A Gardener's Trunk

At any given time, my car is transporting some type of plant material.  Soil, transplants, seeds, empty pots, bugs, garden tools - you name it.  Most people keep car emergency kits in their trunk.  I keep a garden emergency kit:  clippers, a trowel, extra seeds, empty bags for plants, zip-ties and a couple of my favorite plant reference books.

We are selling our old house and I've been busy propagating as many plants as possible from my beloved gardens of the past.  Yesterday, my trunk was full of transplant treasures:

Look closely and you'll see iris, daylilies, pencil euphorbia and osteospermum.  A good day at the office, indeed!

Squash on the Way

This year, I planted some different varieties of squash other than zucchini.  So far, so good.  I have beautiful squash blossoms for color, as well as small squash forming on the vines.  

Butternut Babies

Butternut Squash:  this vine is going to take up a very large area.  I'm not sure I chose the best location for it, so we will have to tread carefully through the covered garden path.   

Teenie Golden Scallopini Squash

If these plants produce like my zucchini did last year, be prepared to receive some on your doorstep.  We'll be making roasted squash, bread, squash tacos, quiche - you name it.  Squash smoothies anyone? 

All Things Purple

My favorite color in the garden right now is purple.  Check out these purple beauties!

If you don't like to eat artichokes, you can still benefit from planting them in your garden.  Just let the bulb go to bloom, sit back and enjoy.

This garden sits outside my kitchen window.  The little purple flower is Love in a Mist.  I grew these from seed (Botanical Interests) and it has been blooming for almost two months.  This is a MUST for your garden next year.

Another favorite:  Sea Lavender.  I grouped three of these together and love the various shades of purple.  It enjoys partial sun and regular water.  I haven't had much success with lavender in the past, so I'll stick with this variety.  Ooh la la!

Peach Delight

Last weekend I went on the Arcadia Edible Garden Tour.  I have been to these gardens before, but I always learn something new and get great ideas.  Here is what I learned:

• The Farmyard grows beet greens and Swiss chard in the summer.  Plant in a space with morning sun and afternoon shade.  She also uses a seaweed fertilizer that helps the soil retain moisture during the hot months.  I planted the seeds this morning so my experiment has begun!
• I want a peach tree.  We recently cut down a dead orange tree and I have been thinking of possible replacements.   I will try the Desert Gold variety as I understand it does well in the low desert.  I sampled some of the tastiest peaches ever from two gardens on the tour and it sealed the deal for me.

• Grow grapes on an arbor?  Maybe.  This is a possibility for my future arbor in my vegetable garden.  I currently have grapes growing along a wire in between some posts, but thought the arbor would provide better support.  This one at Boho Farm looked so pretty.  The only downfall is that grapes are deciduous so the arbor would be bare for part of the year.

• Use re-mesh to keep out unwanted critters in your garden or for a shade structure.  Why didn't I think of this?  Re-mesh is great as a support for vines too.   I'm definitely heading to Lowe's today for some remesh for our school garden as we are putting in shade structures tomorrow.

The Season of Sunflowers

Sunflowers are emerging and/or in bloom in yards everywhere.  There are so many varieties of these beauties so a sunflower garden is a must.  Here are four varieties planted in my garden:

Lemon Queen

Giant Sunflower - up to 8 feet tall

Ooh la la, my latest discovery!

Mexican Sunflower

 My favorite seed source for sunflowers (and just about everything else) is Botanical Interests.  Check out their beautiful selection!  http://www.botanicalinterests.com.

Palo Verde Beauty

It's official - I am in love with my Palo Verde trees.  We have three of them in our front yard, my favorite being the one that sits directly outside the arch to my front patio.  Its canopy is quite large so it feels like my whole front yard is under a bright yellow umbrella.  Take a look:

Gorgeous!  Palo Verde trees make a huge mess but it is worth the clean-up.  I love pulling into the driveway and laying my eyes on this beauty.  The limbs and branches are all twisted and gnarled - adding even more charm.

View from below

If you don't have one of these in your yard, go get one!  Desert adapted, low water use and stunning!

Sunday Mornings

Today is my first lazy Sunday in many weeks and you can guess how I'll be spending it - in the garden.   My list of work to do is long, but it can wait while I check the progress of my summer veggies.   I've been using a seaweed fertilizer from Sweet Garden Organics and it seems to be creating happy plants.  Take a look:

Cucumbers for Jack

Anaheim peppers 

Grapes!! 

Artichoke

Zucchini

Green Zebra Tomato

Bush Snap Bean

It's not too late to sow seeds for summer.  You can still plant black eyed peas, yardlong beans, Armenian cucumbers, jicama, okra, summer squash, tomatillos and watermelon.  Gotta love gardening in Arizona - you can plant and harvest almost every day of the year