The decorative side of the garden

As I have mentioned many times in my blog, my big yard is far from picture perfect. Much of the Northwest side of my house (the bird area) has now had a wide variety of plants put in, and I've got a rather funky bird feeder my son built me, and then the especially funky bird bath I created from a cement cylinder, a clay dish, rocks and the side from some big spools. It probably suits the birds ok, but it leaves quite a bit to be desired by most human standards.

I've browsed local stores but really haven't found much of anything, but the standard stuff, so I was particularly excited to get an opportunity to review a product for a company that specializes in outdoor furniture. The website has so many cool products for the yard and garden I was amazed. I was especially taken with the garden art- actual paintings done on aluminum that are made to survive outdoor weather. They have some really neat fountains and just about anything you can imagine for your yard and garden. And the birdbaths-so many cool designs-some that have a sundial integrated into them. Check out the website and watch for my upcoming review.

Maricopa Arizona- home of my "pies"

My daughter and grandkids, the "pies" live in the little town of "Maricopa", which is a bedroom community of the Phoenix area. The town consists mostly of large housing developments where the houses are large and beautiful, but placed very close together so there isn't much of a side yard at all. The landscaping is just getting going as the neighborhood was new but there were still plenty of cool plants to see. I took a walk with two of my pies the other day- wanna come along?

Hey- Wait UP for ME!

I think this is a little Bottle Brush plant- I have one at home which refuses to bloom.

I think this is a Yucca that is flowering.

And a close up of the flower stalk.

I thought this cactus was really neat, the way the babies are all growing on the side. I think it is a golden barrel. I have a golden barrel at home that doesn't seem to do much at all. No blooms- no babies either.

And I think this is some kind of Agave- putting up its once in a lifetime flower stalk, after which the plant will die. Kind of beautiful and tragic isn't it?

And a close-up of the flower stalk

I don't know what this little plant is but it had almost completely covered the front yard of one home. It seemed like a great ground cover and I would love to try this one at home to cover up some of the endless dirt I have.

And the most exciting find of the afternoon was this Bee Swarm! Another hive waiting to happen here- the pies thought this was pretty darn cool! Click on this one to really see all the bees!

I hope you enjoyed the little tour of a Maricopa neighborhood. The neat and clean yards sure put my chaotic one to shame, but my heart belongs to the wild side and although it is always hard to leave the pies, I was glad to come home to Tucson.

Green Thumb Sunday- The barrels are a blooming!

In my travels around Tucson this week, it has seemed as though everywhere I've gone, I've seen barrel cacti blooming. The blooms range from a pale yellow, soft orange, to this fiery red like the one in my yard, pictured above. I am mostly drawn to the red ones, although the others are also beautiful. I think the one I have is a Ferocactus wislizenii. Barrel Cactus are very common here in Tucson, almost every yard has at least one, and in the foothills where there are still many open areas of wild desert they dot the landscape with their colorful blooms.

The little purple flower was a pleasant surprise- this is an Anacampaeros rufescens, "Love Plant" that sits on my front entrance area, just out of bright sunlight. Although quite a few flowers have formed on this little succulent, not many have completely opened up.

The last picture is one I hope someone can help me with. The main plant is a Philodendron but there is an impostor in there if you look closely. The little sprout came up a couple months ago, and I've watched it grow taller and stronger, but I have no clue what it is. Hopefully someone will ID it for me.

With August drawing to a close, the main monsoon rains are finishing up and the air is starting to turn ever so slightly. I have been working to tame some of the wild areas of my yard, pulling weeds, putting in stone perimeters around new plants and just doing clean up in general. There are still so many parts of my big yard that are wild, but I keep at it and bit by bit it is looking better.

Have a wonderful Green Thumb Sunday and for more wonderful pictures visit "As The Garden Grows" and join in yourself!

Visit to a local nursery

I stopped by a local nursery, Harlow Gardens, last Saturday, and thought I would share some pictures. I was especially drawn to the metal garden art- I love the flying pigs but they were too pricey for my budget!

The fig tree was also really cool- something I would love to try. I was amazed by the huge fruit on such small tree. I ended up bringing home a new Lantana to try (Dallas Red) and an African Iris, which they said would do well in my hard to grow shady area. Most of their plants come from Monrovia in CA and they seem to be very high quality. I was really impressed with the employees knowledge of the plants they were selling- I guess I've bought way too many plants at the big box places, and am used to them not having a clue about what they sell. Although the prices were a little higher it seems worth it for the higher quality plants and good customer service.

Bloomin' Tuesday Purple Explosion

The "Texas Sage" bush is planted everywhere in Tucson, and during most months a person hardly notices them, with their gray silver leaves and a few purple flowers here and there. However once the Monsoon rains start, they seem to explode with flowers, as mine has in the pictures above. Driving around town, I am blown away by the beauty of these common plants giving their yearly show of flowers!

Mine is very overgrown and I was considering pruning it back into a more manageable bush, but now that it is blooming so incredibly I think the pruning will have to wait!

To see other Bloomin' Tuesday participant posts, please see the link list at Ms Green "Thumb" Jean's