Where can I get some of this Old Fashioned Climbing petunia?!?!

I've been growing that Old Fashioned Climbing petunias mix for fifteen years now and love it! They're tall and gangly but so pretty and SO durable. Plus they self sow nicely.

I got the original seed from the fabulous Select Seeds company (they do plants and seeds). Great stuff! They sell plants in spring too, although at this time of year I'd do seeds sprinkled anyplace that gets regular water.

Here's a pic of a white flowered one in the garden too. They all have that distinctive veining right at the center of the throat. They all smell so great at night and in the morning. Truly (short lived) perennials for me.

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Happy gardening!
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Select Seeds main page--click SHOP NOW, lol

re: tough petunias. I was visiting the Oklahoma forum recently and someone said Laura Bush petunias (purple, old fashioned variety) can take the heat and keep on ticking (of course their definition of heat is not like ours..)

Beautiful petunias! I'll have to look into that variety. Thank you for sharing.

Looking good in my yard are my herbs:
Chives
Lemon verbena
Tarragon
Oregano (Italian and Mexican)
Rosemary
Sage
Basil
English and French Lavender
Thyme

All are in containers on my patio, getting morning sun.

My aloe vera that gets morning sun also looks good while those that get full sun are brown (but will green back up in winter). My trailing lantana and bouganvillea are looking good too.

Not looking so good:
Bee Balm - I think it just got too much sun
Spaghetti Squash - not sure if I planted too early or what, but I think I'll re-sow them this weekend (this is my first time growing spaghetti squash)
Poblano peppers are not happy for some reason
And my citrus trees are feeling the heat and I've significantly upped their watering this week.

COME ON RAIN!!

I mainly grow herbs and veggies so mostly everything is either fried or looking ragged.

The good list is short:
*Basils and catnip are doing great
*Roma tomatos in pots are green and lush but not fruiting
*Armenian cukes are hanging on but I'd really put them in the medium list if I had one
*Believe it or not, several of my Swiss chard plants continue to grow - albeit very slowly. Two of them actually sprouted pups.

The bad list:
*My giant zucchini was holding on until last night's storm. I watered it this morning to see if it will rebound but its really on its last legs.
*The rambling yellow squash that had to be fenced off is now fried. It flowered but didn't produce a whole lot of fruit. I'll go with a different variety next year.

I'm giving myself bonus points on the squash because I had ZERO squash bugs this year. Turns out catnip seriously is a deterrent.

And, I'm giving myself double bonus points for a colony of native lady bugs that have migrated to three of four beds and appear to be flourishing in the dead plants.

What never took:

*Container corn sprouted but never got taller than about 8 inches.
*I planted jicama from seed (twice) and only two ever germinated.
*I had horrible luck planting any kind of beans from seed and only 2 soy beans sprouted but then they died.

I'm already planning my fall garden :-)

My tif lawn is looking excellent this year- thick and smooth as a carpet. Since most of you are lawn-haters, I won't post a picture to inflame you :) Problem is, I have to cut it every other day (electric mower/ green friendly.)

I've been experimenting with different fertilizer/nutrient supplements in my irrigation water for potted plants this summer. I'm currently in an experiment that is showing promise. I'll let you know my particulars later...

Morning weather has been very nice, have cleared out two overgrown bunny cactus beds, and one aloe bed. In their place, Petite Pink dwarf oleander, a Vitex tree, green Hopseed, African Iris and a NOID bougainvillea with very pretty fuschia blooms.

This post looked very plain and uninteresting before, so I added the sign, along with a blue pot of Raspberry Ice bougainvillea.

Desert Rose are still blooming, hope they keep it up!

I started Amaranth a few weeks ago. Here is a picture from the beginning of the week. They were 2 ft tall already. They are now 3 ft tall.

Here is a picture of my Bananas. They are coming along nicely now.

These ... best-looking Ailanthus trees I've seen.

aw, tell us how you *really* feel about that tree lazy. :-) NOT your Tree-of-Heaven huh?

Here's a picture of my Blue Dawn vine taking over the lath house and nearby citrus tree. I actually paid money for this weed - at a Master Gardeners sale - labeled as a Yuca Vine. I will never buy anything from those guys again.

Oops. Tells me my picture is too large, and I don't see anything here to adjust it, nor on my side.

