rescue rose...

Many years ago, there was a large chain store that had a garden department. The chain store still exists, the garden department does not. The garden area was manned, as chain store garden departments often are, by people who knew nothing about gardening. If you were there within the first week of a delivery, you were in luck. After that, forget it. Needless to say, it was not my favorite place to shop. The garden department was never my sole destination but if I was there for some other reason, I would take a quick peek. One day, I happened to start talking to one of the employees. She was gathering the spent plants to throw away. I asked if I could take the pathetic looking miniature rose. I wish I had a before photo. She was happy to give it "to a good home". While it is not a rose that I would have chosen to buy, I have been happy to give it a good home.

It has thrived.
Later, she found out that this was not a store policy. She could no longer give me plants that were going to be thrown away.

I would have given them a good home.

a rose is a rose is a rose...

I am a flower lover but roses are not my favorites until they start blooming in my garden. Then I can't imagine loving another flower more. Whenever they are not blooming, I wonder why I don't use the space for something else. The April comes and I remember...
And the names! The names are so much fun. Yes, we enjoy dinner on the patio surrounded by Sexy Rexy, Barbra Streisand, McCartney (if they came out with a Lennon, Starr and Harrison, I would not be able to resist), Queen Elizabeth and Marilyn Monroe.

In case you would like a cup of tea with Marilyn, here you go:


Hope spring is finding you too!

shooting ladybugs...

Endlessly fascinating as they scurry about their work - so quick, so photogenic.

on the tip of a tulip petal
on the tip of a daffodil bud

This one is my favorite, two ladybugs underneath the petals of a white cosmos.

Hoping spring has found you too!

irises don't know they aren't supposed to bloom in November...

And for that, I am grateful...

if you want to grow tulips in the desert...

Forgive my obsession with spring flowers right now but spring never lasts long enough around here so I am enjoying it while I can. I am out in the garden with my camera every morning.

When we started to get interested in gardening (giving up on productive gardening because the critters around here ate every vegetable and fruit we tried), I really wanted to try tulips. I knew that growing tulips in the desert wasn't anything like growing them in other climates, but I wanted to try. We knew that tulips wouldn't come back every year in our climate so it was a one and done situation. We looked at bulbs and couldn't believe the prices. It was a little scary not even knowing if they would bloom. I decided they were too much but on my birthday, there was a lovely box of tulip bulbs. He does know the way to my heart. We planted them in our little garden and most of them came up. Our garden isn't really visible from the house so we were trying to come up with another method. My brilliant husband figured it out and it worked perfectly.
Instructions for growing tulips in the desert (at least in southern Arizona).

1. Chill bulbs for 6 weeks. If it ends up not being quite that long, don't worry. We usually plant Thanksgiving week because I desperately need the room in the frig for Thanksgiving food. So we buy in October.
2. Plant bulbs in shallow pots. Be sure you have the bulbs facing the right way. I still remember doing it wrong as a child.
3. Water regularly. We just keep them in our other garden, tucked out of the way. It gets a regular spray.
4. When bulbs start blooming in February, move the pot to where you can see them every day. It will make you very happy.

Last fall we bought a bag of tulips from Costco.com. It was the perennial tulip collection for $57.99, free shipping. I don't remember the number of bulbs that included but we got enough for 8 big pots. I like planting one color in one pot but you could mix them up too. The red started blooming first and are gone by now. Then came the pink, almost finished. Right now, I still have yellow, orange, white and a beautiful yellow/orange color. We have had blooms for over a month.







I know I don't have many readers from desert locations but just in case, I had to pass this along because it has brought us so much happiness this spring, not to mention too many photo ops.

Happy Spring!

spring is here...

Blooming right now: daffodils, freesia, roses (just the miniature ones so far), ranunculus, camellias, pansies, Iceland poppies (well, the wind took all the petals away the last few days but there are new buds ready to pop), snapdragons, lavender, violets (although they are almost finished), nasturtiums and daisies. The hummingbirds are finding the salvia. The bougainvillea is a happy pink. This morning, the first calla lily opened.


