My husband and I bought a house last August. Right now, we are waiting to start renovations on the house, but all I’m really excited about is planning the garden (on which we will not begin work until this coming fall… after all house renovations are complete). However, your post makes my impatience even greater! I have plans for Cecile Brunner roses, an apple tree, a persimmon tree, plus raised beds for herbs, vegetables, and other pollinator-friendly plants (there’s already a lemon tree, and a neighbor has a fig tree, so there’s no need to plant those).
Thanks, as always, for your inspirational newsletters :-)
The growth since 2020, which isnt too long ago, is impressive. We started our work in 2021, got over whelmed and quit. It helps to see folks who didnt quit and are still running the marathon. Cheers !
An amazing number of "tender" perennials survived our -9F low around Xmas of '22 in central Kentucky. Agapanthus, crinums, Dicliptera, hardy bananas and crepe myrtles are some of the plants that thrived this past growing season.
We've moved from Fort Worth,TX to Silver City, New Mexico recently, just about 3 hours from Tucson though at 6,000 ft. elev. decidedly cooler. Still, I grew up with the Southwest flora so it feels good to be home again. Looking forward to hearing about Tucson.
Where do nasturtiums work as a companion crop, I wonder? Because along with Welsh onions, they're an invitation to the aphid gala. I want to find some space for them, because if you harvest their little seedpods just as they're forming, they make delicious sort-of capers.
Potatoes are a big joke where we are--although still fun to grow, and so tasty.
Oh, how wonderful to read about the trials and triumphs of your garden. I had a few of my own as I grew veggies this year. SO FUN! (Minus the pesky groundhog and Japanese beetles...)
Thank you for writing about your evolving garden. I love reading about it.
I live in New Zealand and we do have hot summers and a few frosts in the winter where we live.
Three points I noted are that my ripe tomatoes are sometimes eaten by birds - I’ve caught them at it! Mainly blackbirds who are good at hiding among the foliage. Maybe birds are eating yours as well.
The second is that nasturtiums have taken over my garden too. There were none here when I moved in and a friend gave me a piece from her garden. Now I’m never without them, they just pop up all over the place. If they get too big I just rip them out and more will appear at a later date - I love them!
Thirdly, I have two fig trees in small pots, again grown by a friend and passed on to me. I’ve been a bit reluctant to plant them in the garden because they can get really very big. I will plant one this summer and try and keep it under control, but the other will have to go to a new home. Your father’s tree has probably well and truly outgrown its cage by now, although they may not grow as aggressively over where you are as they do here.
Our potatoes and carrots were a bust. The kale won't stop, and the tomatoes were super abundant. Next spring we'll likely stick to kale and tomatoes, though my daughter has tried and failed two years in a row to grow an artichoke plant. She'll probably try again this year. I didn't plant more bulbs this year. I did however plant four more native bushes.
I love how your native garden matured! Looks very pretty.
I love that meadow area, Boaz- it looks just gorgeous. What a transformation !
My husband and I bought a house last August. Right now, we are waiting to start renovations on the house, but all I’m really excited about is planning the garden (on which we will not begin work until this coming fall… after all house renovations are complete). However, your post makes my impatience even greater! I have plans for Cecile Brunner roses, an apple tree, a persimmon tree, plus raised beds for herbs, vegetables, and other pollinator-friendly plants (there’s already a lemon tree, and a neighbor has a fig tree, so there’s no need to plant those).
Thanks, as always, for your inspirational newsletters :-)
The growth since 2020, which isnt too long ago, is impressive. We started our work in 2021, got over whelmed and quit. It helps to see folks who didnt quit and are still running the marathon. Cheers !
Congrats on your '23 garden.
An amazing number of "tender" perennials survived our -9F low around Xmas of '22 in central Kentucky. Agapanthus, crinums, Dicliptera, hardy bananas and crepe myrtles are some of the plants that thrived this past growing season.
Your gardens look great!!
We've moved from Fort Worth,TX to Silver City, New Mexico recently, just about 3 hours from Tucson though at 6,000 ft. elev. decidedly cooler. Still, I grew up with the Southwest flora so it feels good to be home again. Looking forward to hearing about Tucson.
Where do nasturtiums work as a companion crop, I wonder? Because along with Welsh onions, they're an invitation to the aphid gala. I want to find some space for them, because if you harvest their little seedpods just as they're forming, they make delicious sort-of capers.
Potatoes are a big joke where we are--although still fun to grow, and so tasty.
Oh, how wonderful to read about the trials and triumphs of your garden. I had a few of my own as I grew veggies this year. SO FUN! (Minus the pesky groundhog and Japanese beetles...)
Thank you for writing about your evolving garden. I love reading about it.
I live in New Zealand and we do have hot summers and a few frosts in the winter where we live.
Three points I noted are that my ripe tomatoes are sometimes eaten by birds - I’ve caught them at it! Mainly blackbirds who are good at hiding among the foliage. Maybe birds are eating yours as well.
The second is that nasturtiums have taken over my garden too. There were none here when I moved in and a friend gave me a piece from her garden. Now I’m never without them, they just pop up all over the place. If they get too big I just rip them out and more will appear at a later date - I love them!
Thirdly, I have two fig trees in small pots, again grown by a friend and passed on to me. I’ve been a bit reluctant to plant them in the garden because they can get really very big. I will plant one this summer and try and keep it under control, but the other will have to go to a new home. Your father’s tree has probably well and truly outgrown its cage by now, although they may not grow as aggressively over where you are as they do here.
Our potatoes and carrots were a bust. The kale won't stop, and the tomatoes were super abundant. Next spring we'll likely stick to kale and tomatoes, though my daughter has tried and failed two years in a row to grow an artichoke plant. She'll probably try again this year. I didn't plant more bulbs this year. I did however plant four more native bushes.