Hah! Love all of the fun new updates and pics--several made me laugh out loud, hah!

Harold, I don't see your pic on your post, can you re-try? I'm very VERY curious to see what plant you ended up with. I'm sure others are too. If you can't upload it, feel free to email it to me and I will (grant_in_arizona@yahoo.com). We want to seeeeee!

Nice upgrade to your column, Dusti. Raspberry Ice is my very favorite bougie too. It outperforms all others for me, and stays nice and compact. Love it! Nice talavera sign too. Charming.

All of the other pics are great too. We've got so many great gardeners here, it's so fun to see and share. I think you should post your lawn, Rich, lawn-haters can suck a lemon, LOL. I'm not a fan, since I'm lazy, but I love the look and hey, it's your garden so do what you want that's legal, right?

I've been out of town visiting family since Thursday so I missed whatever storm came through (and my neighbors don't pay attention so they've been of ZERO use when I've asked them, "Hey, how was the weather while I was away?", lol. Did folks get rain? Wind? I see some of my pots tipped over, but nothing major going on (N. Scottsdale), what about you??

It's always challenging for me to travel in summer, and this is the third trip I've had so far, ugh. Only my citrus trees, one small raised bed, and two potted citrus get automatic irrigation. Everything else is on its own, hah. I fill bowls with water and put pots in them and tell them good luck. No wonder I cut down on fluffy stuff in summer. Even so, the vincas, hollyhock seedlings, Amorphophallus, sweet potatoes, and ruellias all look good after several days in dishes of water. Always a relief!

Here are a couple of plants looking good without automatic irrigation: Oenothera biennis, a common weed in many places, looking so good. I've let it self sow all over the garden and love it. Rosettes of foliage the first summer, and then flowers each summer afterwards. It blooms nonstop from June through early November. What's not to love?

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A fun VERY vigorous nightshade of some sort, purchased from Shady Way Nursery back in 2002 or so. It has spread all over the garden and blooms pretty much 10 months a year, and again, no automatic irrigation required (oh sure, I slop water on it by hand twice a week when it's hot, but if I head out of town, it's on its own and it does fine--I don't even think about it). It easily grows to 5, 6 or 7 feet. If I could keep only one leafy plant in my entire garden (besides an citrus) this would be it.

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Plus a no-name plumeria that I purchased as a very small rooted plant at the Maui airport last visit. It's quadrupled in size (although it's still small, LOL) and is making some nice, simple little blooms. Since you can buy and root woody plumeria cuttings that sit around for months before being rooted (and I've done that a ton too, oink oink oink), there's no need to worry about these puppies when I'm away for a few days either. I'm all about keeping the I'm-worried-about-the-garden-while-I'm-away stress to a minimum!

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Keep the updates coming, pics or not. I'm up to my eyes in basil, so need to get busy with that!

Happy gardening!
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my garden, July 2014

I tried these flowers out for the first time and I'm really liking them. Nicotiana Alata. They have a pleasant smell that's noticeable around my patio and I only have 3 plants. I keep them in almost full shade (a little morning sun, then that's it.)

Here are some flowers on my Lycium Barbarum (Goji Berry) bush. I didn't think it would flower since it's the first year I have it, but there were a lot of flowers on it the past month or two. No berries yet, but lots of flowers.

This plant has a lot of tomatoes on it. My other plants have fewer tomatoes and they are already ripe - some overripe because I can't keep up :)

Here's one of my sunflowers with one of my garden helpers on it.

Grant, I think your no-name plumeria might be a Singapore Pink? Here's a couple of pics of mine:

Dwarf Singapore Pink blooming away

That Dwarf Singapore looks awesome...love it.

Not much going on in my garden, most plants just try to make it thru this heat.

The Echinopsis Dominos bloomed again:

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And my Plumeria Xquisite keeps on blooming:

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Here's my Pineapple Guava tree blossoms, beautiful and sweet tasting.

Wow, I love all of the new pics, so fun to see! Thanks for the ID suggestion on my no-name plumeria, Lynne, I think you're totally right that mine is Singapore Pink. Thanks!

