no pics but my 3 year old nm big jims, thai hots, chile de arbol, are all in full bloom as well as my one year old yelloy cherry and tami g red grape tomatos, all my squash are in various stages of growth as i plant them in 2 week intevals to spread out my harvest cilantro is blowing up and i have several volunter either squash or cuke not sure which.....i love spring in az and fall and winter and since i have a pool i also love summer....

Plumerias are putting out leaves again, Passion Fruit is getting ready to bloom, dragon fruit is putting out lots of new arms, banana is putting huge new leaves! In the greenhouse, 2 other passion fruit are growing, kiwanos, taro, ginger and papaya are sprouting.

Tomatoes,Tomatoes,Tomatoes, Looks like another bumper crop this year...

Kiwano sounds interesting! I might have to try growing one out.

Chinese Parasol tree finally woke up and pushing out new leaves.
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Split-leaf Philodendron is pushing out new leaves as well
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Chinese wisteria that I planted this winter has finally woken up.
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Castor Bean growing fast as usual
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My two bananas actively growing now that it warmed up.
The big one in the back I planted back in February is an "Ice Cream" Banana. The smaller one in the front I've had since last spring (it was a tiny seedling back then) is a Chinese Yellow Banana.
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Giant Bird of Paradise.
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Both my Hibiscus Mutabilis are both awake now from dormancy.
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I don't have pics from my vegie garden in the backyard but all my tomatoes are growing wild now and so are the watermelons! Lots of flowers on them already :D

My tomatoes and peppers are doing great. Artichoke is going crazy!

Fun pics and updates! Thanks for sending them in. Sounds like everyone is having a lot of great developments in their gardens. It's really fun to hear about who is growing what, and how it's doing. Thanks for sharing!

I've got lettuce and Swiss chard coming out my ears, LOL, and am happy about it. I love a really nice big fresh home grown salad with a light dressing made from my last few oranges or lemons. Yum!

My in-ground plumerias are just now showing signs of life--always an indicator that summer is coming. I've really got more than a sane person should grow, but each time I come back from Hawaii I bring one back (inspected and legal of course), and I'll be doing the same this summer when I head back for ten days (can't wait). I do love them for sure.

raimeiken, you inspired me with your Hibiscus mutabilis last year so I got some stem cuttings and rooted them in water this winter and now have a respectable little plant that's been in the ground for a few months now. One of the few things I keep on automatic irrigation. I can't wait for some blooms. I'll have to keep it hacked back as a shrub--I love the look of your tall tree shaped one.

Fun updates! I love spring in the Valley, although like a lot of you, I love the heat too so I'll be ready for the Blast Furnace soon, even if my petunias and geraniums aren't, LOL.

Hippeastrum striatum blooming away in partial sun:

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Variegated "Key Lime" ("Mexican lime") starting to bloom. I had it imported from Indonesia and after bare-root shipping and US and AZ agricultural inspections it arrived with only six leaves, but has made a very nice recovery since last spring. I can't wait for some delicious striped limes! :

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'Curly' orchid cactus (Epiphyllum guatemalense 'Curly') that I bought as a single rooted cutting six years ago at the old Smith & Hawken store at Kierland Commons. It sits in this exact same spot every day of the year where it gets half a day sun in winter, and just bright shade in summer. Tennis ball included to show size.

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Happy gardening--keep the updates coming!
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: April 2012 garden pics so far

Grant, where did you get your stem cuttings from?

I had a couple this past late fall (when the hibiscus were in bloom) passed by my house and loved the plant. So they took a leaf with them and asked around the nurseries in town about the plant with no success. So they came back to my house and knocked on my door and asked me where I got the plants from. I told them I got both online and I gladly gave them a bunch of cuttings from both plants :)

raimeiken, I got the stem cuttings from a seller in California on ebay. I was really worried they wouldn't root but 6 of the 7 pencil-sized cuttings rooted perfectly, and now are nice little plants outside in the garden. I noticed the first flower buds on some this morning so I'm really, really excited!

Nothing fancy, but here's a couple of other pics from the garden this morning, a California poppy with a bright red pot in the background, and an Agave parryi with some Euphorbia rigida nearby.

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Happy gardening all!
Grant

By the way, I forgot to mention, it was really, really nice of you to share your Hibiscus mutabilis cuttings with that couple, raimeiken! Gardeners (like you) are just the best. Great stuff! :)

Here's a Hippeastrum johnsonii (amaryllis) which I grow in the ground and in pots, just starting to bloom. I love the bright cherry-red flowers. The plant is virtually evergreen and makes a nice flush of bloom in mid-spring, with occasional repeats in summer and autumn. It gets sun in the winter and morning sun only in summer.

