The Burrow

While the rest of you are bundling up and preparing the beds for winter, gardeners here in the desert Southwest are enjoying the second of our six-week-planting seasons.  Don't put them in too soon - the tender roots will fry when the temps hit triple digits.  Don't wait too long - those same roots need to become acclimated before they get too cold.  Now is the Goldilocks moment - it's just right. And so, off I went to the bi-annual plant sale at Tohono Chul .  I passed on the members only pre-sale on Wednesday; I'm not wasting my energy waiting in a long line.  There was nothing I absolutely had to have; I was browsing, albeit with intention. I am tired of annuals that refuse to bloom.  I am bored with the choices I've been making. I shopped with an eye towards plants rather than seedlings.  My hope is that they survive the winter and are able to be placed in the ground next spring, all the while gracing my containers with a reusable specimen...

Meet Jay. That's J-A-Y. He was one of the many happy shoppers at the Tohono Chul Members Only Plant Sale this afternoon. We began lining up before 2. I'm not sure how much before 2, but I was fifth in line. Apparently, the beautiful woman in the straw hat has been first for as many years as the others in line could remember. I was pretty impressed with 5th. Jay is a very talented man. He created the perfect cart for shopping the narrow aisles of the plant sale. Look at the size of those C-Clamps. There is also an excellent collection of bungee cords, just waiting to secure many wonderful specimens. Jay was about 10th in line. I'm trying a new approach to landscaping this year - I am actually going to plan ahead, stick to a color scheme, and think about the plant's ultimate size before I stick it in the ground. I'm digging holes exactly the right size (just as deep and twice as wide as the root ball), setting the plants down on undisturbed soil, and protecting the mo...