My garden got 1.2 inches of rain on Tuesday and the humidity is just stifling these days, hah. Good thing I get up very very early to enjoy the garden. Afternoon are just gross, but the humidity definitely helps the garden (and all of my ocotillos are suddenly leafing out too, always fun).

Here are a few things looking good in my little garden this weekend. Keep the pics and updates coming all.

Rhipsalis baccifera that I started from seed several years ago. It's done great outside all the time in morning sun. Wilson the tennis ball tucked in to show size.

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The variegated form of "sea hibiscus", Hibiscus tiliaceus, on the east side of the house. It's a bit of a gamble here, but it's done great for four years now. Tennis ball again for size.

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A fun colorful talavera hen shaped pot filled with vincas. These did great while I was away for four days last week without a drop of water. I just gave them a big soak and moved them to shade. Now they're happy back in their usual sunny spot.

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A fun no-ID Huernia that I've had for ten years or so, on the east side of the house.

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Happy gardening all!
Grant

Happy gardening!
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my little garden, July 2014

Amazing pics, everyone! Grant, your garden is perfect 12 months out of the year, always such fun to see. Glad you like the talavera sign, a good example of where most of my discretionary income goes, lol. Speaking of talavera, love the hen and vinca combo, along with that incredible nightshade.

The plumeria are beautiful, makes me want to add a Singapore Pink and Xquisite to the collection. Just waiting to see the first bloom on the first plumeria I've rooted, it's super easy to do in this heat!

Here is one of the Datura, this is my first year growing them, they are pretty, but super thirsty!

I have a mini orchard consisting of a limequat, kumquat and a calamondin. Those grapefruits are beautiful though!

Fun to grab a kumquat while working in the yard. Here are some calamondins, with limequats in the background.

Beautiful datura, Dusti, and very nice looking young citrus fruit. Looks like a nice crop!

I WISH my garden looked perfect 12 months a year, Dusti, lol, it's crowded, it's cramped, and I tend to plant things where they're happiest over where they'll look best, but thanks for the nice words, I really appreciate them. And I love your pics and everyone else's too. I learn so much from our little forum here!

Just for fun, here are some cacti in bloom. So easy, and so vibrant!

A fun bright pink Echinopsis plant in the front garden. Most echinopsis plants want afternoon shade or dappled light, but this one that I bought without a label several years ago, just thrives in absolutely full hot sun. Not a lick of shade from early spring through very late autumn. Not a lick! Love it as it blooms off and on during the warm months.

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Good old Harrisia jusbertii which I've posted many times before. Fun, lanky, almost-climbing sprawling plants (stems the thickness of a nice cucumber, LOL) that blooms in spring, summer and autumn. The flowers are large, and beautiful, but no need to plant them where you can smell them as they smell like rubber gloves, or plastic inflatable pool toy left in the hot sun, hah!

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A gorgeous bright red Trichocereus also in the front garden (in general Trichos can handle much more sun than Echinopsis can):

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A goofy 'Los Angeles' Echinopsis bloom popping up right between one of my Stapelia seedlings (left) and a Polaska chichipe cactus on the right.

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Happy, muggy, gardening all!
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my little garden, July 2014

Looking good is this Caper plant flower. Looking bad (dead) are Desert Barberry and 5 yr old 'Moon Lagoon' eucalyptus.

Grant, I love all them cactus flowers...did not even know that they bloom in July. Also that sea hibiscus looks great, where did you get it?

That Pineapple Guava flowers look amazing...going to do some research on it. How big does it get?

Dusti, Datura looks great, I just got two small starter plants this year and they grow really fast...no flowers yet.

So far I did not loose to many plants, one rose that was moved and we forgot about it (got no water for a while), one small vinca ( I have no idea why, but it turned yellow and died) the other ones we have are looking good.

My plumerias keep on blooming, I am still amazed at their flowers.
Here is Supernova:

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And Jenny:

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Also some my cacti bloomed this month:
Echinopsis-Sterntaler

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Echinopsis-Gates Yellow

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Echinopsis-Bright-Eye

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Gymnocalycium baldianum - Chin Cactus

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Gymnocalycium ragonesei

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Matucana-madisoniorum

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Probably too many pictures, and a long post...sorry.

I enjoy looking at everyone's plants, specially during the hot months.
Here are a few of mine. Thank you for looking.
This is a Aji Dulce a pepper I started from seeds that I received from Puerto Rico. It has done very well during the heat. I hope it continues to do good and one day harvest peppers from it.

