I like to use plants in my garden that add a lot of color and the drought-tolerant and beautiful, sandpaper verbena certainly doesn’t disappoint.
Its blossoms are a vibrant, deep purple that carpets the ground in a mass of glorious color from spring through fall.
The deep green leaves add a visually cooling element to the landscape as well.
Butterflies find the flowers irresistible too.
See where this colorful ground cover gets its name and why you’ll want to include it in your drought-tolerant garden where it will add beauty to your outdoor space in my latest plant profile for Houzz.com
As summer begins to wane, my thoughts start to turn toward fall planting and upcoming holidays.
But, before I put summer “to bed”, I thought I’d give you a glimpse of our summer adventures.
The highlight of our summer was spending a week in Williams, AZ.
Every year we head up to this small Route 66 town, which is the known as “The Gateway to the Grand Canyon”.
We travel up to this special place along with my mother, siblings and their families. A collection of small, rustic cabins house us for the week.
This small mound of dirt is called “Danny’s Mountain” by the boys (Danny is my little 4-year old nephew to the right).
It’s a place where smartphones and video games give way to playing outdoors with cousins finding new places to explore.
My niece Sofie and my daughter, Ruthie.
Teenage girls discover the delights of pushing each other on a tree swing.
Little army men toys replace video games as battle strategies are discussed and put in play.
5-month old Eric having fun with his grandpa.
As a grandparent, it is also a special time for my husband and I to spend with our two grandchildren.
Lily
My granddaughter, Lily, was busy picking flowers for her ‘collection’. She loves flowers and keeps them in her jewelry box.
Dare I hope that she follows in her grandma’s footsteps and becomes a horticulturist?
Of course, what’s summer vacation without delicious food!
Before, you ask…no, I didn’t eat all these pies myself – I shared with them with 15 other family members 😉
Fourth of July found us in the pool, waiting for fireworks to begin.
My daughter Rachele, who is in the Navy, was able to come visit with our newest family addition, Eric. This was his first time swimming and he loved it!
Ruthie, Sofie and Gracie
At the beginning of our summer season, we had a special visitor.
My daughter, Ruthie, was adopted from China when she was 9 years old. Her cousin, Sofie, came from the same orphanage and so did their friend, Gracie.
These girls spent their early childhood together, creating special, sisterly bonds with each other in the absence of having parents.
Now that they are all adopted and living in the U.S., they have kept in touch. Gracie flew in to spend a few days with her ‘orphanage sisters’ and we had so much fun with her.
Pillow fights, baking sweets, enjoying good Chinese food and playing board games filled much of their time together.
Walking along State Street in downtown Santa Barbara, CA
A quick trip to Southern California was taken in the beginning of June to visit Rachele. We were able to stay in her townhouse on the Navy base.
Whenever we visit her, we take time to travel up to picturesque Santa Barbara, CA, which is where my husband and I met almost 30 years ago.
Ruthie learned how squirmy little babies are when you try to get them dressed…
This summer, we went through a truly wonderful experience together.
We traveled to the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ. Both adults and kids were looking forward to seeing planets in our solar system.
While I did expect to see some great things through the telescopes, what I didn’t expect was the beautiful flowering perennials growing throughout the grounds of the observatory.
My brother, kept teasing me as I kept stopping to take pictures of the flowers.
My son, Kai, looking at Venus
Outdoor telescopes focused on Jupiter and Venus.
I don’t know who was more excited, the kids or the adults. It was almost incomprehensible that we could view these faraway planets.
My nephew, Dean, loves flowers and kept asking me what the names of them were.
I must admit that I enjoyed the flowers almost as much as I did the planets.
My mother, helping my daughter as she looks at Saturn.
Believe it or not, we were able to see Saturn and its rings!
We had a wonderful time at the observatory and learned so much. I highly recommend visiting this or any observatory near you. It was an unforgettable experience!
Hummingbird Festival
The last part of our summer fun occurred at the Hummingbird Festival, where I was asked to be a presenter.
I have two separate talks on small-space hummingbird gardening and had a great time meeting new people.
One of my favorite parts of the festival was touring many beautiful gardens in Sedona where the festival was held.
I came home from the festival inspired to create a garden space dedicated to plants that attract hummingbirds. I can hardly wait to get started this fall, which is the best time to add new plants to the garden.
In the meantime, we have increased the amount of hummingbird feeders in our backyard and have seen three hummingbirds at a single feeder 🙂
************************
Well, that was our summer fun in a nutshell. The kids are now in school and my eyes are focused on the fall including the upcoming Garden Writer’s Conference in Pasadena, CA in September.
**What did your ‘summer in review’ look like? Did you travel to any new places, see old friends or have any new experiences?**
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I am always looking for new ways to make things from what I grow in my garden.
Fruit vinegar is an easy and fun way to use the fruit you may have growing in the garden.
What can you use fruit vinegar for? I use them to create vinaigrettes, marinades, and glazes, which add delicious and unexpected flavor.
Making fruit vinegar is simple to do – all you need is the fruit of your choice (chopped) and white wine vinegar. Fruits that can be used include apples, berries, peaches, pears, plums, and strawberries.
I recently made some strawberry vinegar that is so good, my husband has been making his own salads – it tastes that good.
The process is the same for whatever type of fruit you choose. Are you ready?
