Two more plants that grow prolifically in our woods are the Cotoneaster (it is such a temptation to call it a ‘Cotton Easter’ bush…) and the wild raspberry. Both arrived in our […]
Fall Colours – Cotoneaster
Fall Colours – Dogwood
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. -Albert Camus – Plant Profile Common Name: Red Osier or Red Twig Dogwood Scientific Name: Cornus spp. Dogwood, which can be […]
Fall Colours – Virginia Creeper
Plant Profile Common Name: Virginia Creeper Scientific Name: Parthenocissus quinquefolia This vine is a prolific deciduous climber, reaching heights of 20–30 m (70–100 ft) in the wild. It climbs smooth surfaces using […]
Fall at my Alberta Home – Aspen
Plant Profile Common Name: Trembling (Quaking) Aspen Scientific Name: Populus tremuloides Trembling (aka Quaking) Aspen is the most widely distributed tree in North America, and is known for the distinctive rustling sound […]
Attitude Adjustment Time – Not Weeds – Wildflowers!
In Arizona, we live in a community that encourages low water use desert plantings. This means gravel yards instead of grass. Landscaping is done with cactus, succulents and plants that don’t use […]
Run Over by a Truck – Goodbye Cactus
Incident Report: Date: March 2, 2020 Location: Our property on an Arizona Street (a cul-de-sac) Nature of Incident: Hit and Run Details: Truck pulling a trailer misjudged their turning radius. Golden Barrel […]
Lady’s Slipper Orchids – No Match for the Mower
I’ve blogged about the Lady’s Slipper Orchids several times: Lady’s Slipper Orchid – Surprise in the Ditch and Lady’s Slipper Orchid Mimics the Old Masters. In that post, I mentioned the fate […]
Chaos in the Garden
This is one of my flower beds. It has been over 20 years in the making. In that time, a small tree grew – casting more and more deep shade. The plants […]
Proust and a Palo Verde Tree
You know how it goes. You start with one thing, and that leads to something else, and you end up somewhere you didn’t expect to be. I started with a photo of […]
Prickly Pear
Prickly Pear Cacti are members of the Opuntia genus. There are over 90 species of Opuntia in the United States. They are flat-stemmed spiny cacti with edible fruit. Click on any photo […]
