you can definitely grow many different types of plants here not just desert types. Most people here prefer plants that are more suited for the desert environment because of the intense heat here in the summer. They require a lot less water.

You can grow tropical plants as well. They'll just need more watering and you have to pick the right spot for them. Some cannot take our full sun here. Im not sure about hydrangeas. I don't see any planted on the ground here, but in the northern (colder) areas like sedona and flagstaff they can thrive.

Hydrangeas do better in cooler climates than ours. You can certainly buy them here but I haven't heard of anyone that successfully grew them outside and few that have grown them as houseplants for more than a season or two. There is an exception to every rule, of course, but there are so many plants that do well here - citrus, modern roses, freesia, hollyhocks, and hundreds of other plants - that I don't really miss the peonies, lilacs and apple trees of the midwest. I can see them when I'm back to visit family.

The adjustment from cool-weather gardening to hot-weather gardening can take a while but it's an enjoyable learning experience. Local garden clubs, the Master Gardeners, the Desert Botanical Gardens and Boyce-Thompson Arboretum are available to offer advice and answer questions, plus we have several reputable local nurseries that can help with selection, amendments and design.

While I grow a lot of roses, they aren't my only plants. I try to balance them with low-water usage plantings in other areas of the yard. I also don't grow all the roses I'd like to so I volunteer several hours a year to work in public rose gardens, including the County Extension Office. We have a little grass area for the pets and a gravelscape. We designed our gutters and drainage to retain rainwater in tree basins instead of running into the street. I harvest rainwater in 5-gallon buckets along the patio. In cool weather months, I have several containers of flowering plants on the patios and courtyard. When it gets hot, the plants die back and I store the containers 'til the next winter to conserve water and my energy.

Just about any look you are trying to achieve can be accomplished, but sometimes the plants will just be a little different or will need different microclimates within your yard. Not everyone has a half empty gravel yard with four lonely cactus! I have close to 400 plants now in my backyard and you wouldn't believe how gorgeous it looks in the spring with the tens of thousands of flowers on everything. Mary Irish has several books out about desert gardening with lots of examples of landscapes. I have everything from plumeria to citrus to cardons to roses and eucalyptus. You can grow an amazing fruit and veggie garden that produces a few times a year, too. There is something so impressive about watching some of these plants produce amazing bursts of color in 100+ summer heat.

I have over 500 mango, avocado, sapote, plumeria, champak, tamarind, curry, allspice, bay leaf, loquat, longan, lychee, banana, jackfruit, starfruit, and more in the backyard. Only thing I have to be cautious about is winter cold and summer sun exposure. Heat not an issue for tropicals.

Phxplantaddict,
Do your avocado trees produce fruit?

Yes

Depends on where you live, too. If you live someplace like Gilbert or Mesa, you might have flood irrigation for a very low price. We pay $69 dollars a year for irrigation. Our neighborhood is grass lawns, huge pine trees, eucalyptus , olives and citrus trees, plus lots of roses and other heat tolerant flowers. In winter, poeple plant pansies, violas, geraniums and poinsettias. Lilies and crocus do well.

Avocados aren't for the uninitiated. Let's just say some people do some radical things to keep their avocados alive.

Thanks for that information. How does flood irrigation? I also do a lot of home composting with bins. But, I got to thinking it would not be good for a desert soil to put compost in. I think it would mess up the balance, but I am not sure about that. Yes, it would fun to try all new plants of course, but some plants I would like to transport them, if that was possible, if I was selling the house and was unsure about the future of those plants if they remain in their current location. Have you ever got that awful feeling, that the new owner will forget to water them?

With flood irrigation, we open a gate and get about 6-12 inches of water in our backyard every 2 weeks in the summer, every month in the winter.
Areas that you want to garden will need compost unless you're doing a strictly native landscape. Even native landscapes can benefit from some compost as the soil is deficient in organic matter.
I would suggest visiting the botanical gardens in Phoenix for a real treat to see a lovely, native landscape.

Where in Arizona are you planning to move? There are lots of different soil types and climates here. From Flagstaff to Tucson, and lots of variations in between.

The Tucson area or Palm Springs. It may be hard to leave California since I would have to change HMOs. I noticed how cheap the real estate is in Palm Springs, and went there on a vacation. But, the Tucson area is very pretty as well.

Well let me start by stating. Grow what you want. If your are adventureous, and you despratly want a plant to come with you. all I have to say is just do it. I say this because working in the nursery at the Depot for the last 10 years, I have learned that plants will do what they want to, to survive.

Example: We had 3 15 gal. Norfolk Island Pine come in. I would never order but was teased for ordering these trees that I knew would not sell, so they got pushed out in the cold with the rest of the 15 gal. trees. knowing full well what was going to happen. They don't like to freese or our full sun. 3 years later those trees were still growing, and their needles had thickened up.

Example: ever since the venders got control of what gets brought into the store, sometimes they bring us plants that we just scratch our heads at. Like Clematis. Gabe and I just looked at each other and knew they were just going to fry. Sure enough 4 days later they were crispy critters. There were 30 of these plants. We didn't have the heart to throw them away, so they sat on the table for 4 weeks. I walked by them one day and saw they had started growing back and even saw some with blooms starting. I was blown away.

My plumeria I have had in pots for the last 5 years I have had in full sun in summer in Tucson. I even managed to get them through that freeze last year (I cheated with that) I am even concidering putting them in ground. I am also growing Angle trumpets in full sun. The only other place I have seen them is in San Francisco.

So be adventureous! plant what you want.

I myself like to try new plants in San Francisco, so I am adventurous. The problem with angels trumpets in San Francisco is the spider mite. It can make all the leaves fall off and lead to plant death. Angel trumpets will make it in san Francisco if they are big and well established or near by a house because they need heat. They dislike cold. I planted a big one, that died in the winter, but then I also have some small ones, that lived past the winter. I have those off and on, because sometimes I have to take them out because the spider mites get out of control. In Tucson, I assume the winter cold would be a problem. Clematis can be cut back to zero and survive. It normally goes back to a dead vine in the winter, but then regrows from nothing in the spring. I am thinking about the hydrangea. I wonder if it had full shade in Arizona, so it won't get sun burned leaves. Can hydrangea make it? I have grow it in a container or I would have to modify the soil with compost. But, you know if it does make it, that is a learning experience.

tropical thought, have you spent much time in this state? I ask that because we too are from California. We have moved three times since I retired in 2007, and finally found the Verde Valley in central Arizona.

May I suggest taking a month to travel and stay at various locations around the state before you pick a town to move too? Climate, growing conditions, and the towns and cities themselves are nearly as diverse as California, except we don't have a coastline...yet. (Still waiting for Calif to drop into the Pacific). Taking a trip like that is time consuming and a little expensive...but this is a big move. Finding out you don't like your new area two years after a move is so much more expensive.

I grew up a few miles north of SF, and lived in the city for a short time myself. We love it out here. I hope you will too.

I have visited Tucson quite a bit when I was in college, but I only been to palm springs once. Yes, checking it all out before the move is a good idea.

what kind of lavender is best for sachets and where do I get the plants for this?

You can definitely compost. I have two bins that I bought from the city of Phoenix, re-purposed garbage bins, for $5 each, and I'm thinking about getting a third. I've been successfully composting for more than a year, and I don't think my garden would work at ALL without the compost.

Here is a link that might be useful: City of Phx composting bins info