1. Dice fruit into 1-inch size pieces.
2. Fill a glass jar 1/3 of the way full of chopped fruit and then pour white wine vinegar until it reaches the top.
3. Store your fruit/vinegar jar in a cool, dark place such as a pantry for 4 weeks.
4. Once a week, shake the jars, to help mix up the contents.
After a month has passed, your fruit will have taken on a colorless appearance while the vinegar will have beautiful, color, which means lots of delicious flavors.
5. Place a strainer over a bowl and put a paper towel inside. Pour out the contents of the jars.
6. Pour the strained liquid into a clean jar. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
Congratulations! You now have a jar filled with delicious fruit vinegar ready to use to flavor your favorite dishes.
You may wonder how I used my latest batch of strawberry vinegar. Well, I have a top-secret family recipe for salad dressing that my kids and husband love.
It’s from my grandma, who coincidentally, was NOT a great cook – but she certainly made a delicious salad dressing.
I’m sure that she would be tickled pink to know that I am sharing it with all of you – just click the link below for the recipe.
I hope you decide to make some fruit vinegar too! In addition to strawberry vinegar, I also like to make it from peaches from our fruit trees – you can see how I made this earlier, here.
How about you? What fruit would you choose to make vinegar from?
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Do you have pieces of garden art in your outdoor space? I have a few pieces and am always on the lookout for unique examples of artwork to use in my garden.
The past few weeks, I saw some great examples while out and about that I would love to share with you.
Unique Garden Art
You may have seen the popularity of large clocks being displayed indoors, but I would love this one hanging on my outdoor patio.
The clock face was made out of plywood, painted and textured with antique garden tools arranged around it.
Who knew that old horseshoes could be used to make barrel cactus?
I must confess that at first, I didn’t know that these were made from horseshoes at first glance – but, I would certainly love one in my garden.
Javelina may be the bane of many southwestern residents when they come and eat their plants.
However, I think that some people wouldn’t mind having this one hanging around.
Can you tell what it is made out of ?
An old palm tree root!
The roots were used to mimic the rough coat of a javelina.
Lastly, rusted metal art is all the rage and you can find it in the shape of plants and animals.
I did love this group of jackrabbits and could just picture one sitting underneath my palo verde tree.
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Do you love hummingbirds? If asked, most people would say that these tiny birds are among their favorite bird species.
Anna’s Hummingbird whose head and throat are covered in pollen.
I always pause whatever I’m doing whenever I see a hummingbird nearby as I marvel at their small size along with their brilliant colors and flying antics.
Last weekend, I enjoyed an unforgettable experience observing and learning about hummingbirds at the annual Hummingbird Festival, in beautiful Sedona, Arizona.
At the festival, I gave two presentations on small space hummingbird gardening, showing people how they could create a mini-hummingbird garden in a container.
When I wasn’t speaking, I was enjoying the garden tour, visiting local hummingbird gardens along with attending other lectures given by noted hummingbird experts.
While there were wonderful events throughout the weekend, this was one particular event that I’ll never forget.
Immature Male Black-Chinned Hummingbird
Imagine being able to observe hummingbirds up close being banded and re-released. It really is as incredible as it sounds! In fact, I was able to hold and release a hummingbird myself!
So, what is hummingbird banding?
Hummingbirds are captured, tagged and re-released and is done to track hummingbird migration, the age and health of hummingbirds.
Mature Black-Chinned Hummingbird
This hummingbird banding site was located in the backyard of a home in Sedona.
Multiple hummingbird feeders are set out to attract a large number of hummingbirds.
A few of the feeders are inside of cages with openings for hummingbirds to enter.
A hummingbird enters to feed from the feeder.
Each little hummer is carefully put into a mesh bag in order to safely transport it to the nearby table to be examined and banded.
It’s important to note this process does no harm to them and it is a very quick.
The tools needed for banding hummingbirds.
The birds are carefully removed from the bag and the process begins.
Young male Anna’s hummingbird.
They are carefully inspected for general health and to identify the species of hummingbird. On this day – Anna’s, Black-Chinned and Costa’s hummingbirds were seen.
Measurements of the beak and feathers are taken to determine the age.
Feathers on the underside are softly blown with a straw in order to see how much (or how little) fat a hummingbird has. A little fat indicates that a hummingbird is getting ready to migrate.
Special eyewear is required for the banders to see what they are doing with these tiny birds.
For the banding process itself, hummingbirds are placed in a nylon stocking so that one of their legs is more easily manipulated.
The small band is carefully placed on the leg.
As you might expect, it isn’t easy to band hummingbirds because of their tiny size – the bands themselves are so small that they fit around a toothpick. In fact, hummingbird banding is a highly specialized job and there are only 150 people in the U.S. who have permits allowing them to band hummingbirds.
After the banding has been done, hummingbirds are given a drink of sugar water before being released.
This hummingbird bander is from St. Louis, MO and was so excited to see his first Costa’s hummingbird (which aren’t found where he lives).
For me, the most exciting part is when observers have the opportunity to hold and release the newly-banded hummingbirds.
The hummingbirds would sit for a few seconds in the palm of your hand before flying off.
Holding a hummingbird in your hand is as amazing as you would expect! The hummingbird that I released was a young black-chinned hummingbird that had hatched earlier this year.
One of the observers who got to release a hummingbird was a gentleman who was 100 years old + 1 month old!
