If you don’t have a place in your yard that makes you sigh in happiness, you need one. From any view, this little shade garden sparks so much joy. Making a little plant tableau is so fun and rewarding. This year I played with textures to create a small space that just keeps getting betterContinue reading “Got a Small Space? Make a Container Garden!”

We’re on bloom watch. The carrion cactus has not one, not two, but seven buds on it. It attracts flies with its fleshy aroma, but I can’t wait to see the star-shaped blooms. I have two extremely happy carrion cacti that need propagating. The last time they only had one or two blooms on them,Continue reading “It’s Going to Get Really Stinky Around Here Pretty Soon”

Behold the luffa! Heat tolerant, with big yellow blooms that reach up to the sky and attract so many bees, it spreads out into a beautiful and interesting vine – all this and funny little gourds. What’s not to love about this fascinating plant? My luffa vine has been so wonderfully… weird. I started itContinue reading “Ode to the Mystical, Wonderful, Showy Luffa Vine”

I’m trying something new this year! I need simple, I need cheap, and I need quick advice on successful gardening in the desert, so I’m turning to AI to plan out my garden. You know me, I’m all about experimenting and seeing what works in the garden. And being in my 40s, I feel behindContinue reading “Using AI to Plan a Garden”

Things pop up so quickly around here! I love traipsing around my garden, getting sandy mud caked on my clogs, and smelling the earthy desert air after it’s rained. Being from the Northwest, I love everything about rain, and just the feeling of having something different on the menu for the weather feels absolutely delicious.Continue reading “In the Garden After a Rainstorm”

It was a rare chance to get stuff done without the kids. The kids like the glamorous part of gardening, the kind that sucks us all in at the beginning. Digging in the dirt. Planting the pretty flowers. Picking the pretty flowers. But, today was all about maintenance. I was glad they were being shepherdedContinue reading “I got my garden on today!”

March came in like lion and is still roaring. It was gusting 36 knots the other day, and the forecast indicates more. Every morning I check outside, worried about what the wind did to my plants in the night. I have learned that the secret garden unfortunately becomes an absolute wind tunnel in the springContinue reading “The W Word”

The season is beginning to transition here in the desert. The lows are hanging out around the mid 50s, and the highs are in the mid 70s to 80s. We’re about to get a heat wave where the temps will be in the 90s. I can only hope that my garden established itself enough forContinue reading “You’re Getting Warmer!”

My winter garden is winding down. I was absolutely lazy this year and barely lifted a finger, but I feel like I had the best results ever. This came from knowing my garden space and repeating some things that worked, as well as my usual “just wing it” attitude when it comes to my plants.Continue reading “Now Showing”

Well, I’m figuring out what works here in the desert. Cilantro is always a good bet, especially if you can find the slow to bolt variety. Basil can be hit and miss, and the buggies like it – even the lemon basil I’ve got growing here. Carrots are iffy but parsnips are fine. This season’sContinue reading “Winter Garden Success!”

That’s right, so far I have harvested exactly two peppers and about as many teeny tiny yellow tomatoes (not Sungold). They’re immature and there’s not much meat to them now, but they’re absolutely full of flavor! The green pepper was particularly tasty. Peppers are so easy and fun to grow here that it’s almost aContinue reading “Chandra Picked a Peck of Two Peppers”

Oh the pumpkin plant… I have it in one of those half wine barrel (read: very large) planters. I started out with 4 piles of pumpkin seedlings, then 3, and now this is just two plants. They look healthy! They’re blooming! They’re a joy in the garden! But still, no makings of an actual pumpkin.Continue reading “Y U No Produce No Pumpkins?”

I plant petunias every year. Particularly the deep purple petunias, as my dog is very fond of them. Petunias are safe for dogs, and I have had great success with them out in the dog run. This year I found two terra cotta strawberry planters on clearance for $10 each at Home Depot. They’re aboutContinue reading “Please Enjoy These Petunias”

Welcome to seed palooza, where everything gets dumped into the secret garden and forgotten about. I decided it was time to plant all my seed packets and start over. This stuff needs thinning. I have no idea what it is. Carrots? Dill? I know there’s some beets in the middle and sunflowers someplace, but beyondContinue reading “I Have No Idea What I Planted Here”

I’m not sure where to start with this. It’s been another cruel summer for the garden. I know I’m not the only one who has lost numerous plants in the ongoing 110+ degree heat, and everything is looking crispy-crispy. Whenever we get back from summer vacation it is always sad to find plants that didContinue reading “I Have a Big Mess to Clean Up”

Yep, that’s a tiny broccoli head right there in the secret garden. Salutes for the lieutenant! I need more raised beds! Broccoli takes up a ton of space. I have 4 plants total that survived. Two are about this large, and a third is in the same bed that I shouldn’t have planted so closeContinue reading “Broccoli!”

