannot grow because you live in the wrong climate?  A plant, which despite all the tweaking you try to do to the environment in the garden, your much loved plant will just not grow?

Well, I have a plant that I love that does not grow well in our desert climate.  Sure, you can see it being sold from time to time at the local big box store…..but we all know that just because a plant is sold at one of these stores, does NOT mean that they will survive long once planted.

My much loved plant that I cannot grow is Hydrangea…

hydrangea shrub

Hydrangea Shrub

These hydrangea were growing in the garden of noted author C.S. Lewis.  We visited his home and garden in Oxford, England in 2003.  

When my parents lived in Southern California, they had a huge hydrangea shrub.  I remember visiting them and seeing it absolutely covered in pink blossoms.  **Hydrangea blooms turn pink in alkaline soils and more bluish in acidic soils.

Now, I am generally not a complainer by nature.  I am amazed at how many different plants that I can grow in our semi-tropical, desert climate; a myriad of fruit trees, pine trees, palms, tulips, daffodils, iris, vegetables, as well as dozens of tropical plants.  And so, I will continue to be happy with the wide variety of what I can grow while I enjoy hydrangeas through pictures.

Now, I am wondering…..are there any plants that you wished you could grow, but cannot due to your climate?  Even if you just love your garden as it is, is there one plant you would include if it would grow where you live?

California Nursery Visit

Do You Have a Garden or a Yard?

Garden or a Yard

Garden or a Yard ;An example of a “front garden”.

 What word do you use for the area surrounding your home?  Do you call it a ‘yard’ or a ‘garden’?  

I looked up the definition of the word ‘yard’ regarding the land surrounding a house and here is what I found:

1. A tract of ground next to, surrounding or surrounded by a building or buildings.

3. An area where railroad trains are made up and cars are switched, stored, and serviced on tracks and sidings.

4.  A winter pasture for deer or other grazing animals, or an enclosed tract of ground in which animals, such as chickens or pigs, are kept.

Now, I don’t have any trains in my yard or deer, chickens or pigs either.  I do have animals in my yard, but my dogs spend most of their time indoors.

Of all these definitions, the first one best describes my ‘yard’.  But it is so much more than a “tract of ground surrounding a building”.

Garden or a Yard

My back ‘garden’ in the summer.

So, I looked up the definition of the word, ‘garden’.  Here is what I found:

1. A plot of land used for the cultivation of flowers, vegetables, herbs, or fruit.

2. Grounds laid out with flowers, trees, and ornamental shrubs and used for recreation or display.

3. A yard or lawn.

Now some people may not feel comfortable referring to their ‘yard’ as a garden.  They may feel that their landscape is inadequate.

Garden or a Yard

 Kilkenny Castle, Kilkenny Ireland

Well, I don’t see anything in the definitions of the word, ‘garden’ that means that you have to have beautiful, formal, extravagant landscaping around your home.  You don’t see the word ‘castle’ mentioned in the definition, do you?

I think the definition(s) of the word, ‘garden,’ describe the landscape around my house much more accurately than the word ‘yard.’  I have flowers growing in containers, I have a vegetable garden, I have flowering plants, ornamental shrubs, and trees.

Winter Annuals

 Winter Annuals

Okay, you may be asking, “What if I only have a single tree and a couple of shrubs in my landscape?  Does that mean that I only have a ‘yard’, or can I call it a ‘garden.’  Well, if you look at the definitions from the dictionary, I think the word, ‘garden’ certainly applies.  But, it certainly couldn’t hurt if you decide to add more trees and plants in my opinion 😉

A few years ago, I stopped referring to the area surrounding my home as a ‘yard’.  I didn’t think that the term ‘yard’  described the landscape surrounding my house.  (When I managed landscapes, we had a ‘maintenance yard’ where all of our equipment was kept and our offices were also located there as well.  The term ‘yard’ did describe what we used that parcel of land for – a specific business or activity.  But it certainly was not a term that I wanted for the area around my home.)

My side vegetable 'garden'

My side vegetable ‘garden’

Now, my landscape is not particularly fancy…it’s rather simple, filled with plants that I love.  And so I decided that I did not have a ‘yard.’  To be more specific, I did not have a ‘front yard’, ‘backyard’ or even a ‘side yard’.  I had a garden.  Today, I refer to them as my ‘front garden’, ‘back garden’ and ‘side garden’. 

Pink Beauty (Eremophila laanii)

 Pink Beauty (Eremophila laanii)

When I meet with clients, I like to refer to their landscape areas as their front garden and back garden.  My hope is that they will see their “yard” as what it really is…..a garden.

So, what do you have?  A ‘garden’ or a ‘yard’?

Summer Blooming Friends Return….

It may seem odd to refer to colorful flowers as friends, but that is what I think of the blooms of my red bird-of paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) shrubs.

They are located beneath my kitchen window and this time of year, the blooms have just begun to reach up to the window.  What is even better is that the first blooms of the season are just beginning to open.

red bird-of paradise

The bright yellow, orange and red flowers brighten up my day as I work in the kitchen.

Many visitors and new residents ask me about this beautiful shrub.  It really is stunning in the summer landscape.

red bird-of paradise

Native to tropical America, Red Bird-of-Paradise is grown throughout southern areas of the United States, the Caribbean and has been brought to India and the Philippines.  It thrives in areas with heat and sun.

