For those of us who live in cities, or in my case a suburb of a large city, visiting a small town may be as close as we get to experience the delights that they have to offer.
My husband and I recently took a trip to the delightful town of Petoskey, Michigan where our oldest daughter, Brittney moved along with her husband and daughter.
The town of Petoskey is located at the “top of the mitt” as locals like to say.
I had been fortunate to have visited this picturesque downtown that sits on the shores of Little Traverse Bay, 1 1/2 years ago – long before we had any idea that my daughter and her family would end up there.
This time, my husband came with me and we looked forward to spending time with family as well as exploring Petoskey, which is consistently ranked as one of the “10 Best Downtowns To Visit” in America.
Like many small towns, many residents are within walking distance of the downtown area. So, on a brisk November’s day, we set off on foot toward the downtown area.
Signs of fall could be seen all around, from the bright red berries of Ilex deciduaPossumhaw to…
fallen apples filling the stomachs of squirrels and autumn leaves being raked up by homeowners.
As we walked I could see gardens getting ready for a long winter’s sleep, although some plants were still in flower.
Dried hydrangea flowers decorated many gardens, which added stark beauty. I would love to use these dried flowers for floral arrangements in my home.
Did I mention that number one on my list of plants that I wish I could grow in my desert garden is hydrangea?
Landscapes were filled with leafless shrubs and trees along with evergreen plants.
I think that large leafless trees have a beauty all their own, don’t you?
What’s a small town without a gazebo in the local park?
Or a general store?
Yes, those are live greens, which they use to decorate with.
The arrival of the Christmas season is a big deal in many small towns and Petoskey is no exception.
Fall-themed window displays were soon to give way to those filled with Christmas greenery and decorations.
The merchants were also transforming the interior of their stores.
Yes, that is a mannequin dressed in all her Christmas finery. As you may have guessed this was the local florist and home decor store.
These stainless steel Christmas tree containers outside of this store were also pretty cool.
Being a horticulturist, it is physically impossible for me to simply pass by any garden-themed store, so I went in.
Christmas trees decorated in different themes were displayed throughout the store. I suspect that they offer tree decorating services.
While I am not personally a fan of artificial flowers, I really liked how they worked on this tree. Of course, that could be due to the fact that they were decorated with one of my favorite flowers.
Fairy or miniature gardens are pretty popular in this area as I saw several displays throughout the stores we visited.
If I lived in area that experienced cold, long winters, I might be more likely to grow plants indoors.
However, I am not very attentive to my indoor plants, so they usually die. Perhaps, it’s a good thing that I live in a place where I can garden outdoors year round, thereby saving defenseless indoor plants 😉
A large display of artificial flowers and succulents, perfect for brightening up the indoors through the winter.
Shopping with my daughter and granddaughter – can life get any better?
Next stop was the local bookstore, so of course I had to check out the gardening section.
Not surprisingly, there weren’t books on drought tolerant gardening in this region where water is plentiful.
Our next stop was to visit one of my favorite stores from my previous visit to Petoskey, ‘American Spoon‘ is a local company who sells fruit preserves and condiments from produce grown in Michigan.
I think that this was my husband’s favorite shop that we visited because there were ‘samples’. I tried several different kinds of preserves and decided on getting my favorite, sour cherry preserves and vanilla bourbon pear conserve.
We also tried roasted pumpkin seed salsa – it was delicious, so I had to buy a jar of that too.
As I mentioned earlier, the Christmas season is celebrated throughout the gaslight district of downtown Petoskey.
What was striking to me was that the towns gaslights and stores were decorated with live evergreen wreaths and garlands – not the artificial ones that are commonplace throughout the desert Southwest.
On the first Friday of December the town hosts an Holiday Open House when streets shut down and Santa arrives to light the town Christmas tree. Merchants vie to win the Holiday Window Contest and townspeople celebrate the first Friday of the season along with carolers and the local high school’s drum band.
I hope that you enjoyed this glimpse of a small town. Wherever I travel, I love to explore new places and experience and observe the local traditions, gardening practices, plants, people and of course the food!
Our next visit to this small town will be in June, when the days are long and warmer. We’ll bring the kids with us next time and explore further out to some of the other surrounding towns and take a trip to Mackinac Island, which is just over an hour away 🙂
**Have you ever lived in a small town? What did you like about it?**
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I love flowers. In fact, it was my love affair with flowers that inspired me to get my degree in horticulture. I figured that life is too short to not do what you love, so working as a horticulturist allows me to be around blooming plants throughout much of the year.
As the weather begins to cool, blossoms begin to lessen, but one of the many benefits of living in the Southwest is that there are always some plants showing off their flowers.
Today, I’d like to share with you just a few of the flowering plants that I saw during the past couple of weeks, which are decorating the fall landscape.
Pink Fairy Duster (Calliandra eriophylla) flowers in spring and fall, is extremely drought tolerant, thrives in full sun and is hardy to 10 degrees F.
Creeping Indigo Bush (Dalea greggii) is a groundcover, which flowers in spring and fall, is drought tolerant, thrives in full sun and is hardy to 10 degrees F.
The Cascalote tree (Caesalpinia cacalaco) flowers in fall and on into early winter, is drought tolerant, thrives in full sun and is hardy to 20 degrees F. While thorny, there is a new variety with a smooth trunk, called ‘Smoothie’.
Pink Muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris) is an ornamental grass that flowers in fall, is drought tolerant, thrives in full sun to filtered shade and is hardy to 0 degrees F.
Blue Bells (Eremophila hygrophana) flowers all year long, is drought tolerant, thrives in full sun to filtered shade and is hardy to 17 degrees F. Still in bloom in November
These are but a few plants that are still in bloom in November in my zone 9 climate.
