flynn070

Erisymum 'Bowle's Mauve' and 'Apricot Twist' I begin April Bloom Day with the beautiful wallflowers that are in full bloom. The purple ones started blooming about a month ago and the orange just started. I never grew wallflowers until I moved here. I loved the combination of the orange and purple when I saw them side by side in the greenhouse where I work. They have been stellar performers, blooming non-stop all last season and off to a robust start this year. I hear that they are short-lived (how long, I don't know) but they have more than earned their keep so far. I am almost giddy over the first rhododendron bloom. This is 'Taurus' that is planted underneath the dogwood tree. Rhododendrons were hard to grow in Alabama because of the heat and humidity. Here they thrive (the Coast Rhododendron is the state flower of Washington). So far, I have only planted a few but I do plan to add more. Making a decision from the hundreds (or thousands more likely) va...

Sedum 'Angelina' Wednesday Vignette is hosted by Anna at Flutter and Hum . Text and photos by Phillip Oliver, Dirt Therapy

I have always said that I would be unhappy living in the desert because it is not green enough for me. I still adhere to that belief but I do enjoy looking at photos of desert gardens and the plants that inhabit them are certainly dramatic. I was recently sent the book "Desert Gardens of Steve Martino" by Caren Yglesias to review for Library Journal and I really loved the book. Martino, a Phoenix-born landscape architect, calls himself "an accidental landscape architect". He was fascinated by the desert from a young age when he would explore the surrounding Sonoran Desert on horseback. Later, he majored in architecture and found himself more interested in the outside spaces between buildings and how to use them as expansions of the interior. He became highly interested in native desert plants at a time when other landscape architects considered them nothing but weeds. He questioned why they were using plants that relied on water instead of local plants that thrived ...