Celebrate The Season!

 Happy Holidays to you and yours.. May the coming year bless us with good health, happiness and peace on earth...

Garden Sculpture

 The geometric shapes of this garden sculpture seem Wright influenced. It reminded me of the rug that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for my Grandfather's house, David S. Wright. 

Fall in Chi-Town!

Fall was in the air on a recent visit to Chicago. I love the feel of the towering buildings, the hustle and bustle of downtown, and the quaint corner restaurants with patios to sit and relax, and enjoy the colors of fall.

Corner Bakery. Best cinnamon rolls!

Hanging planters such as these adorn the streets. Baskets filled with Begonias, pectoranthis and vinca spill down the light post.

Planters are filled with an assortment of Chrysanthemums, cabbage and kale with corn stalks wrapped around the tree trunks.

The architecture is magnificent!

So many Chrysanthemums...

Invasion of the spiders!!

I Love Chicago...

Faux Plants - Yuma Endodontist Office

In collaboration with theStudio for Business Environments in Phoenix, I created several faux plant arrangements for an Endodontics office project located in Yuma, Arizona. The plant arrangements where designed to compliment the art and furniture that was installed. The faux plants included succulents, agave, aloe and grasses. 

  

Succulent containers sit at the check-in and check-out desk.

Copper containers with Aloe and Agave plants sit in the corners of the exam rooms.

Tall grasses in zinc containers adorn a narrow niche in the hallway.

Small ceramic pots filled with dry grasses sit atop a stone table in the entry of the office.

For more on theStudio for Business Environments visit them on the web at www.thestudio.co

A Hot, Hot Wall!

The west facing wall of the house gets intense heat in the afternoon from the summer sun. This makes for a very warm room. I needed shrubs that can take the heat of the hot Arizona summer. Tacoma's work very well in our heat. I used the Tacoma Stans "Gold Star" for height on either side of the window. They will reach a mature height of around 8 feet. That will give good height coverage to the open wall. 

I added TacomaXS "Sierra Apricot", a dwarf variety under the window. These will reach a height of around 4 feet. I alternately planted Desert Ruellia. Again these will only reach about 4 feet. In front of these I mixed in Ruellia carpet for a ground cover. It has a dainty blue flower. 

Although they have only been in for a few weeks, they have already grown. They are on their second bloom cycle. By next summer I am sure this hot wall will not be so hot anymore.  The decorative blocks were placed in front of the bubblers and the tortoises and turtle like to burrow behind them.

Stepping Stones..

A flagstone walking path was put down this week from the patio to the back gate. It goes around the back of the fig tree and transitions off to the side of the house. Winter rye grass was put down. Hopefully the rye grass will grow under the fig tree and last through most of the summer due to the amount of shade there is.  My sweet dog Harley is checking out what's going on. She is liking the new garden.

Finished backyard garden--for now!

I finally finished the backyard garden bed. It was a bit of a challenge to choose the right plants for the bed. I wanted plants that would bloom to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. I also wanted plants that would not be toxic to the tortoises or turtle. They do like to munch. I am pleased with the variety of flowers, shrubs and small tree I chose. Before planting I tilled the dirt and added 7 bags of Singh's compost from Singh Farms. After planting and installing a drip line for watering I spread a layer of fine bark to finish the look. Now I can sit back and watch the plants grow. I am sure I will add things here and there.

My totem stands tall amongst the regal mist grass and Queen of the Nile. I have set some of my Frank Lloyd Wright decorative blocks from my Grandparents home (The David S. Wright home) through out my garden beds. 

 Queen of the Nile, Blue salvia, allysum, a succulent bowl set atop a decorative block, a Cascalote shrub, Sierra Red ( firecracker bush), morning glory, Lady in Red salvia, Cat Whiskers shrub, with potted plants and garden accents adorn this portion of the garden.

A tall bird house sits behind the Sierra Red and Cascalote. I will train the Cascalote to be a small tree.   Allysum, Blue salvia and morning glory will fill in the front of the bed. 

Petunias sit atop a decorative block which is set in front of my miniature herb garden in an old basket. Some day lilies and iris are planted in front of the Pam's Pink Honeysuckle.

A mosaic turtle peeks out from the plants.

The bed wraps around the back side of a fig tree. Another Cat Whiskers was planted to help hide the Tortoise den. Vegetables are planted in the tin tub. An assortment of salvia, allysum and society garlic are planted in front of the Hacienda Creeper vine. The leaves of the Creeper will turn red/orange in the fall.

The tortoise den will eventually be covered by the yellow dot wedelia planted next to it. A variegated pink orchid vine will eventually grow on the back wall and fence.

A purple fountain grass is growing through the broken seat of an old chair. Moraea Iris and Mexican Honeysuckle flank each side of the chair. 

Back yard garden before-

When we moved to our new house in May, there were these great planter beds already defined. Even though they were filled with gravel I knew they would make a wonderful garden.With summer just around the corner my pots were set in the beds until I figured out what I would plant. I originally thought this would be a shaded garden, but soon found out through the summer it received more sun than I expected. My plan shifted to garden that would take full sun to partial shade. The gravel was all removed, along with many scorpions, and many, many, many insects. The fig tree puts off nice shade, but presents a problem for grass to grow. That is another issue to tackle after the bed was planted.

Watch Me Grow!..

The first time I saw Ornamental Sweet Potato Vine was in Chicago a few years ago. They were planted in containers, down Michigan Ave. in the center planters and in the parks. I fell in love with this plant and knew I had to use them in my gardens. I found it in Arizona the next spring and have been planting sweet potato vines ever since. This ground cover / vine comes in a variety of colors -lime green, burgundy and a gray/pink variety. The sweet potato vine is a terrific plant for our spring thru fall in Arizona.  It grows crazy in the heat. You can almost watch them grow. Does not necessarily like the full sun, it does better in a protected spot.  I started with three, 4in. plants in this container. It will crowd out any other plants planted with them, so use caution if mixing it with your favorite flower. The colors mixed together make quite a statement. When the temperatures get too cold I will remove them, plant some geraniums and wait until next summer to replant.  Finally, something we can enjoy during the heat of the Arizona summer.
Happy Gardening!

We have a large flock of Peach Faced Lovebirds in our neighborhood. Here are a few hanging out one morning above my fig tree. I enjoy hearing them talking to each other. Isn't nature grand?

Landscaping the new house - Front Yard

My family  moved into a new house this past May. I knew from the start that I was in a gardeners heaven. My yard was a blank canvas. First thing on the to do list was removing a palm tree and some other trees that were either dead or in the wrong place. Unfortunately I did not get pictures before they were removed. A 36" box Shamel Ash and a 24" box Purple leaf Plum were added to the front. These went in before the start of summer so they would hopefully have time to acclimate before the summer set in. 

Site where Date Palm was removed

Purple leaf flowering Plum
will grow to 15-20', deciduous in winter
with pink flowers in the spring.

Shamel Ash - semi deciduous, grows approx. 6ft a year. Dark green glossy leaves. Great shade tree.

Existing planter beds before new plants were planted.

 The plants and gravel were all removed and a new drip line was installed. I planted White Simplicity roses, black night butterfly bushes, morea iris and liriopes.  Pentas, blue salvia, vincas and portulaca were added for constant summer color. The roses will grow to a height of 3-4ft and the butterfly bushes will reach a height of 4-5 ft. A large Star Jasmine was trellised on the entry wall with an Arabian Night jasmine shrub planted in front.  

The fragrance from the Jasmine is such a welcoming scent as one approaches the front door. Jasmines are one of my favorite flowering plants.