Organ pipe cactus, Stenocereus thurberi, Lemaireocereus thurberi against the Arizona sky Just back from the GWA Symposium in Tucson, I'm jet-lagged and dry as a corn husk, but I am happy. I didn't know what to expect of Tucson or the Sonoran Desert. On maps, the area is large and brown, but in person, it is . . . Wow! I've driven through Arizona and stopped at the Grand Canyon, but usually I don't venture further west by car than Santa Fe or Albuquerque, New Mexico. If you've driven across the Texas panhandle a time or two you understand. A large agave (don't ask me which one) and a cactus (again I have no idea which type it is.) I should have looked at the tag, right? I knew there would be cacti. From my friend, Scott Calhoun's blog, I suspected there would be an agave or two. Blue agave in...

Whether it was actually the beginng of a true Indian Summer, or just a frost a couple of nights ago, is still up for debate. Indian Summer is defined as warm temperatures after cold snap--like a freeze--and we certainly had some cold. Parts of Oklahoma got the full freeze effect, but I apparently did not. It was interesting to go outside and look over the land for warm microclimates. This is important when thinking about where to plant more tender perennials and tropicals in spring. I was surprised that the lower garden was warmer than up beside the house. Nature never fails to amaze me. When you see both blooms and rosehips on 'The Fairy' you know it's beginning to look a lot like autumn. I refused to cover the coleus. They have such brittle stems they would break under cover. I lost most of them to cold overnight temperatures....

Rosa 'Cramoisi Superieur' that likes this cooler weather. It balls up through the spring and won't bloom in summer, but in fall, it is glorious. Probably the last of the roses blooming this year. What is it about fall that stirs our imagination? On Pinterest, the boards displaying the best of autumnal blessings are lighting up like candles. I have two myself, Falling for Fall and Harvest Time, and I may add more as the season progresses. From what I see, four themes dominate the natural Pinterest boards: fall, All Hallows Eve, Christmas and spring. There must be a reason. The two holidays make sense. The word holiday is derived from "holy days," and these holidays are the biggest in the American calendar, although not the biggest in the liturgical calendar. Easter is king there. A view of Pennisetum setaceum 'Fireworks' along with an aster and roses. Fall leaves are...

I was going to title this post: Before and After, but that could apply to so many things couldn't it? The containers that sit at the front of my house are always a garden challenge. In summer, oak trees are leafed out so that one container is in nearly full shade while another suffers from a lot of afternoon sun. Add to this that we put in drip irrigation. The garage kitties love to run behind the containers, and they used to knock out the drip line. Well, we didn't notice for a couple of very hot days, and I bet you can tell which one nearly died of unhappiness. The front containers before they were rehabbed. Here are the plants I bought to rehab my containers for fall. The bale of hay in the photo above will have pumpkins and perhaps a scarecrow sitting on it in a couple...