How wonderful to be able to experience new things at that age 🙂
The garden where the banding was held was beautiful – especially with the backdrop of the red rocks of Sedona.
I must admit that I was equally split between observing the banding and watching the numerous hummingbirds feeding.
Can you tell how many hummingbirds are in the photo, above?
Seven!
I have got to add more hummingbird feeders to my own garden!
***********************
I am so grateful to the folks at the Hummingbird Society who put on a wonderful festival. I enjoyed speaking and learning about these wonderful “flying jewels”.
The festival is held every other year in Sedona, AZ. There were over 1,000 attendees this year. I highly encourage you to consider attending this special event next year.
Right now, pumpkins are of three things growing in my summer vegetable garden alongside peppers and basil.
In June, I planted 4 different types of pumpkins – Cinderella (an old fashioned looking pumpkin), Lumina (a white pumpkin), Rouge Vif d’Etampes (a French heirloom pumpkin) and some seeds from an unknown heirloom pumpkin I bought at the store last year.
Male pumpkin flower
The pumpkin vines are growing nicely and the male flowers have begun to appear.
Pumpkins have both male and female flowers – the male flowers appear about 2 weeks ahead of the female flowers.
Lumina pumpkin
I’ve had both successes and some failures growing pumpkins. Last year, I planted a Lumina pumpkin, which was so beautiful.
This summer, I decided to dedicate my entire potager vegetable garden to growing pumpkins.
Why an entire vegetable garden you may ask?
My first attempt at growing pumpkins began in my smaller vegetable garden, located just off of my back patio.
I remember being so excited when my pumpkin seedling grew its first pair of ‘true’ leaves.
But, what I had not prepared for was how wide it would grow – a lesson on why reading the label on the seed packet is important.
My young pumpkin seedling soon outgrew my little vegetable garden and in fact, most of its growth extended outside of the garden.
I patiently (not)! waited for signs of a young pumpkin to form.
You can imagine how thrilled I was at finding this young pumpkin growing a couple of weeks later.
The only issue was that it was growing outside of my vegetable garden.
To be honest, I didn’t really care – there was plenty of room for it and it seemed happy perched on top of my garden hose.
It grew fairly rapidly and soon its green color lightened to a beautiful orange.
As you can see, it wasn’t a large pumpkin – smaller varieties are easier to grow in the home garden.
White ‘Lumina’ pumpkin hidden underneath the leafy vines.
My hope for this year’s crop is that I will soon find young pumpkins growing underneath the huge leaves of my pumpkin vines.
How about you?
Have you ever grown pumpkins?
What types?
Any helpful tips you’d like to share?
********************************
On a personal note, I’ve been knocked flat by a virus – neverending cough, sore throat, headache, aches, fever, etc.
I’ve always found it surprising to get a flu-like illness in the middle of summer and not during the cold winter months, which actually works better for me since I my work tends to slow down in summer.
After 7 days, I am slowly getting better and am thankful for the timing of my illness. Next week – July 31st – August 2nd, I’ll be a presenter at the annual Hummingbird Festival and it would be almost impossible to give two separate 1-hour presentations with the current condition of my throat right now.
Sorry for complaining, I have a bad case of cabin fever, but my body isn’t up for doing much of anything except for a 10 minute walk this morning through my gardens to see how they are doing – but that felt wonderful!
Do you have oleanders? If so, you might have heard of a fatal bacterial disease called oleander leaf scorch that affects oleander shrubs.
This disease is slowly spreading and I have been seeing it more often when I visit clients.
I wrote an earlier post about oleander leaf scorch, its signs and how it affects oleander shrubs, which you can view here.
Earlier this month, I visited another client whose entire backyard was surrounded by tall oleander shrubs that were quite mature. She suspected that her oleanders were starting to show signs of oleander leaf scorch and it turns out that she was right.
Her suspicions began when she noticed browning of her a few of her oleander shrubs that began this spring and was worsening as summer progressed.
It’s important to note that browning of oleanders doesn’t necessarily mean that they are infected with oleander leaf scorch – browning can be caused by any number of problems from drought stress, salty soil or other excess minerals in the soil.
However, a closer look at the foliage showed some of the characteristics of oleander leaf scorch disease with the outer leaves and tips turning brown.
This occurs because the bacteria rapidly multiply, blocking the vascular system of the plant.
These browning tips are also a sign of oleander leaf scorch, but this particular sign can also indicate high salts in the soil.
Even if you see only a few leaves affected, the entire shrub is infected and will die within 3 – 5 years. Because this disease is spread by a flying insect called a sharpshooter, not all oleander shrubs in a given area may be affected as it hops from bush to bush. However, these insects carry the bacteria in their saliva and spread it to each oleander shrub that they feed from.
While I was able to tell my client that her oleander shrubs likely were infected this disease, the only way to confirm the diagnosis was to contact her local cooperative extension office and send in some leaves from her oleanders to be tested.
If the test comes back positive, she will need to remove all of her oleander shrubs. While they will live 3 – 5 years after being infected, they will turn brown. The most important reason for removal is to help keep the disease from spreading to other oleanders in the neighborhood.
For more photos and a detailed description of this oleander disease as well as a suggested replacement plant for oleanders, read my previous post, “Plant Disease: Oleander Leaf Scorch”
Do you like the look of ornamental grasses? One of my favorite plants has the appearance of ornamental grass but isn’t.