Gusty winds are predicted through Monday. Here’s how I’m protecting my teeny tiny plants. I live in the desert. It gets windy here! It gets really gusty, and all that blowing dust can take you by surprise. Many a day have I squinted at the sky, wondering if it’s pollution or dust. Streets close, theContinue reading “Battening Down the Hatches”

I count seven tiny babies on this cactus! I still don’t know what kind of cactus it is but I’m thrilled that it’s so happy and blessing me with babies! Beautiful desert rose blooms, and some cactus cuttings. My gardener keeps hacking at my plants. Not cool! The latest gumby cactus piece in the terraContinue reading “Plant Babies! And a Pest”

What to do when a volunteer pops up in the wrong place at the wrong time? I say let it be. This is Malabar spinach growing in Bed 1 of the secret garden. I’m not sure if it actually qualifies as a volunteer since it’s seeds that I planted and forgot about. It was justContinue reading “Well, this is inconvenient…”

This time of year always makes me feel nostalgic. The back to school displays in the stores make way for fall holidays, and everyone’s rushing around. I know I’m not alone when I say September is the start of the busy season for our family. Preschool and soccer, headcolds and shopping, and just a generalContinue reading “Late Starts and a Surprise”

I pruned the hibiscus again. It’s probably the wrong time of year to do this and it will probably weep over its loss of branches and then attract pests and disease. Oh, well. I’m just excited to have something in my yard live long enough to prune. I received the hibiscus as a housewarming gift.Continue reading “Well this could be another $120 mistake”

Some surprises at the last gasp of summer. I spy a bud or two on my desert rose (adenium). I didn’t know it was ramping up to bless me with more flowers this late in the game but I’m happy it’s trying. I can’t remember if I’m supposed to withhold water to force a bloomContinue reading “Late Summer Blooms”

Now what? I’ll be the first to admit I don’t know what I’m doing. I’ve learned by trial and error that the basil likes a sunny spot, does okay if I only water it every 2 or 3 days, and stays green over the summer. That’s an awesome plant to have in the desert! ItContinue reading “Thai Basil Going to Seed”

Either I killed it, or it will continue to flourish. Who can say? In the words of the great Enya, only thyme. Today I harvested some sage. I should have done this a few weeks ago when it was lush and healthy. Now after a humid weekend in the garage weathering a tropical storm, it’sContinue reading “Trimming the Sage”

What could they be? There’s only one way to find out! As I was cleaning up after the storm, ridding all the empty pots in my potting zone of standing water, I noticed a pattern of little sprouts coming up at my feet. Upon further inspection, I found the same little sprouts in two pots,Continue reading “Teeny Tiny Mystery Plants”

Just walking around the yard admiring the beauty and thinking about how far we’ve come.

Thanks but no thanks! Though Hilary was a tropical storm by the time it got here, it wreaked havoc on my yard. We were very lucky to have so little issues with this big storm that caused road washouts, power outages, home flooding, and so much more. Our valley is still dealing with the aftermathContinue reading “Damage from Hurricane Hilary”

Here’s a summary of everything gardening and plant related from the last time I made a blog post (January 2023) until now.

Let’s see what’s going on in the garden before we get this big storm that’s coming.

I highly recommend it! This is Part 2 of my January task list. In Part 1 I was preparing the soil and fertilizing the lawn, right before a big storm was expected. Now I’m ready to plant something! Today I planted annual transplants. Specifically, 33 snapdragons. My gardening book says to plant spring-flowering transplants. TruthContinue reading “Gardening In The Rain”

Let’s see what’s going on in the garden.

New Year, new garden. Time to crank out those January gardening tasks! As it turns out, the seasons here are quite busy September/November and January/February. I learned the hard way last year that if you don’t pretty much finish your spring and summer gardening to-dos by about Valentine’s Day, your goose is cooked. Or rather,Continue reading “The Day Is Finally Here!”

Here’s what I’m doing this month I’m using a month by month gardening book and taking notes! These are the tasks I’m doing this month: Later, I added: Whew, there’s a lot to do!

