“I had a lot of fun in the garden yesterday!” beamed one of my elementary students entering school on Wednesday. The boy’s smile and his…
Cooler days, softer soil… what a wonderful time to pull weeds! Sure, it’s also a good time to plant seeds, construct a new compost bin,…
Desert gardening, on a practical level, means gardening in an arid environment. Desert gardening, on a personal level, means gardening in and with the place…
“Yay! We get to eat breakfast outside!” chirps Kid 2, and he flits to the back door. His verbalized desire is music to my ears. In…
When I step into my Tucson backyard and an aromatic concoction of thick moisture, sun-warmed wood, and breezy coolness greets my nose, another place co-exists…
The sunflowers are starting. My son and husband alerted me to the single bloom in our backyard in early May, just as I was steeling myself…
“It’s lupine time! Go lupines, go lupines, go, go, go lupines!” spontaneously chanted my 5-year-old on our walk to his brother’s school mid-March. He does…
Worms help me recycle, garden, teach, and pay attention. I like worms. Worms, though uncommon in desert soil, reside with minimal care in habitats called…
Fall is a time of transition. Over a season, hot turns to cold. The downpours of monsoon summer and the drizzles of winter sandwich multiple…
The palo verde tree that planted itself, helped shape our front yard and shade our house, and beautifully flowered each spring, has to come down. We…