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Here's another pic from my little garden: some zonal geraniums (Pelargoniums) with yellow-orange California poppies, blue desert bluebells, and some no-spine prickly pear (Opuntia), along with some blooms from a coral aloe (Aloe striata) sneaking in from the left, LOL. Nothing fancy, but a nice colorful combination that's very low maintenance!

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Sounds like we're in for a big change in the weather over the next few days/weekend. I guess a little rain wouldn't hurt, LOL.

Here's a bowl full of Astrophytum capricorne on the east side of my house getting all ready to bloom. They're such fun, easy plants to keep happy. They get afternoon shade and water only when quite dry. They bloom reliably each spring, and then off and on in summer and autumn. Keep your posts, updates and pics coming too. Take care!

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Here's my little Hibiscus mutabilis in the ground after two months. I'm so glad they rooted and have become real PLANTS. Can't wait to see what they do. They're on a drip system where they get watered three times a week. So far so good! That's some self-sown comfrey at its feet that I'm just letting go for now.

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'Red Dragon' begonia in a big ol' Talavera pot.

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Here is a link that might be useful: Pics (so far) from my garden April 2012

Most of my garden is veggies for the moment, but even veggies and herbs can have beautiful flowers that bring the garden to life.

My nasturtiums are still going strong (I can't believe now that I thought they weren't going to bloom -- gotta love their happy little faces!).

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I've had a few nibbles of the leaves, but this was my first time growing borage, and I didn't expect it to be so spiky, so I'm not sure what I think of it as an herb. I do, however, just love the pretty periwinkle blue flowers.

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My tomatillos are blooming like crazy -- hopefully they'll start putting on some fruits, too. I just love the color yellow in the garden, and I think these are particularly lovely blossoms.

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I am just AMAZED at those of you that can grown tennis balls J/K. everything looks great

I was just reading up on borage, plstqd. Did you plant it as a companion, for compost, or for a tonic? Seems like a very useful plant.

Fun new pics and posts, keep them coming! Love the new pics, plstqd. I've grown some borage in the past, just as an ornamental really, and never really knew what to do with it in the kitchen. Really pretty blue blooms, though, and neat, bristly foliage. Let us know what you do with yours, plus how all of your other goodies are doing.

My Swiss chard is finally bolting (blooming), so I'll have to replace it soon. It's been a very good, productive crop since around December or so, so it's earned its keep for sure. My 'Red Sails' leaf lettuce looks like it's about to bolt/bloom too, so it's going to be time to think of summer stuff for the kitchen soon.

Happy gardening everyone,
Grant (hating yesterday's weather, by the way, the high was lower than our average low for this time of year. Phooey!) LOL

Haname, I planted the borage intending to use it as an herb in salads. I have used some of the leaves, but haven't yet tried the flowers (they're too pretty, lol!). I unintentionally planted it in a large pot with a tomato plant; who knew that that was actually a brilliant idea!

Here are a few others--April is such a great month for gardening here, isn't it? Enjoy it! Take care, Grant.

Good ol' Nicotiana alata ("flowering tobacco") blooming away in the garden. This plant is a wonderful short-lived perennial here that blooms all summer and autumn with fragrant blooms that open at sunset and stay open until the sun is hot the following morning. I love them (be sure to get the old time heirloom types that are scented; some new hybrids are bred to be short, or stay open all day (or both) and aren't scented. They self-sow and pop up here-and-there in my garden and I just let them grow where they are happy:

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More of a big pot full of blooming Hippeastrum x johnsonii (the red pot has some "mistletoe cactus" (Rhipsalis baccifera) in it that I started from seed from a plant I left behind at my last Scottsdale garden):

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A rescue aloe from one of the Desert Botanical Garden plant sales several years ago.

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In the greenhouse, my praying mantis eggs hatched, dozens of little assassins all over the inside and outside of the greenhouse. Way cool.

Very cool, euqruob (both about having a greenhouse and about having praying mantis babies). I see adult praying mantises in my garden now and then. Some are bright green, and some are khaki brown. Always interesting to see. Thanks for the fun update!

Take care all,
Grant

First Okras of the season :)
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My first female watermelon flower! Real excited over this one, since last year I failed at growing a watermelon :( The plant never gave me any female flowers and just generally didn't grow much, unlike this one.
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Nice looking okra and female watermelon bloom (I hope you've got some male blooms too so you can pollinate it). Thanks for the fun, delicious-looking update! Keep them coming!