Bear grass (Nolina microcarpa) has lovely, evergreen foliage that mimics the look of grasses. But, my favorite part is the curlicue ends of the leaves.
ornamental grass
Aren’t they neat?
Like the other drought-tolerant and beautiful plants that I profile, bear grass thrives in hot, dry locations with little attention. Another bonus is that they easily handle 100+ temperatures in summer and can also survive winter temps down to -10 degrees F.
Want to learn more? Check out my latest plant profile on Houzz.
Apple harvest time starts early in the desert Southwest. In my low desert garden, it arrives precisely in the first half of June.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, this year’s apple harvest was to be a special one because for the first time, my own apple trees would provide a sufficient harvest without us having to pick the trees on the family farm.
On a bright and sunny June morning, I headed out into the potager (my kitchen garden) along with four teenagers and a 3-year old to pick apples.
We harvested 4 large bags full of sweet, tart apples from my ‘Anna’ and ‘Dorsett Golden’ apple trees, which are the verities that do best in hot, desert climates.
So, what did we plan on doing with all these apples?
Well, besides eating them raw, the plan was to make an apple pie with a cinnamon sugar crust, apple chips and applesauce.
Now, you may think that making an apple pie would be the last thing that a teenager would want to do. But, my kids along with my niece, look forward to this day every year.
I make one pie a year, so we make an occasion of it.
Before we get any further, I’d like to tell you about the participants in today’s apple adventure.
Ruthie – my 17-year old daughter
Gracie – my 13-year old daughter
Sofie – my 16-year old niece
Gracie C. – 17-year old friend of my daughter
Lily – my 3-year old granddaughter
While Ruthie and Sofie were peeling apples, Gracie C. worked on thinly slicing the apples.
Lily and Gracie had fun watching the peeling and slicing and were waiting patiently for their turn to help.
Lily’s job was to help mix the apple slices in a bowl filled with water with some lemon juice to keep the apples from browning.
Once the apples were ready, we made the pie crust. I use a mixture of both butter and vegetable shortening in my pie crust.
I taught the girls how to make a decorative pie crust edge using their fingers.
This may have been their favorite part.
To add an extra special touch to the pie, we brushed it with egg wash and then sprinkled cinnamon sugar on the top.
Here is the finished product, ready to bake in the oven.
*I’d like to note that I do not claim to be a professional food photographer like my sister. I use no special lighting and didn’t take the time to clean the counter before taking the photo 🙂
The kids had so much fun making the pie and couldn’t wait to eat it once it we took it out of the oven, which explains why I have no ‘after’ photos of our pie!
Now that our annual pie was finished, we got to work on our second apple recipe – Cinnamon Sugar Apple Chips.
Apple chips are ridiculously easy to make and they are addictive!
All you need to do is to slice them very thinly – a mandolin works great, if you have one. There is no need to peel or core the apples, which makes this an easy recipe – simply remove any stray seeds from the slices.
Lay the apple slices on a cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Lily had fun with the apple slices with holes in the center.
We sprinkled the apples with cinnamon sugar, but this an optional step – you don’t have to add any cinnamon sugar.
Bake the apples in a 200 degree F oven for 1 hour and then turn the apple slices over and bake for another hour.
The apples should be crispy and melt in your mouth. A word of caution – they won’t last long!
***********************
While this photo protrays three normal teenage girls, their story is anything but average.
Their story together began years ago, before they were adopted and came to the U.S.
All of these girls grew up together in an orphanage in China. They formed deep bonds with each other and became each other’s family in the absence of parents. They often referred to themselves as “orphanage sisters”.
Unlike many adoptions, the girls waited until they were older to be adopted. Sofie and Gracie C. were adopted in 2006 and Ruthie in 2007.
Along with several other “orphanage sisters”, who were also adopted, we had a reunion several years ago in Colorado and since then, both the parents and kids have stayed in touch.
Gracie C. flew into town to visit with Ruthie and Sofie and it was so wonderful seeing them together again!
**You can read about our adoption journey to get Ruthie, here.**
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I do. I enjoy their soft texture, flowers, and the pollinators that come to enjoy their flowers.
Today, I’d like to share with you one of my favorite perennials that I have growing in my garden.
Gaura lindheimeri is a drought-tolerant perennial that produces small, delicate flowers that resemble butterflies floating in the air.
Available in white and pink colors, they are grown as a perennial or used as an annual in colder climates. This is one of the few plants that you can find growing in a desert garden and in more temperate climates such as the Midwest and Northeast.
This lovely perennial deserves to be seen more in the garden and I’d love to share more about gaura with you and why you’ll want to add it to your landscape in my latest Houzz article.
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Drought Tolerant and Beautiful: Sandpaper Verbena
Drought TolerantI like to use plants in my garden that add a lot of color and the drought-tolerant and beautiful, sandpaper verbena certainly doesn’t disappoint.
Its blossoms are a vibrant, deep purple that carpets the ground in a mass of glorious color from spring through fall.
The deep green leaves add a visually cooling element to the landscape as well.
Butterflies find the flowers irresistible too.
See where this colorful ground cover gets its name and why you’ll want to include it in your drought-tolerant garden where it will add beauty to your outdoor space in my latest plant profile for Houzz.com
An Attractive, Drought-Tolerant Hedge for Southwestern Gardens: Hop Bush
Summer in Review: Unplugged, Far Away Friends, Outer Space and Hummingbirds
az plant lady family, UncategorizedAs summer begins to wane, my thoughts start to turn toward fall planting and upcoming holidays.
