Tomatoes

How To Grow Tomatoes in the Desert

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I think that there are few plants that gardeners get more excited about than growing tomatoes. There is just something so rewarding about biting into a juicy, flavorful tomato. For those of you who have tasted a freshly grown tomato,…
Poodled or Natural

Which Would You Prefer? Poodled or Natural?

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Anyone who has spent any time with me in the garden, soon learns how much I dislike formal pruning of flowering shrubs and desert trees.  In the plant industry, we sometimes refer to this type of pruning as 'poodle pruning' because of…
frost damage

Are You Ready?

I spent last week visiting with a client who was worried that he had lost 80% of his plants to the hard freeze that we had experienced earlier this winter. I must admit that there was more brown then green in his garden, like the majority…
Desert Willow

A Flowering Willow…..A Lesser Known Tree for the Garden

You know what?  Sometimes life gets so busy and crazy.  Now, I am sure that none of you are surprised by my 'earth-shattering' statement.  But that is how I am feeling today.  Life is full of both grief and joy and it is…
Mexican Honeysuckle

A Lesser-Known Honeysuckle….

I can think of quite a few different plants that have the word "honeysuckle" listed as part of their common name. I am very excited to share this particular plant with you because of one trait that is sometimes hard to find in many desert-adapted…
start raising chickens

What to do With a Dirty Chicken? Give it a Bath…..

I was planning on continuing my series of posts of "Lesser Known Plants for the Garden" today.....that is until I saw my sister's latest blog post. Now for those of you who may not be familiar with my youngest sister; she is a resident of…
Angelita Daisy

A Bright, Sunny, Lesser-Known Plant for the Garden

I wrote earlier this month about the extreme cold temperatures that we had been dealing with.  Well, we are now experiencing warmer then normal temperatures with highs hitting about 78 degrees F.  While I do love this weather, I am…
tropical plants

Lesser Known Tropical Beauty for the Desert Garden

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One of the things that I love about gardening in the desert is how many beautiful plants that can not just survive our arid climate, but thrive in it.   Besides our native desert plants, many tropical plants also do very well here…
Salvia-clevelandii

Beautiful Flowers and Fragrant Foliage….Try This Lesser Known Plant

I have been enjoying sharing with you some of my favorite lesser-known plants.  These are plants that are not used enough in the landscape and can brighten up an otherwise boring landscape filled with over-used landscape plants such as…
Valentine shrub

Are You A Trendsetter? Try This Lesser Known Plant

When you describe yourself, do you think of yourself as a trendsetter?  Do you wear the most current fashions or drive the newest style of car? Well, anyone who knows me well, would not use the word trendsetter to describe me. …