Friday, May 24, 2013


A New Butterfly Garden Revisited – 1 Year Later

April 30, 2013

I love seeing ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos of a newly planted landscape, don’t you? Last year, I was asked to design a butterfly (& hummingbird) garden next to a golf course as part of their efforts to become an Audubon Certified Golf Course. The garden was to be situated in an existing landscape area with [...]

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Pinterest Roundup: Mother’s Day Gifts

April 27, 2013

Have you checked out our Pinterest boards yet? They’re a great source of ideas and projects for gardeners, bird-lovers, butterfly folks, and more! With Mother’s Day just a few weeks away, now is the time to check out our boards for gift ideas for the moms in your life. Here are some of our favorite [...]

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New Plant Combinations and Tips for Beautiful Containers

April 23, 2013

Last month, I was asked to put on a potting demonstration as part of a home tour.  I was given 3 beautiful, glazed pots and asked to plant two of the pots with succulents and the third with annuals and perennials.  The finished pots were to be raffled off after the demonstration. I would love [...]

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Mother’s Day Guide: Alternatives to Cut Flowers

April 19, 2013

Instead of cut flowers, buy Mom flowers she can plant like these Cool Wave pansies from Ball Horticulture. Mother’s Day is just around the corner, and we want to help you get ahead by figuring out Mom’s gift now. Just get her flowers, right? Well, that’s the quick and easy solution, but let’s think outside [...]

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Got Large Pots? Use Plastic Containers to Fill Extra Space

April 19, 2013

Do you like to grow ornamental plants in large pots?  I do.  Especially brightly-colored pots that add color to the landscape. What I don’t like about large pots is the amount of potting mix that I have to add to fill it up.  In large pots, my plants aren’t likely to use the soil at [...]

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A House for a Garden Toad

April 16, 2013

Last week, I showed you a ‘house’ located next to a vegetable garden and asked you to guess who lived there with a few clues to help you along the way. Did any of you guess who lives in this ‘house’? This house is the current residence of “Mr. Toad”, who makes his home in [...]

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Confederate Jasmine for Outside and In

April 13, 2013

This time of year, one wall of my house is responsible for perfuming the entire neighborhood. My Confederate Jasmine is in bloom, and the scent permeates the air, especially on hot sunny afternoons and into the night. What’s in a Name? Confederate Jasmine, sometimes called Star Jasmine, has a very confusing common name. First, it’s [...]

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Who Lives Here?

April 12, 2013

Can you tell who lives here in the garden? Here are a few clues… – The roof of their house is made up of an upside-down terra cotta pot saucer with mud heaped up on the sides. – It is located next to the vegetable garden where there are plenty of insects to be found. [...]

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Achieving Balance with the Perfect Palette

April 10, 2013

Vibrant colors, novel neutrals and dynamic brights — nothing catches the eye like the beautiful variations of color that spring and summer planting has to offer. One of my favorite reference points for eye-catching colors is the annual Pantone® palette. Each year, Pantone predicts the year’s hottest colors for interior design, home décor and fashion. [...]

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The hummers are coming, the hummers are coming

April 5, 2013

Those of us who live in more northern and interior locations who have been missing ‘our’ hummingbirds since they left last fall, it won’t be long before they are back dazzling us again. The first Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are working their way from very southern parts of the U.S. and are reaching areas from the Mid-Atlantic [...]

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Butterfly Host Plants: Milkweed is Just the Beginning!

April 3, 2013

I’m frequently asked, “How can I get a wider variety of butterflies to visit my garden?” The answer to this question is actually pretty simple – you have to provide their host plants. There’s been a lot of talk lately about how important it is to plant milkweed to support the struggling monarch population. Milkweed [...]

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Flowers in the Garden. Real or Fake?

April 2, 2013

The other afternoon, I was driving through an older neighborhood near downtown Phoenix when a splash of color caught my eye. There were colorful flowers blooming in front yard of an old home. Now, colorful flowers are quite common in Phoenix – even in winter.  But, what caused me to stop and turn around was [...]

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Giant Hyssop for Butterflies and Hummingbirds

March 30, 2013

Planning your butterfly and hummingbird garden? Be sure to include some Giant Hyssop species, the common name for Agastache (ah-guh-STAH-kee). These members of the mint family (not to be confused with true hyssops, Hyssopus, found in Europe and Asia) are guaranteed to be magnets for hummingbirds and butterflies of all kinds, and with plenty of [...]

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