How about you? What is blooming in your garden or neighborhood?
It may seem rather strange to think of landscapes decorated with lilies in fall, but summer and fall rain bring on the lovely blooms of rain lilies (Zephyranthes species).
Rain or ‘zephyr’ lilies add beauty to the gardens throughout the Southern half of the U.S., including the Southwest. While their apperance may make you think that they are delicate and needs lots of coddling, nothing could be further from the truth.
Like other types of lilies, they are grown from bulbs planted in fall and are surprisingly, moderately drought tolerant.
The white species (Zephyranthes candida) is my favorite and has evergreen foliage. There are other species and hybrids in colors such as pink and peach.
Rain lilies deserve a greater presence in the landscape, given their delicate beauty that adds welcome interest to the garden. They are also easy to grow.
For more information on this delightful plant, including the different species and how to plant and grow your own this fall, check out my latest plant profile for Houzz.
https://www.azplantlady.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Rain_lily_Zephyranthes_candida-002-2.jpg424640arizonaplantlady@gmail.comhttp://www.azplantlady.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/favicon.pngarizonaplantlady@gmail.com2015-11-24 19:04:002022-10-22 07:55:16Lilies in the Fall Garden?
Fall in the garden is a time of celebration with plants enjoying the period after the heat of summer has bid goodbye and before the cold of winter arrives.
This time of year is filled colorful blooming plants decorating our outdoor spaces. In the past few weeks, the color purple has made its presence known in several gardens that I have visited recently.
If you love the color purple, here are some plants that you may want to include in your garden.
Black dalea(Dalea frutescens) saves its flowering for fall when violet flowers appear above its lacy foliage.
This Southwestern native is hardy to 15 degrees F. and does best in full sun. Black dalea is underused in the landscape and deserves to be used more.
Desert ruellia(Ruellia peninsularis) is a shrub that I use it often for my client’s designs. I love that it flowers throughout the year as well as its attractive foliage.
A native of Mexico, this shrub does best in full sun to partial shade and is hardy to zone 9 gardens.
Sometimes, parking lot medians can put on a spectacular show. This blue ranger(Leucophyllum zygophyllum) begins blooming in summer but saves its best flowering for fall.
The gray foliage adds nice color contrast in the garden. Hardy to 10 degrees, plant in full or reflected sun for maximum flowering.
One of the most beautiful purple blossoms belongs to the skyflower(Duranta erecta) shrub. Delicate purple flowers are arrayed on graceful arching stems.
Hardy to 20 degrees, skyflower blooms spring through fall.
Last week, while I was doing a landscape consultation, my attention was drawn to a beautiful bluepotato bush(Lycianthies rantonnetti) blooming in the front yard.
The vibrant purple flowers contrasted beautifully with the bright green foliage. This shrub is hardy to zone 9 gardens.
Finally, let’s look at the generous blooms of purple trailing lantana(Lantana montevidensis). This lantana groundcover blooms spring through fall and needs very little care other than pruning once or twice a year.
Hardy to 20 degrees, this lantana grows in full sun or partial shade.
I hope that you have enjoyed this tour of purple autumn blooms.
https://www.azplantlady.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Dalea_frutescens.jpg640510arizonaplantlady@gmail.comhttp://www.azplantlady.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/favicon.pngarizonaplantlady@gmail.com2015-11-10 13:30:002022-10-22 09:40:09Purple Blooms for the Fall Garden
While fall color may be somewhat lacking in the Southwest landscape in comparison to areas with brilliant fall foliage, we do have several plants that wait until fall to begin to color the landscape with their blooms.
Turpentine bush(Ericameria laricifolia) is a desert native that has lovely, dark green foliage year-round. With the arrival of fall, they are transformed by the appearance of golden yellow flowers.
It’s hard to find a plant that needs less attention than this drought-tolerant beauty – pruning every 3 years and monthly watering in summer is all it needs.
Learn more about why you should add turpentine bush to your landscape including how to use it for the greatest effect and what plants to pair it with in my latest article for Houzz.com
https://www.azplantlady.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/TurpentineBushflowers.jpg452640arizonaplantlady@gmail.comhttp://www.azplantlady.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/favicon.pngarizonaplantlady@gmail.com2015-11-05 13:00:002022-10-22 09:57:34Drought Tolerant and Beautiful: Turpentine Bush
Are you someone who adores cilantro, looking for more ways to add it to their favorite Mexican food?
Here is a new use for cilantro that deserves a spot on your pantry shelf – cilantro herb salt.
Cilantro herb salt can be used to flavor food where you would normally add salt and cilantro separately. It is so easy to make, you’ll want to create a huge batch for yourself and friends and family.
Here is how to make your own:
1. Add 1 bunch of cilantro (cutting the stems off first) to your food processor.
2. Add 1 1/2 cups of kosher salt and pulse until the cilantro is mixed in and the salt turned green.
3. Place the cilantro salt mixture on a baking sheet and bake at 225 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and lightly mix up and bake for another 30 minutes.
4. Allow to cool before putting it in an airtight glass jar.
Your cilantro herb salt will keep for a long time, but the flavor is strongest when used within 6 months.
So what are you waiting for? Grab some cilantro and kosher salt today and make some delicious salt for yourself and more for gifts.
**Cilantro herb salt is just the beginning. Learn how to make basil or rosemary herb salts too!
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When trying to decide what to fill our containers with, most people gravitate toward colorful, flowering annuals. For those of us who live in the Southwest, we are equally likely to fill our pots with cacti or succulents, which thrive in our dry climate.
However, did you know that plants aren’t the only thing that looks great in containers? In fact, what many people would consider ‘trash’ can actually transform the look of a container and your outdoor space.