Depending on where you live, this is one shrub that has a multitude of common names….

Pride of Barbados

Dwarf Poinciana

Red Bird-of-Paradise

Mexican Bird-of-Paradise

& 

Peacock Flower

In areas with warm winters, this shrub is evergreen.  However, during the winter in my zone 8b garden, my shrubs go dormant and are cut back to 1ft. from the ground.  This may seem somewhat like severe pruning when it is done each year, but it ensures beautiful shrubs in late spring.  Cold hardy to zone 8a, they can be killed to the ground when temperatures fall into the teens.

red bird-of paradise

 The foliage is also quite beautiful and grows back very quickly in the spring after pruning.

Butterflies and hummingbirds are attracted to the beautiful flowers.  I have seen some shrubs absolutely covered with butterflies in September.

red bird-of paradise

Plant in full sun or filtered shade.  Shrubs planted in the shade will have reduced flowering and sparser foliage and so I recommend planting in full sun.

Their size varies from 3 ft. by 3 ft. all the way to 10 ft. to 10 ft., so make sure you have room for it to grow.  In desert gardens, they do require regular irrigation.

I have planted many of these shrubs in both commercial and residential landscapes with great results.  They are not fussy in the least.  My shrubs are now 11 years old and have never been fertilized or the soil amended.

There is another variety is called ‘Phoenix Bird’, which has distinct yellow flowers (not to be confused with Caesalpinia mexicana).  I used this variety when I designed the landscape for my in-laws.

beautiful shrub

 Whatever you decide to call this beautiful shrub, it is just perfect for me…..it is beautiful and does not require a lot of work to make it look that way.

beautiful shrub

 I am so happy that my summer friends have returned 🙂

An Orange Monday Morning….

Mondays are usually busy days for most of us.  I know that for me, when the weekend ends, there is a list of things for me to accomplish, including writing my first blog post of the week.

This week promises to be busier then usual for our family.  As I have mentioned before, my son is going in for surgery later this week.  He will be getting another bone graft onto his hip.  Kai, is no stranger to surgery and this one will be his sixth.  The hard part is that he will be confined to a wheelchair and unable to walk for approximately 2 months.  Now that would be hard for most of us to handle, but when it happens to a very active 8 year old boy, it can be even more difficult.  

Due to the upcoming surgery, we celebrated his birthday on Saturday at the park.  It was a beautiful day and we had a great time with family and his friends.  Kai’s real birthday is this Thursday.  I wanted to thank those of you who commented on my last post and wished him a happy birthday 🙂

With all of the upcoming stress of this week, I spent this morning taking a walk in my garden in the morning.  I love to do this after the busyness of the weekend is over and to see what has happened in the garden over the weekend.

I was not disappointed….

Orange trumpet flowers

Orange trumpet flowers

My Orange Jubilee (Tecoma x ‘Orange Jubilee’), is now covered with beautiful sprays of trumpet flowers.

This is one of my very favorite summer flowering shrubs.  I love the rich, green foliage and that this shrub can grow quite large (12 ft. high and 8 ft. wide). 

Orange Jubilee

Orange Jubilee, pruned up from the ground for maximum height.

Another reason that I like this shrub so much is that it is super low-maintenance.  I planted my Orange Jubilee 11 years ago when we built our house.  I have never fertilized this shrub, ever.  It does very well in poor, rocky soil and also thrives in rich, organic soils.

Supplemental water is required in the desert southwest.  The tips can suffer frost damage when temperatures dip into the 20’s and will freeze back to the ground when temperatures hit the teens.  But, it grows back quickly and can achieve heights of 5 – 7 ft. in a single growing season.   It is hardy to zone 7.

Orange Jubilee

Orange Jubilee, pruned from the top, resulting in a fuller and shorter shrub.

It thrives in full sun and in filtered shade.  I like to use it as a background planting along a wall.  I have also recommended it as a screen for a air-conditioning unit and as a less expensive option to hide pool equipment, rather then build a low wall.

Plant smaller shrubs or perennials in front such as Purple Trailing Lantana or Gold Lantana.

Orange trumpet flowers

Oh, by the way, if you like hummingbirds in your garden, they will love your Orange Jubilee.

Favorite Flower Photos: Day 3 – Orange Beauty

May’s MGB…..Monthly Garden Bouquet

It is time again for the Monthly Garden Bouquet.  It is hard to believe that May is already more then halfway through.

My bouquet for this month is made up of only two different flowers.  Both flowers are from plants that will soon stop blooming and I wanted to be able to share their blossoms with you before they are gone.


It is a very simple bouquet as are most of my previous ones.

I actually used small branches from my flowering Palo Verde tree along with the last of my Firecracker Penstemon blooms.  

Garden Bouquet

As you can plainly see, this bouquet is quite simple, but I do love how it shows the beauty of both of these flowers.  It is also so nice to have this bouquet to look back on later this year and be reminded of what my garden has in store for me next spring 🙂

You can view two of my previous entries here 

if you like.

If you would like to participate in MGB, here are the guidelines….

1. MGB is held the third week of each month and bouquets can be submitted during a 7 day period (or even later if you like).

2. Create your own 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!

I cannot wait to see what bouquets you create from your spring gardens.

Have a great week!