I love geraniums by any name! Wherever did you get that beauty?

Hiya Tomato and all, I got the geranium at Baker Nursery @ 40th street and Osborn in Phoenix. They had several others last weekend. Post lots of pics if you get one too, Happy gardening!

Even with these below-average temps this week there's still plenty looking good out there this morning.

Hibiscus mutablis fresh and white this morning (will turn pinky-red by evening):

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Datura meteloides flower on day three, hah. In summer the flowers open at sunset at close the next sunrise, but in winter the flowers stay open 24x7 for several days. Still lightly fragrant too.

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Potted dwarf variegated bougainvilleas, and geraniums (Pelargoniums) looking great this a.m. too, uncovered.

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This morning I finally harvested my first 'Ruby Red' grapefruit on my young tree. I hope it's good hah!

Keep the pics and updates coming, happy gardening!
Grant

This little valentine emu (Eremophila maculata 'Valentine') isn't too gorgeous yet, but its covered with hundreds of buds. The new growth is turning a nice reddish color as well. We have another emu that's starting to catch up. Can't wait for them to open. I'll post when they do :)

I'm in clean-up mode, after spending the last two springs in New Mexico getting our vacation home ready for vacating :) and last fall with a bum leg.

I'm breaking down and sifting 3 or 4 compost "muffins" (what a remesh bin becomes when it settles and you take off the wire) and adding it to the main chili-growing bed, cleaning up shrub borders ... all kinds of maintenance that didn't happen recently.

But the "scatter them and see what happens" program is working. I have a bunch of penstemon plants that should bloom this spring, probably that hot pink species, P. Parryi and a mystery cactus that is about 4 feet tall.

The queens wreath took some damage from the cold nights - time to rip it off the arbor - but the baja fairy duster is still blooming well.

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Love the emu bush and the agave, plus the other updates too. So fun to see and hear who is growing what! I've got several Eremphila bushes too and I love them. One of my 'Valentine' bushes just suddenly died, like overnight, in September, grrr, but all the others look great, including the E. carnosa starting to bloom (pic below).

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Despite the chilly temps the last week, my tomatoes are still looking good and ripening up (I refuse to cover them). Here's 'Husky Red' cherry tomato out in the middle of the back garden this morning:

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Petunias are still roaring along too, here's 'Rhythm and Blues' up close and personal.

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Keep the updates coming, pics or no. Happy gardening all!

Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my garden, December 2013

Here's something looking good: 'Lisbon' and 'Meyer Improved' lemons and some 'Arizona Sweet' oranges that I harvested today to take to work tomorrow. I hope folks are hungry! I really do have a sea of lemons this year. Not so with my small 'Ruby Red' grapefruit that I planted as a two foot tall "sapling" several years ago. It's making its first crop this year, a whopping three fruit, hah!

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What's looking good/bad in your garden?
Happy gardening!
Grant

Pomegranate leaves finally turned yellow. Leafy greens are doing good. {{gwi:425985}} {{gwi:425986}}

Found my Chinese ground orchid blooming in December - 4 months early. They normally bloom in the spring.

Awesome pics, Jon, awesome! I've been admiring the bright yellow foliage on my pomegranates too. So fun, even though I HATE cleaning up leaves, hah. Your leafy greens look really nice too. What's in there? I've got the basics outside uncovered: Swiss chard, Chinese cabbage, leaf lettuce, etc. which are bearing nicely right now.

I love your orchid pic, Angel! Is that one of the Bletilla? If so, can you tell us how long you've had it, how it's performed for you, and how you keep it happy? I hope you'll post some pics when the flowers open up. So fun!

Here's a couple of quick pics from this weekend, I hope folks will take a quick look and enjoy. Happy gardening! Grant

"Golden rat rail cactus" (Cleistocactus winteri) in a Neptune planter on a column of my patio. Neptune faces due east so the plant gets sunshine from sunrise until afternoon. Pic with and without Wilson the tennis ball showing size, hah.

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Abelmoschus, which has just bloomed and bloomed and bloomed, and in fact has several flowers open this weekend:

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"Persian lilac", Vitex trifolia, blooming away. This is a small seedling but it's done great this summer. Nice evergreen, purple-backed foliage, and super, super durable!

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Finally, a Gasteria outside on the patio making a nice, tall bloom stalk filled with those fun stomach-shaped flowers (hence the genus name, like gastric). Happy gardening!

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Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my garden, December 2013