Dried plant material can add a unique and striking look to the landscape when showcased in a pot.
Besides decorating your outdoor space, they aren’t particular about sun, shade and are perfectly happy without any water or fertilizer.
In this particular case, I had a lovely blue container in my front entry that had stood empty for longer than I would care to admit to. The opening was too small for most plants and it sat in the shade for most of the day making it difficult to grow colorful annuals.
On a recent visit to a client whose home was surrounded by the natural desert, I found some dried plant material that would soon find its way to my house.
Among a pile of yard debris mixed in with cut tree branches and branch clippings were several dried yucca flowering stalks that had been pruned away and were waiting to be put in the trash.
Now most people would probably walk right by this pile of discarded plant material and understandably so. But, I was on the lookout for items that the homeowner could use for a walled in patio, which was quite bare and received hot, reflected sun for most of the day.
My thought was to add colorful, glazed containers in order to bring welcome color to this space and fill them with cacti.
However, once I saw the dried yucca stalks, I decided that they would make a striking filler for a container.
The homeowner, who enjoys designing the interior of her home, saw the potential right away and selected three stalks.
The flowering stalks came from a magnificent soaptree yucca(Yucca elata) that they had growing in their front yard.
The homeowners graciously offered to give me a few of the stalks to take home.
I knew that my empty blue container would make the perfect home for dried yucca stalks.
While I love my new dried yucca stalks – they are just a few natural items that can be used in containers.
This large, dried flowering stalk from an agave would look fabulous in a container and displayed in the corner of an entry or patio.
Discarded canes from an ocotillo that would otherwise be headed toward the landfill can find new purpose as a filler for containers.
A saguaro skeleton would make a dramatic statement if ‘planted’ in a large container.
On my recommendation, this client gave up trying to grow flowering annuals in her shady entry and add colorful containers with bamboo poles.
Do you have a location where you’d like to have containers, but whatever you plant there dies?
Do any of the following situations where you’d like to have containers apply to you?
– Too much shade or sun
– Access to irrigation is limited
– You are gone for long lengths of time and can’t care for container plants
– Worried about staining the concrete or tile underneath the container from mineral buildup from watering
– You tend to kill anything you plant
If you are dealing with one or more of these situations you may want to look at adding dried plant material to your containers for a unique and fuss-free look that will add beauty to your outdoor space.
Plants that stay green all winter while also producing flowers are somewhat rare in the Southwest, which is why Mexican honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera) is one of my favorite additions in landscapes I design as well as in my own garden.
Mexican Honeysuckle
Orange, tubular flowers appear throughout the year, with the heaviest bloom occurring in spring.
Hummingbirds find their flowers irresistible.
The lime-green foliage looks great year-round and this small shrub thrives in light, filtered shade.
For more information on this latest drought-tolerant and beautiful plant, including what plants to pair it with, check out my latest article for Houzz.
Do you think of yourself as a trendsetter? How about being the first landscape in your neighborhood to have the newest plant varieties on display?
I am always on the lookout for new plants that give a unique and often unexpected look to outdoor spaces awash in a sometimes overwhelming sea of bougainvillea, lantana and oleanders.
Now, I would like to state at this point, that I have no problem with bougainvillea, lantana and oleanders as plants – they are beautiful plants that are easy to care for with little fuss. However, because they are used so often, they lack the impact that we would like for our landscaped areas to make. At the 2015 Garden Writers Conference that I attended, one of the speakers said this, “When things are expected, they become less powerful and impactful.”
The tradeshow associated with the conference had many vendors displaying the newest tools to make gardening easier, which I wrote about in a previous post. There were also many growers present showcasing the newest plants on the market along with new varieties of well-known plants.
Walking through the booths filled with beautiful plants, I felt like a kid in a candy store. Everywhere you looked, there was a new plant drawing me in closer to read its tag to see if it could be grown in a hot, arid climate.
Many of the growers handed out free plants to conference attendees so that they could try them out in their own gardens.
Like I said before….I was a kid in a candy store where everything was free!
Monrovia, a well known grower, had a large number of plants on display including this one that I found rather interesting…
This is a dwarf jacaranda, called ‘Bonsai Blue’, which grows 6 ft. tall and 5 ft. wide. This would be a great option for someone who had limited space but who wants this tropical plant along with its purple flowers decorating their outdoor space.
I was excited to receive 3 ‘Brakelights’ red yucca(Hesperaloe parvifolia ‘Perpa’), which have darker red flowers than the traditional red yucca.
Lovely plant varieties of autumn sage, nandina and other salvias were a feast for the eyes. Many of the new nandina varieties are compact, reaching 2 ft. high and tall.
Many of the plants in their display were suitable for testing in my garden, so arrangements were made to send a variety to me to try out such as ‘Flirt’, ‘Lemon Lime’ and ‘Obsession’varieties of nandina, which are more compact and offer a variety in foliar color. Another plant to look forward to receiving in the mail is ‘Little Kiss’ Salvia which has red and white bicolor flowers, much like ‘Hot Lips’ salvia, but is more compact in size, reaching 18 inches.
In the meantime, I was given 2 ‘Meerlo’ lavender plants at the tradeshow, which have lovely variegated leaves giving an entirely new loook to lavender.
High Country Gardens, is a mail-order nursery that specializes in drought tolerant and native perennials. I spoke to the owner, David Salmon about their newest plant introductions including ‘Showy’ pink milkweed (Asclepias speciosa).
Salvias species such as autumn sage (Salvia greggii) and closely related, Salvia microphylla were on display. In low desert gardens, they bloom fall, winter and spring and do best when planted in partial shade.
