Nothing says “tasty” like a carrot pulled from the refrigerator that proceeds to flop over like a spaghetti noodle, right? Hmmm… maybe not so much.
Carrots (Daucus carota subsp. sativus)
Orange carrots are so ubiquitous that it’s easy to think that they have always been the norm, yet they are actually the Johnny-come-lately’s of the carrot world. White and purple are really the old timers.
Harvesting Leafy Greens
I like to get the most “bang for my buck” whenever I can. As much as I love to garden, I don’t have time to refresh my plantings as often as I like, so whenever I can extend my harvest without having to start over, I’m good.
She’s So Fluffy!
Every gardener needs a helper.
Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris)
If you love leafy greens, you can’t go wrong with chard. Talk about easy and reliable! My garden seldom goes without this delicious staple in the ground.
Chrysanthemums (Chrysanthemum morifolium)
I didn’t use to pay much attention to chrysanthemums in my earlier days. They just seemed so “common place” and were always the cheap plants at the nursery. But at some point I decided that my garden needed that quintessential splash of color in the fall, so I thought “what the heck”.
Alpine Strawberry (Fragaria vesca)
Take everything you thought you knew about the taste of fresh strawberries and throw it out the window. You know nothing! Nothing at all!! Not until you have tasted an Alpine Strawberry can you speak to me about the amazing goodness of strawberry flavor. They’re like candy, but so much better. It’s strawberry, but like strawberry flavor on steroids. There is just no comparison.
California Fuchsia “Silver Select” (Epilobium canum ssp.)
It was by pure accident that I discovered California fuchsias. The Old Man and I were in the process of transforming our dull, and rather dead (thank you drought), yard into a more water-wise and heat tolerant landscape. An internet search for drought tolerant plants to use led us to the discovery of a nursery, not too terribly far away in the neighboring foothills, that specializes in California native plants, which by their nature are rather used to not getting much rain.
Continue reading California Fuchsia “Silver Select” (Epilobium canum ssp.)