Take care and happy gardening1
Grant

Yeah the plant has a lot of male flowers. I check it everyday for female blooms. I was real excited when i found this one =D

Neat! Keep us posted on how the fruit develops for you. I'm envious already, LOL, I love watermelon!

Here's a fun Echinopsis/Trichocereus in bloom right now. They're so easy to keep happy and to bloom, that I've accidentally built up quite a collection of these little cuties. Some are fancy hybrids with very detailed ancestry, and some are garage sale/big-box hardware store purchases. Plenty of sun with afternoon shade in summer, and water every week or so when it's hot are all they ask of me. They have a big flush of bloom in spring, then occasional repeats in summer and autumn:

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And some 'Lemon Swirl' variegated lantana (in full sun and not even on life support (drip irrigation)).

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My garden is getting a good soaking rain today. Love it! Keep the fun garden updates and comments coming, everyone.

Happy gardening,
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: My gardening blog, just a post or two a month

The rain was so nice! :)

My "Kermit" Thai eggplant that grew in a pot last year all summer was still alive when it got cold, so I cut it back and moved it to an empty spot in a raised planter just to see what would happen. It sat there quietly all winter. Lately it started growing again and so I put it back in a pot. Here it was two days ago:

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Just took another picture today. It has grown a lot!
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I hope to post pics of the little green eggplants when I have some.

The coriander is looking great. It has bolted so for cilantro I have new plants but I'm growing out a few for seed as well as to attract beneficials. This is one of 4 plants that I let bolt, and I anticipate lots of lovely fresh coriander seeds for Indian dishes with some for planting too.

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Now that it's going to get warm, I'll try the Sunset Magazine's method for keeping some cilantro going through the heat. Link below if you're interested.

Here's a pretty little pea flower. I thought my peas were done but I upped the watering and they came back and are still producing nicely. There isn't a lot, but I get about 1/2 cup of shelled peas every couple of days. Today's harvest was just right for the Indian style fried rice we had for lunch (YUM!) When shelling them I drop the empty pods on the floor and my dogs gobble them up. I realized that where they are planted, the soil doesn't get much water from the system, so I have to hand water them. We'll see how much longer they will hold out with daily hand watering.
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Grant, how are your sweet peas doing? I planted some seeds I think in January. The plants are up but no blooms yet. I'm concerned that the heat will do them in before I get any flowers.

Other things that look good are my young pachypodium which has leafed out nicely.

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And a China doll Radermachera sinica that I've had for many years.

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Oh and Mary, the tomatoes look wonderful too, with lots of fruit. I got 3 varieties from you: Black Sea Man, Marzano, and Peron. They are all healthy and growing well, so I'll keep you posted!
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The other day after feeding my two dogs I got distracted and left them out back unsupervised. The little one decided he wanted a salad after dinner. He dug up one of my lettuces and ate the whole thing without disturbing anything else in that bed. He also plucked a tomato and ate part of it but decided it was still too green for his taste. I had to put a note on the back door to remind myself and the whole family not to let these guys out unattended because Hani will eat the garden!

It's been a beautiful April, hasn't it!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sunset: A Better Way to Grow Cilantro

I basically do the same with my cilantro, although it still bolts around April 1. I've been thinking of growing an indoor pot.
Grant, can you tell me when to plant nicotiana? Also, having no luck with datura germination.
When is borage planted? And, is it too late to plant a couple of passiflora vines?

WONDERFUL update, Haname! Congrats on all of your wonderful plants,including Kermit's resurgence, LOL. He looks good. I've never let my coriander/cilantro bolt, I get too impatient, but I really should now that I've seen your pic of the blooms. Very nice! Love the other pics too, the pea bloom is really nice and your Pachypodium is looking good, well ahead of my two. And I'm so impressed with that China Doll as I've always heard they are so hard to keep happy (I've been too chicken to try them, bawk bawk bawk). Yours is great.

My sweet peas are fading FAST, by the way. 4-6 weeks of good bloom is about all I get out of them, especially if I let them set seed. Mine won't be around much longer, LOL.

Tracy, you can plant nicotiana in spring and early summer, as long as you keep it watered. It's super easy from seed (although I'd grow them indoors to start so they don't dry out). Transplants are good in spring and early summer, but again, only as long as we keep them watered. Once you have some that set seed, they'll start popping up all around your garden, often sprouting in mid-winter and then becoming big plants in spring (in mild winters). Even in colder winters (for here) the large plants survive the winters and if tender seedlings were killed, more will sprout as their germination is random (by design). It's definitely not too late for plants especially.