But, before I put summer “to bed”, I thought I’d give you a glimpse of our summer adventures.
The highlight of our summer was spending a week in Williams, AZ.
Every year we head up to this small Route 66 town, which is the known as “The Gateway to the Grand Canyon”.
We travel up to this special place along with my mother, siblings and their families. A collection of small, rustic cabins house us for the week.
This small mound of dirt is called “Danny’s Mountain” by the boys (Danny is my little 4-year old nephew to the right).
It’s a place where smartphones and video games give way to playing outdoors with cousins finding new places to explore.
My niece Sofie and my daughter, Ruthie.
Teenage girls discover the delights of pushing each other on a tree swing.
Little army men toys replace video games as battle strategies are discussed and put in play.
5-month old Eric having fun with his grandpa.
As a grandparent, it is also a special time for my husband and I to spend with our two grandchildren.
Lily
My granddaughter, Lily, was busy picking flowers for her ‘collection’. She loves flowers and keeps them in her jewelry box.
Dare I hope that she follows in her grandma’s footsteps and becomes a horticulturist?
Of course, what’s summer vacation without delicious food!
Before, you ask…no, I didn’t eat all these pies myself – I shared with them with 15 other family members 😉
Fourth of July found us in the pool, waiting for fireworks to begin.
My daughter Rachele, who is in the Navy, was able to come visit with our newest family addition, Eric. This was his first time swimming and he loved it!
Ruthie, Sofie and Gracie
At the beginning of our summer season, we had a special visitor.
My daughter, Ruthie, was adopted from China when she was 9 years old. Her cousin, Sofie, came from the same orphanage and so did their friend, Gracie.
These girls spent their early childhood together, creating special, sisterly bonds with each other in the absence of having parents.
Now that they are all adopted and living in the U.S., they have kept in touch. Gracie flew in to spend a few days with her ‘orphanage sisters’ and we had so much fun with her.
Pillow fights, baking sweets, enjoying good Chinese food and playing board games filled much of their time together.
Walking along State Street in downtown Santa Barbara, CA
A quick trip to Southern California was taken in the beginning of June to visit Rachele. We were able to stay in her townhouse on the Navy base.
Whenever we visit her, we take time to travel up to picturesque Santa Barbara, CA, which is where my husband and I met almost 30 years ago.
Ruthie learned how squirmy little babies are when you try to get them dressed…
This summer, we went through a truly wonderful experience together.
We traveled to the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, AZ. Both adults and kids were looking forward to seeing planets in our solar system.
While I did expect to see some great things through the telescopes, what I didn’t expect was the beautiful flowering perennials growing throughout the grounds of the observatory.
My brother, kept teasing me as I kept stopping to take pictures of the flowers.
My son, Kai, looking at Venus
Outdoor telescopes focused on Jupiter and Venus.
I don’t know who was more excited, the kids or the adults. It was almost incomprehensible that we could view these faraway planets.
My nephew, Dean, loves flowers and kept asking me what the names of them were.
I must admit that I enjoyed the flowers almost as much as I did the planets.
My mother, helping my daughter as she looks at Saturn.
Believe it or not, we were able to see Saturn and its rings!
We had a wonderful time at the observatory and learned so much. I highly recommend visiting this or any observatory near you. It was an unforgettable experience!
Hummingbird Festival
The last part of our summer fun occurred at the Hummingbird Festival, where I was asked to be a presenter.
I have two separate talks on small-space hummingbird gardening and had a great time meeting new people.
One of my favorite parts of the festival was touring many beautiful gardens in Sedona where the festival was held.
I came home from the festival inspired to create a garden space dedicated to plants that attract hummingbirds. I can hardly wait to get started this fall, which is the best time to add new plants to the garden.
In the meantime, we have increased the amount of hummingbird feeders in our backyard and have seen three hummingbirds at a single feeder 🙂
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Well, that was our summer fun in a nutshell. The kids are now in school and my eyes are focused on the fall including the upcoming Garden Writer’s Conference in Pasadena, CA in September.
**What did your ‘summer in review’ look like? Did you travel to any new places, see old friends or have any new experiences?**
A Few of my Favorite Things……Hummingbirds
DIY In The Garden: Making Fruit Vinegar
DIYI am always looking for new ways to make things from what I grow in my garden.
Fruit vinegar is an easy and fun way to use the fruit you may have growing in the garden.
What can you use fruit vinegar for? I use them to create vinaigrettes, marinades, and glazes, which add delicious and unexpected flavor.
Making fruit vinegar is simple to do – all you need is the fruit of your choice (chopped) and white wine vinegar. Fruits that can be used include apples, berries, peaches, pears, plums, and strawberries.
I recently made some strawberry vinegar that is so good, my husband has been making his own salads – it tastes that good.
The process is the same for whatever type of fruit you choose. Are you ready?
1. Dice fruit into 1-inch size pieces.
2. Fill a glass jar 1/3 of the way full of chopped fruit and then pour white wine vinegar until it reaches the top.
3. Store your fruit/vinegar jar in a cool, dark place such as a pantry for 4 weeks.
4. Once a week, shake the jars, to help mix up the contents.
After a month has passed, your fruit will have taken on a colorless appearance while the vinegar will have beautiful, color, which means lots of delicious flavors.
