The Catmint Caper

Last September when I was visiting Woody and Kathy Minnich in Edgewood, New Mexico, their neighbor across the way shared a start of catmint with me. Blue mounds of the flowering plant were dotted here and there in the neighbor’s cactus garden and really added a nice...

The Cholla Says It’s Spring

Today is Good Friday, my daddy’s marker that it was time to plant his garden. Well, of course, in Rosenberg on the Gulf Coast of Texas, by Good Friday that part of the world had already had about a month of spring weather. Good Friday just pretty much cinched the deal...

Signs of Spring

I read in the paper on March 19th or 20th, I forget, that the spring equinox was a day early this year. Don’t remember what the groundhog said about the changing of the seasons, but I am still waiting for the warm weather. Perhaps we will have no late freezes, but I...

Adenium Obesum in the Winter

Adenium obesum, commonly called the desert rose, is a native to the warm climates of sub-Sahara, eastern and southern Africa, Arabia, and Socotra, so I shouldn’t be surprised when my adeniums drop their leaves every winter. Even though I have talked to you about these...

A Surprise Flower

This is why it’s a good idea to go into the greenhouse everyday, and maybe more than once-you never know what you will find. I was in the greenhouse yesterday and apparently overlooked the bud on this plant. Today I wander in, and Bam! there it was. And thank goodness...

On the Road Again: Cactus at Sonora

Since around 2003 a group of cactus lovers has converged on the McPherson 4M Ranch in Sonora, Texas, to appreciate cactus in its natural habitat and to also take home a few for personal gardens. I took part in the adventure this year. The story goes that around 2003,...