I love mint tea and there is nothing like fresh mint year round. This is a Plant Purrfect Self-watering Pot that holds 3.5" to 4.5" standard nursery potted plants. I love these for growing any small houseplant. You can find them on Amazon.com. They come with a 4" pot that you can plant a small cutting from a mint…

So, Anyone use that blue powdered fertilizer? Messy huh? AND the longer it sits the wetter it becomes. Just nip it in the butt and fill a squeezable bottle with the blue stuff and fill with water. When you need it just squeeze it in. Also when if you fill the you watering jug with water first and then squeeze the fertilizer in and shake you wont get all the suds that rise to the top!…

Note to self: Don't believe packaging! I purchased 'Cherry Red' Nasturtium for my hanging baskets (paired with white Alyssum, blue Lobelia and light pastel Pink Wave Petunia) ....

'Cherry Red' Nasturtium is a ORANGE as ORANGE can be!!! Florescent ORANGE...

Did I mention there is not a HINT of CHERRY!!!!

So if you happen to drive by and think "Wow,…

I love May in the Phoenix area (it's easy to do).  Days are warm, but not brutal, and mornings, evenings, and nights are absolutely magical.  Here in my little garden, we've not yet hit 100 F, although it's coming for sure.  That being said, days are…

Spring has finally arrived and I have been spending countless hours each day enjoying the garden.  This year I am not even a grumpy weed puller I am so happy to just be able to finally get out there.  Compared to last year the garden is a bit over a month behind on its growth because of the cold spring temperatures.  However, I am not going to complain because my garden has finally started to explode with color and I am enjoying every minute of it.

The Primrose…

Okay blog, it's time to shake things up.  GONE are the longer, more infrequent updates, and HERE are the shorter, more immediate happenings.  The longer format seems too wordy to me, and it takes so long that I don't update as much as I should.  Let's get started!

I love variegated Jerusalem cherries (Solanum pseudocapsicum).  They have neat variegated foliage, and fun striped berries that turn yellow then red when ripe.  The downside?  All seedlings from the seeds are albinos…

Moved back to the lower desert and am now establishing a new container-only herb garden. Also attempting to make a moon flower vine grow and survive from a container as any attempts at direct ground planting have met an untimely demise at the hands of the landlords "gardeners". So far my basil and oregano are going nuts as well as either cat mint or cilantro, I forgot which one I planted - there's a good chance both are in the pot!

We drove past Home Depot today.  I usually go to Lowe's...ok, I go to Lowe's every day I possibly can.  Today Mom and I decided to see if Home Depot had anything dirrerent.  I get carried away with the idea of different.  We left there with a jasmine plant, hopefully for the poor, lonely arbor.  It had a bean on it once, until the heat killed the bean.  Otherwise the poor thing has just sat there...except for that time the wind gusted at 77, as the news people gleefully reported.  Then it…

It was two years ago this month (May).  Mom and I had run out to Old Time Pottery, mom more for quilts and beddings and I went basicially for their little green house areas of inexpensive flowers.  We were walking down every row, passing between blissful plants of many kinds.  I was raving about this and that, grabbing those and these.  At the end of one row of unusuals and misfits there was this miniature vine, wrapped around a little tiny trellis.  It was covered in candy corn!  Upon…

Most of you know by now I feed the birds around my house.  The various birds, when coming to eat at my feeders, provide me a calming sense of camaraderie with nature - especially when I find them waiting for me to place seed out each morning and, some of which, are perching and eating at the feeders immediately thereafter - even when I'm standing very nearby.  This…

Being an Organic Gardner means I have to accept that my produce may have holes and unsightly blemishes from pests.  The trade off is that I am feeding my family and myself 100% clean food that has no poison on it or in it.

When you use pesticides and herbicides in a garden they do not only kill the bad insects but also the helpful insects.

So like almost all organic gardeners I choose to use the natural world around me to help repel pests and…

On the heels of my post yesterday on why all The Bees Are Dying, I thought I would show you guys how to set up a beehive.  It can be a very scary idea setting up and caring for bees so I thought I would do a quick YouTube Tutorial.  Let me know if it was helpful or if  I can answer any questions.  I really want to encourage anyone and everyone who is even remotely interested in keeping bees to…

Over last winter all four of my beehives died.  Liz who is my beekeeping teacher and helper lost almost 3/4 of all her hives.  We weren’t sure what happened.  I knew in late fall right before winter that the hives were gone.  There was no activity and a quick peek inside showed empty hives.  When we opened up the hives this spring, there were still honey and dead bees stuck with their heads in the comb.

We aren’t alone in the mysterious death of our bees.  Hives…

Just about every dish tastes better with fresh herbs and there’s no better way to get fresh herbs than to grow them yourself.  They are the quintessential easy to grow plant.  They can be grown in a flower bed, a vegetable patch or a pot.  Many of them can be started from seed, and do not need a lot of care to thrive.  Once you start growing them, you will be growing more and more wondering why you waited so long. Do not be afraid, you will be pleasantly surprised with just a…

It is so strange to see both birds at the same time for so long.  Usually, the juncos are gone shortly after the robins arrive.  This year, the robins showed up mid-January and the juncos are still around. 

They are both fun to watch.

Here in New England the snow is finally melting and soon I will be heading outdoors to begin the gardening season. I have come to learn that my spring activities yield future benefits but some things are unclear and to me unknown.  For example:

1. cleaning flower beds --on the one hand I've heard to rake away debris and gently aerate the soil (which is what I usually do) but I've recently been advised to leave leaf matter as it protects roots and add nutrients. Which is…

I finally got the early spring seedlings planted yesterday.  The weather report is calling for snow tonight/tomorrow morning. 

The only thing that has me mildly concerned is the rosemary plant.

Crazy, crazy weather!

Early spring brings many wildflower blooms to our farm. A walk around shows what is blooming for early spring, which will all change in about 2 -3 weeks for a different crop. Mother Nature does it so well!

Dry Land Wildflowers 

A few weeks ago, I had occasion to take a peek at my neighbors' gorgeous back yard.  We were doing a one-day dog-sitting stint for their beautiful and very well-mannered golden retriever.  I could go on and on about how wonderful this particular dog is, but I'll save my comments about Molly for…

The last two things I needed for the bath renovation project were the brushed nickel hardware pieces, and the paint chips to pick a wall color.  I went to two different home and garden stores.

At the first store, I found the hardware I wanted along with garlic, onions and 6 pkgs of seeds.  The second store was much worse.  The paint chips cost me nothing. I wish I could say that I walked out of the store with only that.

I decided to check outside to see what…