5. Place a strainer over a bowl and put a paper towel inside. Pour out the contents of the jars.
6. Pour the strained liquid into a clean jar. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
Congratulations! You now have a jar filled with delicious fruit vinegar ready to use to flavor your favorite dishes.
You may wonder how I used my latest batch of strawberry vinegar. Well, I have a top-secret family recipe for salad dressing that my kids and husband love.
It’s from my grandma, who coincidentally, was NOT a great cook – but she certainly made a delicious salad dressing.
I’m sure that she would be tickled pink to know that I am sharing it with all of you – just click the link below for the recipe.
GRANDMA SMITH’S VINAIGRETTE
I hope you decide to make some fruit vinegar too! In addition to strawberry vinegar, I also like to make it from peaches from our fruit trees – you can see how I made this earlier, here.
How about you? What fruit would you choose to make vinegar from?
Unique Garden Art Out and About
Cactus/SucculentsDo you have pieces of garden art in your outdoor space? I have a few pieces and am always on the lookout for unique examples of artwork to use in my garden.
The past few weeks, I saw some great examples while out and about that I would love to share with you.
Unique Garden Art
You may have seen the popularity of large clocks being displayed indoors, but I would love this one hanging on my outdoor patio.
The clock face was made out of plywood, painted and textured with antique garden tools arranged around it.
Who knew that old horseshoes could be used to make barrel cactus?
I must confess that at first, I didn’t know that these were made from horseshoes at first glance – but, I would certainly love one in my garden.
Javelina may be the bane of many southwestern residents when they come and eat their plants.
However, I think that some people wouldn’t mind having this one hanging around.
Can you tell what it is made out of ?
An old palm tree root!
The roots were used to mimic the rough coat of a javelina.
Lastly, rusted metal art is all the rage and you can find it in the shape of plants and animals.
I did love this group of jackrabbits and could just picture one sitting underneath my palo verde tree.
How about you?
Do you have any unique pieces of garden art?
A Unique Nursery Nestled Under a Huge Tree
An Unforgettable Experience: Hummingbird Banding
Arizona garden, Garden Travels, Hummingbird Gardening, Noelle Johnson Horticulturist Arizona, Southwest gardenDo you love hummingbirds? If asked, most people would say that these tiny birds are among their favorite bird species.
Anna’s Hummingbird whose head and throat are covered in pollen.
I always pause whatever I’m doing whenever I see a hummingbird nearby as I marvel at their small size along with their brilliant colors and flying antics.
Last weekend, I enjoyed an unforgettable experience observing and learning about hummingbirds at the annual Hummingbird Festival, in beautiful Sedona, Arizona.
At the festival, I gave two presentations on small space hummingbird gardening, showing people how they could create a mini-hummingbird garden in a container.
When I wasn’t speaking, I was enjoying the garden tour, visiting local hummingbird gardens along with attending other lectures given by noted hummingbird experts.
While there were wonderful events throughout the weekend, this was one particular event that I’ll never forget.
Immature Male Black-Chinned Hummingbird
Imagine being able to observe hummingbirds up close being banded and re-released. It really is as incredible as it sounds! In fact, I was able to hold and release a hummingbird myself!
So, what is hummingbird banding?
Hummingbirds are captured, tagged and re-released and is done to track hummingbird migration, the age and health of hummingbirds.
Mature Black-Chinned Hummingbird
This hummingbird banding site was located in the backyard of a home in Sedona.
Multiple hummingbird feeders are set out to attract a large number of hummingbirds.
A few of the feeders are inside of cages with openings for hummingbirds to enter.
A hummingbird enters to feed from the feeder.
Each little hummer is carefully put into a mesh bag in order to safely transport it to the nearby table to be examined and banded.
It’s important to note this process does no harm to them and it is a very quick.
The tools needed for banding hummingbirds.
The birds are carefully removed from the bag and the process begins.
Young male Anna’s hummingbird.
They are carefully inspected for general health and to identify the species of hummingbird. On this day – Anna’s, Black-Chinned and Costa’s hummingbirds were seen.
Measurements of the beak and feathers are taken to determine the age.
Feathers on the underside are softly blown with a straw in order to see how much (or how little) fat a hummingbird has. A little fat indicates that a hummingbird is getting ready to migrate.
Special eyewear is required for the banders to see what they are doing with these tiny birds.
For the banding process itself, hummingbirds are placed in a nylon stocking so that one of their legs is more easily manipulated.
The small band is carefully placed on the leg.
As you might expect, it isn’t easy to band hummingbirds because of their tiny size – the bands themselves are so small that they fit around a toothpick. In fact, hummingbird banding is a highly specialized job and there are only 150 people in the U.S. who have permits allowing them to band hummingbirds.
After the banding has been done, hummingbirds are given a drink of sugar water before being released.
This hummingbird bander is from St. Louis, MO and was so excited to see his first Costa’s hummingbird (which aren’t found where he lives).
For me, the most exciting part is when observers have the opportunity to hold and release the newly-banded hummingbirds.
The hummingbirds would sit for a few seconds in the palm of your hand before flying off.
Holding a hummingbird in your hand is as amazing as you would expect! The hummingbird that I released was a young black-chinned hummingbird that had hatched earlier this year.
One of the observers who got to release a hummingbird was a gentleman who was 100 years old + 1 month old!
