Monday, May 5, 2008

Good Stuff For Arizona Gardens

Look closely.....First Lady Bug of the season!

Nerium Oleander

I planted this years ago to much needed shade for my turtle. It takes most any kind of weather we have, and blooms from March until November. I haven't watered it in two years. I think my neighbor across the block wall has a plant on a drip system and the oleander is getting water from that--saving me from using water. Another great Arizona plant.

Caesalpinia pulcherrima

Red Bird of Paradise is a must in the Arizona desert. It will bloom March to October, although mine just started blooming this week on a north wall. It is almost impossible to kill it! I have had mine for over 10 years, and it keeps getting better!

I have tried for years to get Purple Heart to grow. I have had numerous cuttings from friends and family, but it just would not take! In February, my SIS brought a cutting from her garden. I planted it without much hope that it would make it. It's growing now and even has the first bloom!

I guess now that it's growing, I'll have to worry about HOW MUCH it will grow, but since it's in a small pot, it won't matter much.

Another must for the garden. Deep, evergreen aromatic leaves of the Trailing Rosemary thrives in our intense summer sun. It survived the deep freeze we had here 2 years ago.. It is now two years old, and another one of my favorites!


2 comments:

Claude said...

great garden pics... we grow some of the same plants! I have the old-fashioned standard rosemary here, with my yuccas... droughts don't even phase it. And my purple heart is just now taking off, they seem to pout for a while before they do anything, don't they?

Julie said...

LOL...best to keep that Purple Heart (aka Wandering Jew) in a small pot...it will spread like wildfire!!! It grows like crazy here, and if it gets in your garden, it will spread and you can never get it all out! I think I will go pluck a bit from somewhere though, now, after seeing your in a pot and put some with my potted succulents!