I plant borage and comfrey in mid-winter for spring blooms. In fact, I noticed one quite large self-sown borage on the east side of my patio. I was suspicious that it wasn't a weed so I let it go and now it's covered with blooms. Even on purpose, I sow them in winter outside.

Passion flower LOVES the heat, as long as it gets watered, so now is a good time to plant them, but again, keep an eye on watering.

Great updates all, do keep them coming!
Happy gardening in our wonderful, goofy climate!

Grant, you really should try the China Doll if you like them. If I can grow it, you certainly can! It seems to do just fine in the dry heat. Just keep it moist and in bright shade. Mine gets a little morning sun. The first year, I took it indoors so the sun wouldn't hit it early in the morning, then put it out the rest of the day.

Alrighty, then, maybe I WILL give China Doll a try, as I do like the look of it, thanks for the tips! I learn something new each time I log in here.

Nothing fancy, but here's an Adenium obesum I've grown for several years in bloom on my patio. Easy plants for sunny locations, also adding a pic of a self-sown borage flower too.

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Happy gardening everyone--enjoy this fabulous weather!
Grant

Been a nice week.

First the Passion Fruit

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Then, a surprise, my plumeria is white/yellow, thought it was red like the other one...

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haname, Happy to hear your tomaatoes are doing well. Most of mine too but I lost one Black Sea Man and the other is struggling. Peron has put out lots of green fruit and the San Marzano's are completely loaded. I need to get some recent pics of the tomato garden. Meantime:

I love lobelia although most of it has died with the heat. This planting is in bright shade most of the day and is still hanging in there.

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The keyhole garden and lady banks hedge in the background. This was about a month ago and the lady banks were in their glory.

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Lady Slipper flower....SO pink!

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A pure white hollyhock

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Desert Willow planted about a year ago.

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Flowering nicotiana in a pot. Love your white ones Grant.

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Mmmm - I like the red one as much as the white - they'd be mice to mix!

I'm afraid all that I have blooming here is Palo Verde and Mesquite, so I can't share much, but I'm loving the pictures and the ideas for when I destruct my turf (or what is left it, lol).

For you borage growers, have you ever dried it for tea?

Thanks pagancat. I just got some seeds for white, and I have some others as well, pastel colors as I recall. I am - indeed - a seed-a-holic. Jeez. Want some? I have enough to share a few. It would be a house-warming gift.

First ripe tomatoes for me, "Red riesentraube"
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First Sweet Chocolate pepper. It'll turn chocolate brown once it's ripe
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Thanks, Mary - if you still have some in fall, I might snag some!

Fun updates and pics everyone! Love the passion flower and the plumeria, euqruob. Your plumeria is weeks ahead of mine, which are just now showing that they're making flowers and leaves, so they're weeks away from opening. Great stuff.

Love your pics too, Mary, so nice. Your garden is so pretty and the containers are great! I finally tossed a pot full of lobelia this week as they were just getting sad looking. I still have a few self-sown ones around the garden but I tossed the ones in pots this week. Time to go, LOL. Love the color on your desert willow and your red nicotiana is super pretty too. Is the red one scented?? Nice cactus bloom too-very very bright!

Nice tomato and pepper pics too, raimeiken. You all have such nice green thumbs, it's so fun to see your pics, thanks for sharing them with everyone. We're lucky to live here and to garden here.

Take care!
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: What's looking good MAY 2012?

Well Thank YOU Grant for starting the 'What's Looking Good?' threads. Lots of fun stuff.

raimeiken, how is the flavor on the reisentraube tom? I had several seedlings and meant to keep one for myself but when all was said and done, they were all sold/given away. I'll try again with the fall plantings.

Yes, all nicotiana is fragrant. PC, there's a purple one too!

grant -

please tell me about your comfrey! i'd like to grow some for medicinal purposes (i know about the pyrrolisidines) but found it hard to source seeds due to people considering it to be a weed.

i did find seed from the u.k. but it takes about a month to germ, which really lowers its chances around here (i have to germ inside a mesh due to plaguelike fungus gnats.. the insulated climate adds more complexity).

if i go out in the desert/yard and look for anything similar, what do you think the chances of it actually being comfrey are?? :)

Hiya XOXOS,

Sorry for the delayed reply--I've been away on vacation. I made a typo on the one pic, all of the bristly blue flowered plants I posted are the easy annual borage, not comfrey, that's totally my mistake. Hopefully a comfrey grower will chime in with information for you. The borage in my pics (one mis-labeled, LOL, sorry again) is an easy winter-sown annual. Take care and happy gardening!