How wonderful to be able to experience new things at that age 🙂
The garden where the banding was held was beautiful – especially with the backdrop of the red rocks of Sedona.
I must admit that I was equally split between observing the banding and watching the numerous hummingbirds feeding.
Can you tell how many hummingbirds are in the photo, above?
Seven!
I have got to add more hummingbird feeders to my own garden!
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I am so grateful to the folks at the Hummingbird Society who put on a wonderful festival. I enjoyed speaking and learning about these wonderful “flying jewels”.
The festival is held every other year in Sedona, AZ. There were over 1,000 attendees this year. I highly encourage you to consider attending this special event next year.
A Butterfly / Hummingbird Garden Finished!
The Summer Vegetable Garden: Pumpkins!
Vegetable GardeningHave you ever grown pumpkins?
The first pumpkin I ever grew.
Right now, pumpkins are of three things growing in my summer vegetable garden alongside peppers and basil.
In June, I planted 4 different types of pumpkins – Cinderella (an old fashioned looking pumpkin), Lumina (a white pumpkin), Rouge Vif d’Etampes (a French heirloom pumpkin) and some seeds from an unknown heirloom pumpkin I bought at the store last year.
Male pumpkin flower
The pumpkin vines are growing nicely and the male flowers have begun to appear.
Pumpkins have both male and female flowers – the male flowers appear about 2 weeks ahead of the female flowers.
Lumina pumpkin
I’ve had both successes and some failures growing pumpkins. Last year, I planted a Lumina pumpkin, which was so beautiful.
This summer, I decided to dedicate my entire potager vegetable garden to growing pumpkins.
Why an entire vegetable garden you may ask?
My first attempt at growing pumpkins began in my smaller vegetable garden, located just off of my back patio.
I remember being so excited when my pumpkin seedling grew its first pair of ‘true’ leaves.
But, what I had not prepared for was how wide it would grow – a lesson on why reading the label on the seed packet is important.
My young pumpkin seedling soon outgrew my little vegetable garden and in fact, most of its growth extended outside of the garden.
I patiently (not)! waited for signs of a young pumpkin to form.
You can imagine how thrilled I was at finding this young pumpkin growing a couple of weeks later.
The only issue was that it was growing outside of my vegetable garden.
To be honest, I didn’t really care – there was plenty of room for it and it seemed happy perched on top of my garden hose.
It grew fairly rapidly and soon its green color lightened to a beautiful orange.
As you can see, it wasn’t a large pumpkin – smaller varieties are easier to grow in the home garden.
White ‘Lumina’ pumpkin hidden underneath the leafy vines.
My hope for this year’s crop is that I will soon find young pumpkins growing underneath the huge leaves of my pumpkin vines.
How about you?
Have you ever grown pumpkins?
What types?
Any helpful tips you’d like to share?
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On a personal note, I’ve been knocked flat by a virus – neverending cough, sore throat, headache, aches, fever, etc.
I’ve always found it surprising to get a flu-like illness in the middle of summer and not during the cold winter months, which actually works better for me since I my work tends to slow down in summer.
After 7 days, I am slowly getting better and am thankful for the timing of my illness. Next week – July 31st – August 2nd, I’ll be a presenter at the annual Hummingbird Festival and it would be almost impossible to give two separate 1-hour presentations with the current condition of my throat right now.
Sorry for complaining, I have a bad case of cabin fever, but my body isn’t up for doing much of anything except for a 10 minute walk this morning through my gardens to see how they are doing – but that felt wonderful!
I hope you are staying healthy this summer!
Oleander Leaf Scorch Strikes Again…
TreesDo you have oleanders? If so, you might have heard of a fatal bacterial disease called oleander leaf scorch that affects oleander shrubs.
This disease is slowly spreading and I have been seeing it more often when I visit clients.
I wrote an earlier post about oleander leaf scorch, its signs and how it affects oleander shrubs, which you can view here.
Earlier this month, I visited another client whose entire backyard was surrounded by tall oleander shrubs that were quite mature. She suspected that her oleanders were starting to show signs of oleander leaf scorch and it turns out that she was right.
Her suspicions began when she noticed browning of her a few of her oleander shrubs that began this spring and was worsening as summer progressed.
It’s important to note that browning of oleanders doesn’t necessarily mean that they are infected with oleander leaf scorch – browning can be caused by any number of problems from drought stress, salty soil or other excess minerals in the soil.
However, a closer look at the foliage showed some of the characteristics of oleander leaf scorch disease with the outer leaves and tips turning brown.
This occurs because the bacteria rapidly multiply, blocking the vascular system of the plant.
These browning tips are also a sign of oleander leaf scorch, but this particular sign can also indicate high salts in the soil.
Even if you see only a few leaves affected, the entire shrub is infected and will die within 3 – 5 years. Because this disease is spread by a flying insect called a sharpshooter, not all oleander shrubs in a given area may be affected as it hops from bush to bush. However, these insects carry the bacteria in their saliva and spread it to each oleander shrub that they feed from.
While I was able to tell my client that her oleander shrubs likely were infected this disease, the only way to confirm the diagnosis was to contact her local cooperative extension office and send in some leaves from her oleanders to be tested.
If the test comes back positive, she will need to remove all of her oleander shrubs. While they will live 3 – 5 years after being infected, they will turn brown. The most important reason for removal is to help keep the disease from spreading to other oleanders in the neighborhood.