I picked up 3 varieties of Salvia microphylla from the of the Salvia Heatwave Collection to try in my home garden. They are purported to be more compact than the closely related Salvia greggii, while also being great in containers.
Roses were also on prominent display, including many types of low-maintenance, groundcover roses such as these ‘Drift’ roses distributed by Star Roses and Plants. This new type of rose is a cross between groundcover roses and miniature roses making them perfect for the smaller garden.
I received a single ‘Drift’ rose at the tradeshow, which now is now planted in my side garden.
Other plants offered by this grower include the highly popular ‘Knockout’ roses as well as beautiful shrubs and perennials.
A representative from my favorite grower of roses, David Austin Roses, was on hand, direct from England. These are shrub roses with old-fashioned blooms that are highly fragrant. I’ve grown several in my garden and was excited for the opportunity to try their newest rose introduction – ‘Olivia Rose Austin’, which isn’t available to the public yet. They will be sending me one this winter to plant in my garden.
Believe it or not, I did pass up the offer of some free plants. Azaleas and gardenias would not grow well in the alkaline soils and while I wish that I could grow hydrangea – they do not like the dry, heat in the Southwest.
‘Wave’ petunias have taken the potted, flowering annual realm with their masses of blooms. The petunia flowers are smaller than regular petunias, which allows for more of them to grow closely together creating a mass of welcome color.
Several varieties were on display including the newest variety ‘Burgundy Velour’with its deep red flowers.
Petunias are my favorite cool-season flowering annual because they aren’t fussy and the newer ‘Wave’ varieties are simply stunning. You can find them at most local nurseries.
It took me 2 afternoons to get through all the booths at the tradeshow and my bags were filled with plants as well as samples of the newest gardening tools and other items.
I could hardly wait to get my new plants home and into the garden.
So, how did I get them home on the airplane you may wonder?
I brought two suitcases with me and carefully wrapped each plant in newspaper and then a plastic bag. I then used my dirty clothes to cushion the area around them in each suitcase.
They all made it home relatively unscathed and are now planted in my garden 🙂
Over this past weekend, I found myself overwhelmed with an abundance of new plants.
It all started with a visit to the Desert Botanical Garden’s annual fall plant sale.
I brought my son, Kai with me who was happy to follow me around pushing the cart.
The best place to find great quality plants along with those that can be hard to find is this plant sale. I also like to see the newest plant varieties so that I can stay up to date.
I’ve learned over the years to come to the sale with a list or else a number of unplanned plant purchases make their way home.
This year, I was proud of myself since I stuck to my list other than one extra plant. Coral fountain, damianita, elephant’s food along with purple and white trailing lantana were going to replace plants lost this summer due to a problem with irrigation.
Ironically, I found a picture of me shopping at the plant sale, posted by the Desert Botanical Garden on their Facebook page(I’m the one on the right wearing sunglasses).
The silver lining for my husband was that despite the fact that I came home with 14 plants, most were being replaced, so no new holes or irrigation was needed.
Later that afternoon, two UPS deliverymen showed up at my door with several boxes filled with new plants.
Yep, MORE plants!
These plants were sent to me by Southern Living Plants to test how they will perform in Arizona.
To say that I was happy would be an understatement. Fourteen plants from the plant sale plus 8 of the newest varieties of plants to try out in my garden – I was in heaven.
Saturday morning dawned and we all found ourselves outdoors ready for a morning filled with gardening.
My husband and daughter, Gracie, added a new layer of compost and manure to the vegetable garden in preparation for planting carrots, garlic, leaf lettuce, radishes and Swiss chard. Meanwhile, I got to work opening up the boxes holding my newest plants.
The first new plant variety to test was a Ligustrum ‘Sunshine’ shrub.
I liked the yellow-green color, which would add great color contrast to the garden.
Several new varieties of Nandina including ‘Flirt’, ‘Lemon Lime’, ‘Obsession’ and ‘Pink Blush’ will find a home along the side of my house, which faces south.
Opening each box and discovering a beautiful plant made me feel like it was Christmas Day.
As I was opening up the boxes of plants, the newest addition to our family (a desert tortoise called Aesop) came out to see what we were up to.
He kept walking around the patio, circling around us before he would travel to the grass for a quick snack…
Aesop has grown quite friendly and will venture out when he sees us out and about. He will also let us pet him.
We were pleasantly surprised at how much time he spent with us. Aesop would walk around and around the patio, just watching what we were doing.
As you can see, he can walk quickly (for a tortoise).
Back to the plants, I opened up boxes that contained two new salvias – ‘Killer Cranberry’ and ‘Little Kiss’ which will be located in filtered shade, next to the patio, where they will do best.
The last box that I unpacked revealed a completely new plant to me, which I was anxious to try.
Lomandra ‘Platinum Beauty’, which is a variegated ornamental grass.
Of the new plants, I expect the nandina varieties to do well since regular nandina does. Salvia will also perform well in filtered shade in desert gardens.
However, I am looking forward to seeing how the ligustrum and lomandra will do in an Arizona garden.
I promise to keep you updated as to how they all perform.
Photo: Sonoran Tortoise Adoption Facility – checking out the baby tortoises.
It has been just over a month since we adopted Aesop and we have all been surprised at how much fun it has been seeing him walking to and fro in the backyard or looking outside and seeing him outside our patio door taking a drink of water from his dish.
With the cooling temperatures, he will soon hibernate, but in the meantime, Aesop has been spending more time walking around during the day as the temperatures have begun to cool somewhat.
To find out more about our adoption journey with Aesop, click here.
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A Small Town Visit and Holiday Traditions
az plant lady familyDo you live in a small town?
For those of us who live in cities, or in my case a suburb of a large city, visiting a small town may be as close as we get to experience the delights that they have to offer.
