Gardening With Kids: A Love Affair With Rocks Have you ever invited a child outside to help you in the garden? They are naturally curious about the outdoors, and most kids jump at the chance to explore the landscape. That is why,…

Petoskey, Michigan lighthouse While spring break is a time where masses of people escape the cold for warmer climates (like Arizona), we decided to do the exact opposite.  We flew out of warm, sunny Phoenix and headed to cold…

Meyer Lemon There is nothing quite so refreshing as the fragrance of lemons as you slice through their yellow skin.  Lemons are a very popular fruit tree for those of us who in zones 8 and above and their lush green foliage…

artichoke agave (Agave parryi 'truncata') Today as I was downloading photos from my phone, this one caught my eye.  It is a picture of an artichoke agave (Agave parryi 'truncata') along with her babies.  For some reason,…

Winter Garden, The vibrant flowers of firecracker penstemon (Penstemon eatoni) add a welcome splash of color during winter and into spring. People often ask me to post more photographs of my garden on my blog.  I must confess…

February is what I like to call a 'bridge' month.  In regards to work, it is a transition month for me.  It is the month between January, when work slows down as it's cold with not much is growing and March, when the weather is delightfully…

English shrub roses *Disclosure: I am so excited about these two roses, which were sent to me free of charge, to test in my garden. Roses have enchanted gardeners over the centuries with their colorful petals arranged in intricate…

Photo: Mister Lincoln hybrid tea rose I love roses.  So much so, that at one time I had over forty different varieties growing in the garden of my home in Phoenix. Fast forward 25 years later, and I live in a different house…

Cool-season vegetables transplants One of the things that I enjoy about living in the Southwest is the ability to garden throughout the year.  Well, that may be a slight exaggeration - I don't especially like gardening in July…