It is a lucky cook who is able to pluck a few fresh sprouts from a nearby herb plant to spice up a dish on the stove. Here are a few fabulous herbs that do well in drought tolerant gardens, and Fall is a perfect time to plant them, so get out there already! Here Read More…
Author: Laura Z
Gardener in sunny SoCal
Fall Planting Tips: 3 Flowering Succulent Plants For Drought Tolerant Gardens And Containers
Succulents are plants that are able to store water in their stems and leaves, enabling them to live for long periods of time without water. They are similar to cactus but without the thorns (usually). This is a very large grouping of plants with many different colors, leaf shapes and growth habits. Most flowering succulent Read More…
Fall Planting Time: Four Flowering Shrubs for Dry Southwestern Gardens
Fall is just around the corner and for gardeners in the southwestern US, it is a great time to think about planting perennial, flowering shrubs. This is also a great time to plan out your landscape for next year, including preparing for more drought! Benefits of planting in autumn is a little extra free water Read More…
Garden Fresh Baked Tomato and Zucchini Recipe with Parmesan Cheese
Is your vegetable garden blessed with an overabundance of fresh tomatoes and zucchini this summer? Here’s a great recipe that uses lots of each. Use your giant zucchini to serve this in either boats or cups for a dramatic touch. Cut large zucchini lengthwise and scoop out the centers to create cups that stand up. Read More…
Awesome Aechmea Bromeliad Flower Performance Continues!
Just in time for #FloralFriday on theGardenPages; the flowers on my Aechmea (Urn Plant) just keep getting better. I showed you the prickly pink flowers when they first emerged from my Urn Plant. Now they have continued flowering with added features! The blooms develop what look like extra flowers consisting of deep blue petals deep Read More…
Texas Ranger; Brave Bloomer in Hot Dry Gardens for #FloralFriday
This brave plant currently blooming in 100 degree heat is called Texas Ranger or Leucophyllum frutescens. It is also one of the oddest plants I have grown, but more about that later. After a few years of getting established it is really blooming this year. Most Leucophyllums have purple flowers with more of an open Read More…
Pink Blooming Aechmea Bromeliad Update
The flowers on my aechmea plant are finally opening. They are on stalks about a foot long coming out of the center of the plant. The flower is about 6 inches wide from tendril to spiky tendril. Aechmeas can be grown in Sunset Zones 22 -24, or (USDA Zone 10 or above or hardy Read More…
3 Vintage Tomato Recipes for Gardeners With Too Many Tomatoes
Not only do I love gardening and growing vegetables, I also love cooking and collecting old cookbooks. Since many of us may be blessed with an overabundance of tomatoes this summer, I thought it would be fun to share a few tomato recipes with my garden readers. These recipes are from The White House Cook Read More…
Astounding Amaryllis Flowers Blooming in So California August Heat
Amaryllis belladonna are fascinating flowers. They bloom straight out of the bare ground on tall stalks. Their flowers are large and dramatic, shaped like trumpets about four inches long. They smell wonderful and can perfume a room on a hot summer day. They bloom in late summer or early fall. The leaves are on a Read More…
Amazing Aechmea; Unique Urn Plant Pink Prickly Posies
Can you identify this photo? No, these are not the tendrils of a sci-fi monster, or the top of a giant pink bug. Anticipation has been crackling in the air over here since this aechmea flower was discovered emerging from one of the urns in my silver urn plant. It was a few years ago Read More…