My husband and I recently took a trip to the delightful town of Petoskey, Michigan where our oldest daughter, Brittney moved along with her husband and daughter.
The town of Petoskey is located at the “top of the mitt” as locals like to say.
I had been fortunate to have visited this picturesque downtown that sits on the shores of Little Traverse Bay, 1 1/2 years ago – long before we had any idea that my daughter and her family would end up there.
This time, my husband came with me and we looked forward to spending time with family as well as exploring Petoskey, which is consistently ranked as one of the “10 Best Downtowns To Visit” in America.
Like many small towns, many residents are within walking distance of the downtown area. So, on a brisk November’s day, we set off on foot toward the downtown area.
Signs of fall could be seen all around, from the bright red berries of Ilex decidua Possumhaw to…
fallen apples filling the stomachs of squirrels and autumn leaves being raked up by homeowners.
As we walked I could see gardens getting ready for a long winter’s sleep, although some plants were still in flower.
Dried hydrangea flowers decorated many gardens, which added stark beauty. I would love to use these dried flowers for floral arrangements in my home.
Did I mention that number one on my list of plants that I wish I could grow in my desert garden is hydrangea?
Landscapes were filled with leafless shrubs and trees along with evergreen plants.
I think that large leafless trees have a beauty all their own, don’t you?
What’s a small town without a gazebo in the local park?
Or a general store?
Yes, those are live greens, which they use to decorate with.
The arrival of the Christmas season is a big deal in many small towns and Petoskey is no exception.
Fall-themed window displays were soon to give way to those filled with Christmas greenery and decorations.
The merchants were also transforming the interior of their stores.
Yes, that is a mannequin dressed in all her Christmas finery. As you may have guessed this was the local florist and home decor store.
These stainless steel Christmas tree containers outside of this store were also pretty cool.
Being a horticulturist, it is physically impossible for me to simply pass by any garden-themed store, so I went in.
Christmas trees decorated in different themes were displayed throughout the store. I suspect that they offer tree decorating services.
While I am not personally a fan of artificial flowers, I really liked how they worked on this tree. Of course, that could be due to the fact that they were decorated with one of my favorite flowers.
Fairy or miniature gardens are pretty popular in this area as I saw several displays throughout the stores we visited.
If I lived in area that experienced cold, long winters, I might be more likely to grow plants indoors.
However, I am not very attentive to my indoor plants, so they usually die. Perhaps, it’s a good thing that I live in a place where I can garden outdoors year round, thereby saving defenseless indoor plants 😉
A large display of artificial flowers and succulents, perfect for brightening up the indoors through the winter.
Shopping with my daughter and granddaughter – can life get any better?
Next stop was the local bookstore, so of course I had to check out the gardening section.
Not surprisingly, there weren’t books on drought tolerant gardening in this region where water is plentiful.
Our next stop was to visit one of my favorite stores from my previous visit to Petoskey, ‘American Spoon‘ is a local company who sells fruit preserves and condiments from produce grown in Michigan.
I think that this was my husband’s favorite shop that we visited because there were ‘samples’. I tried several different kinds of preserves and decided on getting my favorite, sour cherry preserves and vanilla bourbon pear conserve.
We also tried roasted pumpkin seed salsa – it was delicious, so I had to buy a jar of that too.
As I mentioned earlier, the Christmas season is celebrated throughout the gaslight district of downtown Petoskey.
What was striking to me was that the towns gaslights and stores were decorated with live evergreen wreaths and garlands – not the artificial ones that are commonplace throughout the desert Southwest.
On the first Friday of December the town hosts an Holiday Open House when streets shut down and Santa arrives to light the town Christmas tree. Merchants vie to win the Holiday Window Contest and townspeople celebrate the first Friday of the season along with carolers and the local high school’s drum band.
I hope that you enjoyed this glimpse of a small town. Wherever I travel, I love to explore new places and experience and observe the local traditions, gardening practices, plants, people and of course the food!
Our next visit to this small town will be in June, when the days are long and warmer. We’ll bring the kids with us next time and explore further out to some of the other surrounding towns and take a trip to Mackinac Island, which is just over an hour away 🙂
**Have you ever lived in a small town? What did you like about it?**
November Blooms
Arizona, California, UncategorizedI love flowers. In fact, it was my love affair with flowers that inspired me to get my degree in horticulture. I figured that life is too short to not do what you love, so working as a horticulturist allows me to be around blooming plants throughout much of the year.
As the weather begins to cool, blossoms begin to lessen, but one of the many benefits of living in the Southwest is that there are always some plants showing off their flowers.
Today, I’d like to share with you just a few of the flowering plants that I saw during the past couple of weeks, which are decorating the fall landscape.
Pink Fairy Duster (Calliandra eriophylla) flowers in spring and fall, is extremely drought tolerant, thrives in full sun and is hardy to 10 degrees F.
Creeping Indigo Bush (Dalea greggii) is a groundcover, which flowers in spring and fall, is drought tolerant, thrives in full sun and is hardy to 10 degrees F.
The Cascalote tree (Caesalpinia cacalaco) flowers in fall and on into early winter, is drought tolerant, thrives in full sun and is hardy to 20 degrees F. While thorny, there is a new variety with a smooth trunk, called ‘Smoothie’.
Pink Muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris) is an ornamental grass that flowers in fall, is drought tolerant, thrives in full sun to filtered shade and is hardy to 0 degrees F.
Blue Bells (Eremophila hygrophana) flowers all year long, is drought tolerant, thrives in full sun to filtered shade and is hardy to 17 degrees F. Still in bloom in November
These are but a few plants that are still in bloom in November in my zone 9 climate.
How about you? What is blooming in your garden or neighborhood?
