Okay, it’s not really Jurassic Park, but it kind of feels like it on the teeny tiniest scale. Tortoises have been around for over 55 million years, so she is basically a living fossil. And yes, I am writing about my tortoise again. I’ve been a little worried because I hadn’t seen Strawberry in about… Continue reading This is Jurassic Park – Tortoise Edition
Desert Diaries
Arizona Monsoon
Recently, my part of Arizona experienced a late-season monsoon. As a gardener, I rely on the rain and clouds from June through September. Although we got a few clouds and some rain, it was not as much as we typically expected. To combat the lack of rain and the scorching days of triple-digit heat, I… Continue reading Arizona Monsoon
Native Fauna
Native Fauna is something I’ve very passionate about. I love having a tortoise in our garden. They are my favorite kind of backyard pet. My daughters were thrilled when we got her, especially my youngest, who had never seen one before. We adopted her on April 1st, 2023. She was tagged number 025, and after… Continue reading Native Fauna
The Five-dollar, Five-gallon Special
Cheap gardening is my jam! I’m not sure if you’d call it a hack, but some of my most successful plants have been clearance purchases from big box stores. When it comes to things like trees, vines, and bushes, I try to search the clearance section. My five-gallon, five-dollar pomegranate tree sat in its pot… Continue reading The Five-dollar, Five-gallon Special
July Planting
July planting in Arizona is a great way to prepare for the fall and winter. I started my monsoon garden on the 12th of July. I spent about an hour or so in the heat planting seeds in my raised bed and the ground around my yard. My raised bed is a U shape, about… Continue reading July Planting
In the beginning
In the beginning, I made a lot of mistakes. You probably are too, if you’re just starting out as a beginning gardener. I started gardening about seven or eight years ago but I still consider myself a beginner. When I was younger and lived in California, it was a very verdant climate; plants grew everywhere.… Continue reading In the beginning