desert
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Summer Breeze: July Winds in My Arizona Garden
Arizona has nice, light breezes. Then there was the sunny day when we came home recently and found the chaise lounge in the pool. Either our neighbor lost his mind or some crazy wind kicked up while we were out. The latter seems far more likely. But it was so nice and calm out. Welcome…
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Amaranth (Love-Lies-Bleeding)
PLANT SPOTLIGHT The Basics Sun: Full sun Water: Low Mature size: 1-10′ ft tall, 2-8′ ft wide Bloom time: Summer–fall Hardiness: Zone 9b Notes: Strong as an ornamental and an edible. Size variation based on variety. My gardening love will always be flowers, above all else. When I was growing seeds in the Northeast, I…
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Week 11 – Learning From My Neighbors’ Gardens
Gardening is not like school. For one thing, you can go to the bathroom without getting special permission. But I digress. What I really meant was that copying the person next to you is not cheating. It’s not even frowned upon. It’s actually pretty smart. Figuring out what works in Phoenix takes a lot of…
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Week 10 – 108 and All’s Well – Dealing with June Heat in My Phoenix Garden
Does anyone remember Disney’s Robin Hood with the animals? Robin Hood was a fox, and there were those palace-guard birds who marched back and forth announcing the time – “One o’clock and all’s well!” I feel like we do that with summer temperatures in Phoenix. Everyone on the phone asks: “How hot is it now?”…
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Week 9: San Diego Garden Inspiration for a Phoenix Yard
That says it well. I do love both traveling and staying at home. But sometimes, especially when it’s getting warm (that’s a euphemism for roasting) here, a day or two in cooler temperatures is good for one’s sanity. We’ve looked forward to exploring the West since we arrived in Phoenix, but somehow never got around…
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Week 8: Don’t Do It Stop Ordering Plants Now!
Why summer gardening in Phoenix requires discipline, humor, and occasionally leaving your house without your dog. Truth be told, I am the last one who should be writing this post. I should be reading it. How do I write about something I am clearly determined to learn the hard way? Be warned: this is not…
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Week 7: Planting a Jacaranda in Phoenix — Meet Jackie, My Baby Tree
As I may have said once or thirty times, shade is priceless here. The desert has no mercy at noon, and few plants can take the sun at its strongest. Even among the famous saguaro cactus, the seedlings that tend to survive are the ones that grow in the shade of a “host” tree. I…
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Planting Princess Kate: My First Clematis texensis in the Phoenix Heat (Week 6)
I’m finding that even though I can’t grow many of the species I see on BBC’s Gardener’s World, I’m still enjoying watching. I pick up small, practical things — a better way to deadhead, a reminder about pruning timing — the kind of universal advice that translates across climates. But I also love the home‑garden…
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Week 5: Adding Trees to My Phoenix Garden — Meet Bubba, Our Desert Willow
One of the best ways we’ve found to discover garden inspiration is by opening our door and taking a walk around. If it’s growing near our house, without an irrigation system in the middle of a wash with full sun, I feel like the odds are good that it can make it in our yard.…
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Week 4 Vines in a Phoenix Garden: Bougainvillea, Jasmine, and Snail Vine
One of my main focuses in our hygge garden is to go vertical. It is actually surrounded by walls on 3 sides, as a courtyard. I would never have a room in my house have 3 bare walls. If this is going to feel like a garden room, all the interesting stuff can’t stay on…