A Beautiful Centerpiece for November’s MGB
Lilies in the Fall Garden?
UncategorizedIt may seem rather strange to think of landscapes decorated with lilies in fall, but summer and fall rain bring on the lovely blooms of rain lilies (Zephyranthes species).
Rain or ‘zephyr’ lilies add beauty to the gardens throughout the Southern half of the U.S., including the Southwest. While their apperance may make you think that they are delicate and needs lots of coddling, nothing could be further from the truth.
Like other types of lilies, they are grown from bulbs planted in fall and are surprisingly, moderately drought tolerant.
The white species (Zephyranthes candida) is my favorite and has evergreen foliage. There are other species and hybrids in colors such as pink and peach.
Rain lilies deserve a greater presence in the landscape, given their delicate beauty that adds welcome interest to the garden. They are also easy to grow.
For more information on this delightful plant, including the different species and how to plant and grow your own this fall, check out my latest plant profile for Houzz.
What’s Happening In My Fall Garden…
Purple Blooms for the Fall Garden
Arizona garden, California desert garden, desert gardening, Drought Tolerant, Fall Blooming Plants, Las Vegas gardening, Shrubs, Southwest gardenFall in the garden is a time of celebration with plants enjoying the period after the heat of summer has bid goodbye and before the cold of winter arrives.
This time of year is filled colorful blooming plants decorating our outdoor spaces. In the past few weeks, the color purple has made its presence known in several gardens that I have visited recently.
If you love the color purple, here are some plants that you may want to include in your garden.
Black dalea(Dalea frutescens) saves its flowering for fall when violet flowers appear above its lacy foliage.
This Southwestern native is hardy to 15 degrees F. and does best in full sun. Black dalea is underused in the landscape and deserves to be used more.
Desert ruellia(Ruellia peninsularis) is a shrub that I use it often for my client’s designs. I love that it flowers throughout the year as well as its attractive foliage.
A native of Mexico, this shrub does best in full sun to partial shade and is hardy to zone 9 gardens.
Sometimes, parking lot medians can put on a spectacular show. This blue ranger(Leucophyllum zygophyllum) begins blooming in summer but saves its best flowering for fall.
The gray foliage adds nice color contrast in the garden. Hardy to 10 degrees, plant in full or reflected sun for maximum flowering.
One of the most beautiful purple blossoms belongs to the skyflower(Duranta erecta) shrub. Delicate purple flowers are arrayed on graceful arching stems.
Hardy to 20 degrees, skyflower blooms spring through fall.
Last week, while I was doing a landscape consultation, my attention was drawn to a beautiful blue potato bush (Lycianthies rantonnetti) blooming in the front yard.
The vibrant purple flowers contrasted beautifully with the bright green foliage. This shrub is hardy to zone 9 gardens.
Finally, let’s look at the generous blooms of purple trailing lantana(Lantana montevidensis). This lantana groundcover blooms spring through fall and needs very little care other than pruning once or twice a year.
Hardy to 20 degrees, this lantana grows in full sun or partial shade.
I hope that you have enjoyed this tour of purple autumn blooms.
What is flowering this fall in your garden?
Blooms in February
Drought Tolerant and Beautiful: Turpentine Bush
Drought Tolerant, Trees, UncategorizedWhile fall color may be somewhat lacking in the Southwest landscape in comparison to areas with brilliant fall foliage, we do have several plants that wait until fall to begin to color the landscape with their blooms.
Turpentine bush(Ericameria laricifolia) is a desert native that has lovely, dark green foliage year-round. With the arrival of fall, they are transformed by the appearance of golden yellow flowers.
It’s hard to find a plant that needs less attention than this drought-tolerant beauty – pruning every 3 years and monthly watering in summer is all it needs.
Learn more about why you should add turpentine bush to your landscape including how to use it for the greatest effect and what plants to pair it with in my latest article for Houzz.com
Purple Blooms for the Fall Garden
DIY Cilantro Herb Salt
DIYAre you someone who adores cilantro, looking for more ways to add it to their favorite Mexican food?
Here is a new use for cilantro that deserves a spot on your pantry shelf – cilantro herb salt.
Cilantro herb salt can be used to flavor food where you would normally add salt and cilantro separately. It is so easy to make, you’ll want to create a huge batch for yourself and friends and family.
Here is how to make your own:
1. Add 1 bunch of cilantro (cutting the stems off first) to your food processor.
2. Add 1 1/2 cups of kosher salt and pulse until the cilantro is mixed in and the salt turned green.
3. Place the cilantro salt mixture on a baking sheet and bake at 225 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and lightly mix up and bake for another 30 minutes.
4. Allow to cool before putting it in an airtight glass jar.
Your cilantro herb salt will keep for a long time, but the flavor is strongest when used within 6 months.
So what are you waiting for? Grab some cilantro and kosher salt today and make some delicious salt for yourself and more for gifts.
**Cilantro herb salt is just the beginning. Learn how to make basil or rosemary herb salts too!
From Trash to Treasure: Unique, Fuss-Free Container Plantings
UncategorizedWhen trying to decide what to fill our containers with, most people gravitate toward colorful, flowering annuals. For those of us who live in the Southwest, we are equally likely to fill our pots with cacti or succulents, which thrive in our dry climate.
However, did you know that plants aren’t the only thing that looks great in containers? In fact, what many people would consider ‘trash’ can actually transform the look of a container and your outdoor space.
Dried plant material can add a unique and striking look to the landscape when showcased in a pot.
Besides decorating your outdoor space, they aren’t particular about sun, shade and are perfectly happy without any water or fertilizer.
In this particular case, I had a lovely blue container in my front entry that had stood empty for longer than I would care to admit to. The opening was too small for most plants and it sat in the shade for most of the day making it difficult to grow colorful annuals.