My garden had some ups and downs this year! Read on for a list of what I learned. I’ll be the first to admit I still have no idea what I am doing. It’s all an experiment! The biggest challenge that I’m still figuring out is what to plant in the raised garden beds myContinue reading “What I Learned About Gardening In The Desert In 2022… And One Thing I’m Still Figuring Out”

The numbers are in! Drumroll please… I harvested exactly 6 tomatoes and 9 radishes. This is a record at my house! It may not seem like much but I’m thrilled considering my goal was to stick some seeds in the ground with my kid and have something green pop up. I’m excited to see whatContinue reading “2022 Harvest Report”

What a cloudy day! Boy is it foggy. We can’t even see the palm trees on the golf course. It’s cold and damp, and I’m staying warm indoors dreaming of how I want to turn our backyard into a shangri-la in 2023. Oh, and the mesquite over the fence has started to bloom so that’sContinue reading “Dreary Day On The Holmestead”

It won’t be a white Christmas but we’ve got plenty of living green things to look at!

My son and I went to the civic park in Palm Desert today. He’s always loved the rose garden there and today was no different. I will add that we had a bee landing on us that wouldn’t leave the stroller alone so we did a second stroll amongst the roses to deposit the beeContinue reading “Stopping By To Smell The Flowers”

There’s nothing like being pleasantly surprised by something you can harvest and eat from your own garden! My husband has been so helpful with the garden. Watering when I’m too tired, putting up with my plant purchases, and building and doing the things that are “man” jobs. Sure, I can do all this myself butContinue reading “Gardening Joy!”

I think it’s time to throw in the trowel. My once cute little secret garden full of promising sprouts has been decimated by heat and wind. I haven’t updated my blog in a while because I felt so discouraged. All that hard work. All that getting up early and watering in my pajamas, for this.Continue reading “Summer/Fall Garden Update”

I finally figured out what’s eating my petunias. This little green eating machine was caught red handed while I was deadheading the blooms. I’m not sure if he’s friend or foe but I left him alone with his meal, just in case.

Hoping for a jack-o-lantern this fall!

I almost missed it. I was watering the garden and musing about how it doesn’t make sense that we can have so many blooms but no fruit. And there it was! Yayyyy!!!!

If it’s not one thing, it’s another. After this week’s wind wreaking havoc on the corn and beans, the appearance of mites on the tomatoes, and the general drama of will they- won’t they even sprout up, I have discovered what looks like powdery mildew on the cucumbers. I can’t be too sure that’s what’sContinue reading “Ugh, Powdery Mildew”

How do you garden in 100 degree temperatures? Shade cloth! I got these hoops and 50% shade cloth to give the garden a fighting chance to live this summer. The cloth isn’t really fabric, more like a plastic-y veil. I’ve heard burlap works too. This is my first time trying this so we’re going toContinue reading “Shade Cloth”

The winds were blowing pretty high last night so I didn’t know what to expect when I went to water the garden this morning. It could be anything from the arch or pots blowing over, to finding my bench in another part of the yard entirely. I went outside last evening to batten down theContinue reading “Wind Damage”

We have some new developments… I thought everything was going swimmingly with all the new seeds I set out. The garden really looks pretty and green, and orderly. I thought to myself, gee I think I really have got this gardening thing down. Just stick seeds in the ground and remember to water them… noContinue reading “What’s Going On In The Garden”

A 24 hour comparison of seedling growth. This is so not what I was expecting!

We have sprouts! They seemed like they popped up overnight!

I just couldn’t help myself today. I said to myself, I’m not going to fret about the garden, or weed, or adjust anything today. I’m just going to enjoy my yard and breathe. But I did it anyway. I committed an act of gardening today. It happened while I was watching my son blow bubblesContinue reading “I Wasn’t Going To Do This But…”

We got outside in the garden again today. I figured we have more beans to plant and that I had better plant the ice plant before it becomes like the annuals of yore that sat in the pot straight from the gardening section and that I did exactly zero with, ending quickly in their demise.Continue reading “Let Them Play In The Dirt”

Warm season gardening plans! It’s late March so it’s a little late to begin but why not try? Here in zone 9b it’s better to plant stuff in February right after the last frost (if we even get one, ha!) or better yet, plant stuff indoors and then transfer it in February to give itContinue reading “Creating Magic In The Garden”