Sometimes, I think I want to be a gardener who sticks to a single themed color. There would be only white daisies, white snapdragons, white poppies. A white garden is amazing in the moonlight. But how could I decide on one color? Leave out pink? Leave out purple? Leave out yellow? It would be impossible! So my garden is a little bit of this, a little bit of that.

among the hummingbirds...

Have to start this post with a "GO WILDCATS!" "ELITE EIGHT, BABY!" said in my very best Dick Vitale voice. Moving on now...

As you know, this winter was a c-o-l-d one for us. I know many of you would scoff at that description, especially my friend, Debbie, who spent 26 winters in North Dakota. For us though, it was cold and our normal way of gardening was thrown for a loop. We are still in a wait-and-see mode. Will the lemon tree survive? Did the bougainvilleas make it? Will that silk oak ever come back? Almost every day in the last two weeks, I see something new making its appearance again. The hummingbirds really don't care about the lemon tree, the bougainvillea or the silk oak but they sure are happy about the salvia.


On any given day, I can usually sit for a few minutes and soon will see a hummingbird or three. Happy hummingbirds make me and my camera happy too. They barely notice me. They are sometimes so close that I need to step back because my lens won't focus so closely. Yesterday, I tried to read outside. The sun felt so good, the garden showing such signs of life and the temperature just perfect. How could I read when the hummingbirds were posing for me?

Look who is out of hibernation and HUNGRY!



Hope spring is finding you too.

the too long tale of the peonies...

I am a desert girl. I know nothing of flowers that like to hang out in the east. Early last summer, it seemed I saw photographs of peonies everywhere. I saw them adorning a bride's bouquet, on a lovely dining table or growing in profusion in someone's garden.

I was sure I could grow them. I envisioned a garden full of gorgeous peonies, providing me with cut bouquets for weeks. Maybe I would plant all pale pink and white. I checked the internet about growing peonies in the desert and had no luck. That didn’t deter me. After all, I grow tulips and had been told they don’t grow here either. I asked at the closest nursery and was told they don’t grow here. I was sure that wasn't right so I went to my favorite nursery to talk to the experts, who truly know everything about gardening here and even sell tulip bulbs.

The conversation went something like this:

me: Do you have peonies?
knowledgeable nursery guy: Peonies won’t grow here.
me: I know they would take some special care.
knowledgeable, patient nursery guy: Peonies won’t grow here.
me: I have a very shady area that only gets a bit of morning sun.
knowledgeable, patient nursery guy: Peonies won’t grow here.
me: I’ve had such good luck with tulips.
knowledgeable very patient nursery guy (smiling now):
Peonies won’t grow here.


So I gave up my dreams of that beautiful peony garden. I would console myself with seasonal bouquets of peonies. I knew I had seen peonies at Trader Joe’s last year. I have stalked their flower section for about two months now. Not that I didn’t enjoy the ranunculus, daffodils and sunflowers that I bought while waiting but I wanted peonies. They finally showed up last Monday. I bought the last bunch, wishing for three more. They were a deep pink rather than white or pale pink but that was okay.

I couldn’t wait for them to open…

Monday: in the vase
Tuesday: looking dramatic but not opening
Wednesday morning: first one opens, not looking at all like I had anticipated. The smell is odd and not very pleasant to me.
Wednesday evening: I find that when I get close, I am getting kind of an itchy feeling on my face. I am sure I can convince myself to like the smell so I keep smelling them. After all, they are peonies.
Thursday: second one opens. Despite a bit of an allergic reaction, I keep smelling them. With only two blooming, the smell in my dining room is starting to overwhelm me.
Friday morning: We’re having guests for dinner tonight. I think I am going to throw out these peonies. Thank goodness, I didn’t plant a garden of these things. How could I get so invested in a flower that I had never even seen? I don’t like peonies at all.
Friday late afternoon: I’m doing the last minute cleaning and cooking. We’re about ready. Before I throw them out, I take one last smell. There is no unpleasant smell. The deep pink has lightened to a beautiful pale pink and white bloom. They are gorgeous.

I love peonies!

I know, I know. They won't grow here.