On a recent visit to a client whose home was surrounded by the natural desert, I found some dried plant material that would soon find its way to my house.
Among a pile of yard debris mixed in with cut tree branches and branch clippings were several dried yucca flowering stalks that had been pruned away and were waiting to be put in the trash.
Now most people would probably walk right by this pile of discarded plant material and understandably so. But, I was on the lookout for items that the homeowner could use for a walled in patio, which was quite bare and received hot, reflected sun for most of the day.
My thought was to add colorful, glazed containers in order to bring welcome color to this space and fill them with cacti.
However, once I saw the dried yucca stalks, I decided that they would make a striking filler for a container.
The homeowner, who enjoys designing the interior of her home, saw the potential right away and selected three stalks.
The flowering stalks came from a magnificent soaptree yucca (Yucca elata) that they had growing in their front yard.
The homeowners graciously offered to give me a few of the stalks to take home.
I knew that my empty blue container would make the perfect home for dried yucca stalks.
While I love my new dried yucca stalks – they are just a few natural items that can be used in containers.
This large, dried flowering stalk from an agave would look fabulous in a container and displayed in the corner of an entry or patio.
Discarded canes from an ocotillo that would otherwise be headed toward the landfill can find new purpose as a filler for containers.
A saguaro skeleton would make a dramatic statement if ‘planted’ in a large container.
On my recommendation, this client gave up trying to grow flowering annuals in her shady entry and add colorful containers with bamboo poles.
Do you have a location where you’d like to have containers, but whatever you plant there dies?
Do any of the following situations where you’d like to have containers apply to you?
– Too much shade or sun
– Access to irrigation is limited
– You are gone for long lengths of time and can’t care for container plants
– Worried about staining the concrete or tile underneath the container from mineral buildup from watering
– You tend to kill anything you plant
If you are dealing with one or more of these situations you may want to look at adding dried plant material to your containers for a unique and fuss-free look that will add beauty to your outdoor space.
It’s All About the Leaves: Creative Container Plantings
Drought Tolerant and Beautiful: Mexican Honeysuckle
UncategorizedPlants that stay green all winter while also producing flowers are somewhat rare in the Southwest, which is why Mexican honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera) is one of my favorite additions in landscapes I design as well as in my own garden.
Mexican Honeysuckle
Orange, tubular flowers appear throughout the year, with the heaviest bloom occurring in spring.
Hummingbirds find their flowers irresistible.
The lime-green foliage looks great year-round and this small shrub thrives in light, filtered shade.
For more information on this latest drought-tolerant and beautiful plant, including what plants to pair it with, check out my latest article for Houzz.
Great Design Plant: Justicia Spicigera Brings In the Hummingbirds
From Trash to Treasure: Unique, Fuss-Free Container Plantings
New Plant Varieties
UncategorizedDo you think of yourself as a trendsetter? How about being the first landscape in your neighborhood to have the newest plant varieties on display?
I am always on the lookout for new plants that give a unique and often unexpected look to outdoor spaces awash in a sometimes overwhelming sea of bougainvillea, lantana and oleanders.
Now, I would like to state at this point, that I have no problem with bougainvillea, lantana and oleanders as plants – they are beautiful plants that are easy to care for with little fuss. However, because they are used so often, they lack the impact that we would like for our landscaped areas to make. At the 2015 Garden Writers Conference that I attended, one of the speakers said this, “When things are expected, they become less powerful and impactful.”
The tradeshow associated with the conference had many vendors displaying the newest tools to make gardening easier, which I wrote about in a previous post. There were also many growers present showcasing the newest plants on the market along with new varieties of well-known plants.
Walking through the booths filled with beautiful plants, I felt like a kid in a candy store. Everywhere you looked, there was a new plant drawing me in closer to read its tag to see if it could be grown in a hot, arid climate.
Many of the growers handed out free plants to conference attendees so that they could try them out in their own gardens.
Like I said before….I was a kid in a candy store where everything was free!
Monrovia, a well known grower, had a large number of plants on display including this one that I found rather interesting…
This is a dwarf jacaranda, called ‘Bonsai Blue’, which grows 6 ft. tall and 5 ft. wide. This would be a great option for someone who had limited space but who wants this tropical plant along with its purple flowers decorating their outdoor space.
I was excited to receive 3 ‘Brakelights’ red yucca(Hesperaloe parvifolia ‘Perpa’), which have darker red flowers than the traditional red yucca.
I headed out to the Southern Living Plant and Sunset Western Garden Collection booth in search of plants that would thrive in my neck of the woods.
Lovely plant varieties of autumn sage, nandina and other salvias were a feast for the eyes. Many of the new nandina varieties are compact, reaching 2 ft. high and tall.
Many of the plants in their display were suitable for testing in my garden, so arrangements were made to send a variety to me to try out such as ‘Flirt’, ‘Lemon Lime’ and ‘Obsession’ varieties of nandina, which are more compact and offer a variety in foliar color. Another plant to look forward to receiving in the mail is ‘Little Kiss’ Salvia which has red and white bicolor flowers, much like ‘Hot Lips’ salvia, but is more compact in size, reaching 18 inches.
In the meantime, I was given 2 ‘Meerlo’ lavender plants at the tradeshow, which have lovely variegated leaves giving an entirely new loook to lavender.
High Country Gardens, is a mail-order nursery that specializes in drought tolerant and native perennials. I spoke to the owner, David Salmon about their newest plant introductions including ‘Showy’ pink milkweed (Asclepias speciosa).
Salvias species such as autumn sage (Salvia greggii) and closely related, Salvia microphylla were on display. In low desert gardens, they bloom fall, winter and spring and do best when planted in partial shade.