For more photos and a detailed description of this oleander disease as well as a suggested replacement plant for oleanders, read my previous post, “Plant Disease: Oleander Leaf Scorch”
Drought Tolerant and Beautiful: Bear Grass
Drought Tolerant, UncategorizedDo you like the look of ornamental grasses? One of my favorite plants has the appearance of ornamental grass but isn’t.
Bear grass (Nolina microcarpa) has lovely, evergreen foliage that mimics the look of grasses. But, my favorite part is the curlicue ends of the leaves.
ornamental grass
Aren’t they neat?
Like the other drought-tolerant and beautiful plants that I profile, bear grass thrives in hot, dry locations with little attention. Another bonus is that they easily handle 100+ temperatures in summer and can also survive winter temps down to -10 degrees F.
Want to learn more? Check out my latest plant profile on Houzz.
Oleander Leaf Scorch Strikes Again…
A Bushel of Apples, a Pinch of Sugar and a Handful of Teenagers
UncategorizedApple harvest time starts early in the desert Southwest. In my low desert garden, it arrives precisely in the first half of June.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, this year’s apple harvest was to be a special one because for the first time, my own apple trees would provide a sufficient harvest without us having to pick the trees on the family farm.
On a bright and sunny June morning, I headed out into the potager (my kitchen garden) along with four teenagers and a 3-year old to pick apples.
We harvested 4 large bags full of sweet, tart apples from my ‘Anna’ and ‘Dorsett Golden’ apple trees, which are the verities that do best in hot, desert climates.
So, what did we plan on doing with all these apples?
Well, besides eating them raw, the plan was to make an apple pie with a cinnamon sugar crust, apple chips and applesauce.
Now, you may think that making an apple pie would be the last thing that a teenager would want to do. But, my kids along with my niece, look forward to this day every year.
I make one pie a year, so we make an occasion of it.
Before we get any further, I’d like to tell you about the participants in today’s apple adventure.
Ruthie – my 17-year old daughter
Gracie – my 13-year old daughter
Sofie – my 16-year old niece
Gracie C. – 17-year old friend of my daughter
Lily – my 3-year old granddaughter
While Ruthie and Sofie were peeling apples, Gracie C. worked on thinly slicing the apples.
Lily and Gracie had fun watching the peeling and slicing and were waiting patiently for their turn to help.
Lily’s job was to help mix the apple slices in a bowl filled with water with some lemon juice to keep the apples from browning.
Once the apples were ready, we made the pie crust. I use a mixture of both butter and vegetable shortening in my pie crust.
I taught the girls how to make a decorative pie crust edge using their fingers.
This may have been their favorite part.
To add an extra special touch to the pie, we brushed it with egg wash and then sprinkled cinnamon sugar on the top.
Here is the finished product, ready to bake in the oven.
*I’d like to note that I do not claim to be a professional food photographer like my sister. I use no special lighting and didn’t take the time to clean the counter before taking the photo 🙂
The kids had so much fun making the pie and couldn’t wait to eat it once it we took it out of the oven, which explains why I have no ‘after’ photos of our pie!
Now that our annual pie was finished, we got to work on our second apple recipe – Cinnamon Sugar Apple Chips.
Apple chips are ridiculously easy to make and they are addictive!
All you need to do is to slice them very thinly – a mandolin works great, if you have one. There is no need to peel or core the apples, which makes this an easy recipe – simply remove any stray seeds from the slices.
Lay the apple slices on a cookie sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
Lily had fun with the apple slices with holes in the center.
We sprinkled the apples with cinnamon sugar, but this an optional step – you don’t have to add any cinnamon sugar.
Bake the apples in a 200 degree F oven for 1 hour and then turn the apple slices over and bake for another hour.
The apples should be crispy and melt in your mouth. A word of caution – they won’t last long!
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While this photo protrays three normal teenage girls, their story is anything but average.
Their story together began years ago, before they were adopted and came to the U.S.
All of these girls grew up together in an orphanage in China. They formed deep bonds with each other and became each other’s family in the absence of parents. They often referred to themselves as “orphanage sisters”.
Unlike many adoptions, the girls waited until they were older to be adopted. Sofie and Gracie C. were adopted in 2006 and Ruthie in 2007.
Along with several other “orphanage sisters”, who were also adopted, we had a reunion several years ago in Colorado and since then, both the parents and kids have stayed in touch.
Gracie C. flew into town to visit with Ruthie and Sofie and it was so wonderful seeing them together again!
**You can read about our adoption journey to get Ruthie, here.**
Drought Tolerant and Beautiful: Whirling Butterfly Gaura
UncategorizedDo you like flowering perennials?
I do. I enjoy their soft texture, flowers, and the pollinators that come to enjoy their flowers.
Today, I’d like to share with you one of my favorite perennials that I have growing in my garden.
Gaura lindheimeri is a drought-tolerant perennial that produces small, delicate flowers that resemble butterflies floating in the air.
Available in white and pink colors, they are grown as a perennial or used as an annual in colder climates. This is one of the few plants that you can find growing in a desert garden and in more temperate climates such as the Midwest and Northeast.
This lovely perennial deserves to be seen more in the garden and I’d love to share more about gaura with you and why you’ll want to add it to your landscape in my latest Houzz article.
Great Design Plant: Gaura Lindheimeri