Elevate Your Side Yard with Creative Solutions Side yard art in the form of a garden? Yes please! Do you have a side garden or perhaps an empty stretch of landscape along the side of your house? Many of my clients do, and they desire…

Planting Own-Root Roses in the Desert: A Blooming Success Story Have you seen roses growing in a desert garden? What about own-root roses? When I talk with desert dwellers, many are convinced that roses cannot grow in our hot, dry…

A Long-Awaited Gardening Book Birthday: Turning 18 Months of Dreams into Reality Today - the big gardening book birthday - was a day long in coming... In many ways, it was like a very long pregnancy. 18 months to be exact since my…

Purple lilac vine Discovering the Beauty of the Purple Lilac Vine (Hardenbergia violacea) In the midst of a colorless winter garden, a burst of vibrant beauty can be a delightful surprise. Explore the wonders of this wonderful purple…

I have picked up a new hobby, which was a bit accidental - birding! As a horticulturist, birds go along with gardening, and I've always enjoyed them. One of my most requested speaking topics is about gardening for birds. However, I have…

A Family Pumpkin Bread Recipe with a Garden Twist I realize you are likely to find useful desert gardening info on my website, but what you may not know is that I love spending time in my kitchen and this Pumpkin Bread Recipe is to-die-for. So,…

Embracing the Desert Garden in Fall Fall is my favorite time of year in the desert garden for two main reasons. First, fall signals the beginning of the holiday season. And yes, I am one of those people who decorate for Christmas…

Understanding the Mystery of Dead Plants I'm pretty sure I know the answer to the dead plant mystery. We have all likely experienced the death of a plant in our garden, and even though I am a horticulturist, I'm not immune. Sometimes,…

The Common Name Conundrum Isn't this a pretty shrub? I saw this flowering beauty at a client's home. Now, when you see a plant that you like in a friend or neighbor's yard, you probably ask them what it's called. My client…