I picked up 3 varieties of Salvia microphylla from the of the Salvia Heatwave Collection to try in my home garden. They are purported to be more compact than the closely related Salvia greggii, while also being great in containers.
Roses were also on prominent display, including many types of low-maintenance, groundcover roses such as these ‘Drift’ roses distributed by Star Roses and Plants. This new type of rose is a cross between groundcover roses and miniature roses making them perfect for the smaller garden.
I received a single ‘Drift’ rose at the tradeshow, which now is now planted in my side garden.
Other plants offered by this grower include the highly popular ‘Knockout’ roses as well as beautiful shrubs and perennials.
A representative from my favorite grower of roses, David Austin Roses, was on hand, direct from England. These are shrub roses with old-fashioned blooms that are highly fragrant. I’ve grown several in my garden and was excited for the opportunity to try their newest rose introduction – ‘Olivia Rose Austin’, which isn’t available to the public yet. They will be sending me one this winter to plant in my garden.
Believe it or not, I did pass up the offer of some free plants. Azaleas and gardenias would not grow well in the alkaline soils and while I wish that I could grow hydrangea – they do not like the dry, heat in the Southwest.
‘Wave’ petunias have taken the potted, flowering annual realm with their masses of blooms. The petunia flowers are smaller than regular petunias, which allows for more of them to grow closely together creating a mass of welcome color.
Several varieties were on display including the newest variety ‘Burgundy Velour’ with its deep red flowers.
Petunias are my favorite cool-season flowering annual because they aren’t fussy and the newer ‘Wave’ varieties are simply stunning. You can find them at most local nurseries.
It took me 2 afternoons to get through all the booths at the tradeshow and my bags were filled with plants as well as samples of the newest gardening tools and other items.
I could hardly wait to get my new plants home and into the garden.
So, how did I get them home on the airplane you may wonder?
I brought two suitcases with me and carefully wrapped each plant in newspaper and then a plastic bag. I then used my dirty clothes to cushion the area around them in each suitcase.
They all made it home relatively unscathed and are now planted in my garden 🙂
Plant Sale, Testing New Plant Varieties and a Curious Tortoise
UncategorizedOver this past weekend, I found myself overwhelmed with an abundance of new plants.
It all started with a visit to the Desert Botanical Garden’s annual fall plant sale.
I brought my son, Kai with me who was happy to follow me around pushing the cart.
The best place to find great quality plants along with those that can be hard to find is this plant sale. I also like to see the newest plant varieties so that I can stay up to date.
I’ve learned over the years to come to the sale with a list or else a number of unplanned plant purchases make their way home.
This year, I was proud of myself since I stuck to my list other than one extra plant. Coral fountain, damianita, elephant’s food along with purple and white trailing lantana were going to replace plants lost this summer due to a problem with irrigation.
Ironically, I found a picture of me shopping at the plant sale, posted by the Desert Botanical Garden on their Facebook page (I’m the one on the right wearing sunglasses).
The silver lining for my husband was that despite the fact that I came home with 14 plants, most were being replaced, so no new holes or irrigation was needed.
Later that afternoon, two UPS deliverymen showed up at my door with several boxes filled with new plants.
Yep, MORE plants!
These plants were sent to me by Southern Living Plants to test how they will perform in Arizona.
To say that I was happy would be an understatement. Fourteen plants from the plant sale plus 8 of the newest varieties of plants to try out in my garden – I was in heaven.
Saturday morning dawned and we all found ourselves outdoors ready for a morning filled with gardening.
My husband and daughter, Gracie, added a new layer of compost and manure to the vegetable garden in preparation for planting carrots, garlic, leaf lettuce, radishes and Swiss chard. Meanwhile, I got to work opening up the boxes holding my newest plants.
The first new plant variety to test was a Ligustrum ‘Sunshine’ shrub.
I liked the yellow-green color, which would add great color contrast to the garden.
Several new varieties of Nandina including ‘Flirt’, ‘Lemon Lime’, ‘Obsession’ and ‘Pink Blush’ will find a home along the side of my house, which faces south.
Opening each box and discovering a beautiful plant made me feel like it was Christmas Day.
As I was opening up the boxes of plants, the newest addition to our family (a desert tortoise called Aesop) came out to see what we were up to.
He kept walking around the patio, circling around us before he would travel to the grass for a quick snack…
Aesop has grown quite friendly and will venture out when he sees us out and about. He will also let us pet him.
We were pleasantly surprised at how much time he spent with us. Aesop would walk around and around the patio, just watching what we were doing.
As you can see, he can walk quickly (for a tortoise).
Back to the plants, I opened up boxes that contained two new salvias – ‘Killer Cranberry’ and ‘Little Kiss’ which will be located in filtered shade, next to the patio, where they will do best.
The last box that I unpacked revealed a completely new plant to me, which I was anxious to try.
Lomandra ‘Platinum Beauty’, which is a variegated ornamental grass.
Of the new plants, I expect the nandina varieties to do well since regular nandina does. Salvia will also perform well in filtered shade in desert gardens.
However, I am looking forward to seeing how the ligustrum and lomandra will do in an Arizona garden.
I promise to keep you updated as to how they all perform.
Photo: Sonoran Tortoise Adoption Facility – checking out the baby tortoises.
It has been just over a month since we adopted Aesop and we have all been surprised at how much fun it has been seeing him walking to and fro in the backyard or looking outside and seeing him outside our patio door taking a drink of water from his dish.
With the cooling temperatures, he will soon hibernate, but in the meantime, Aesop has been spending more time walking around during the day as the temperatures have begun to cool somewhat.
To find out more about our adoption journey with Aesop, click here.