This is a Star Fruit tree. I started it from seed in January. Is doing amazingly good. I started it outdoors it gets partial sun.

This post was edited by Junglajungle on Mon, Jul 21, 14 at 19:06

Jade plant.

Desert rose getting ready to bloom

Plumeria frangipani. Thanks for looking.

What is your trick to keeping your jade alive during summer Junglajungle ? ? ? ! ! !

Hi! KevininPHX you just saved my plant!! This was a gift, I did not know it could not take the high temps so I placed it outside. It has been outside for the past month under the covered patio so it gets no direct sun. I took a close look at it; it looks good, not soft and not dropping any leaves (So far). I thought I only needed to protect it from frost. I don't know what I'm going to do with it, it is a big plant I don't have a place to put it. Ugrr

I think so long as the nights cool down accordingly then jades do OKAY - the problem is that during this time of summer the nights may stay above the low-mid 80s and I don't think that's enough cool down at night for these plants . . .

I don't know for sure though, just that my jade attempts outdoors here do NO good!

Here is the growth on the bananas this month. They are still pushing a leaf out every week.

Here is a picture of the amaranth that if you look back at my July 5th Post has just gone crazy in this heat.

Here is a picture of the rest of the garden. The chard, kale, sweet potatoes, and zucchini are all doing great.

Hi all, sorry for the late reply, I was away in Santa Fe, NM for a week. Love that town!

Great new pics and updates, thanks so much for sharing them all. I too am amazed that you keep that jade happy outside! I have to keep them cowering indoors in summer, LOL.

Neat caper pic, Jon, what conditions do you give it and how long have you had it outside? I only recently saw them in a greenhouse a few weeks ago at the terrific Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. Neat!

Awesome cacti pics too, Mike. You're obviously doing something right. Awesome pics and great blooms. Love love love!

Mswillis, your veggie garden looks so happy and productive. I'm envious! Thanks for posting it and keep us updated!

Not fancy, but here's my own-root variegated, contorted Euphorbia lactea outside on the patio, in a "wash pot" or "bean pot". I've become addicted to these pots as they're really hard to tip over.

Happy gardening all!
Grant

Here is a rain lily bloom that popped up this morning, not a drop of rain anywhere, lol. Anyway, it's incredible what people can grow in the desert at 110 and higher!

Grant, I saw a picture of your amazing patio on pinterest recently. Loved it, you inspire me to try and grow new things.

The Caper plant is finally starting to grow, it seems to love the heat. It's planted in native soil in full sun from about 9:00 to 4:00. It gets watered every three days by drip irrigation now.
I got it in a "one gallon" nursery pot last fall from Shady Way and put it in the ground immediately. I've almost killed it twice by giving it too much water in the winter and not enough once it started getting hot.

This is my third summer gardening in my Tempe home. Things are doing much better than my first year here with the super steep learning curve...

Thanks to everyone here and many other gardening forums help, my black thumb has turn to a nice shade of green. :-)

Now I just need to save enough money to purchase more fruit trees and perennials to make my food forest dream come true!

Here're some photos from my Epic Yard Farm.

My first ever harvest of moringa seeds. I have four moringa trees growing like crazy. Direct sown July last year. They are around 12' - 15' tall.
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Part of my front yard. From left, I have roselle, sunflower, moringa, more roselle and moringa on the right. Bottom/front, I have blackberry (need to trellis them up the circular structure), fig, eggplant and rosemary.
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Mango and banana in the tropical section. I pulled the purslane lookalike weed, even though they act like a good green mulch to keep the soil cool...
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GREAT info about your caper plant, Jon, thanks for sharing how your'e keeping it happy and where you got it. I'm surprised it tolerates our low humidity, but yours sure looks happy!

AWESOME garden and pics, jacqdavis! I love me some drumstick tree, hah. Everything in yours looks fun. I love seeing diverse, productive front gardens especially. Thanks for the pics and information!

Okay, on to our August theme, hah!
Happy gardening!
Grant

Thank you Grant for the kind words! Looking forward to plant a couple more fruit trees this fall. Summer is rough, but I love how much we can grow here in the desert.