After a series of posts on plants and some specific gardening techniques, I like to do some free writes on things that relate indirectly to gardening and just being outdoors exploring.  Sometimes I'll share things that I find interesting, work projects, travel information, or just some personal experiences from my past that have lead me to where I am today. So today is one of those days where I break away from my gardening journal and write about something different. 

This pic is an example of how cold the Lakeshore can get in Wisconsin



I grew up in a LARGE Catholic family.  Monty Python had it right when they sang the tune, "Every sperm is sacred".Today my family numbers in the thousands as nephews and nieces are born everyday. Okay I exaggerate on that last part, but our family has doubled in size.....so much for going green and helping out this world:)  Every year I return home to visit, I meet 2 new family members.  And to think that those two above, my parents, began all of it.  Well I'd rather not.....:)

At the cabin in Minnesota

 I was very lucky to be raised in the incredibly beautiful city of Two Rivers that has about 13,000 people living in it. Growing up in our large family on a single parent income wasn't terrible, but it did mean that my parents had to budget their money.  Instead of the trips kids today take to Disneyland or Europe, our family purchased a Starcraft camper and visited the State Parks of Wisconsin.  Exotic places would include a week at a Minnesota cabin near Leech Lake(yes there is a reason why that lake has that name).  The memories we all have from these family experiences are wonderful.  At the time, we all wanted to kill each other, but today there is nothing better or funnier than reminiscing about the past.  For example, there was nothing like the time when we had a random snow storm in October and hid in the forest using snowballs to attack one another. Or afterwards, nearly freezing to death, Mom making a nice bowl of chile and hot cocoa. Or the time Mom was super sick and opened the camper door with a skunk crawling out from underneath her. The faces on everyone around the campfire were priceless.  I could go on and on about the importance of spending time with your kids in a setting like this. Even if you don't have kids, this is still a wonderful time spent with a loved one or by yourself to reflect.  The simple truth is that you don't have to go far to find peace of mind.

Our tradition is going to Point Beach State Park in winter for family pics and having a hot bowl of Mom's awesome chile. If we don't do it in winter, we then plan it when we are all together. This is the nuclear family without all the spouses.  It has more than doubled in size today.

When kids are introduced to the natural elements at an early age, it stays with them for life.  Traditions begin and it's a time to escape with family and friends.  Leave technology behind and just enjoy one another's presence.  Of course you also discover their pet peeves:)

The family today.  A couple members aren't present.  Get togethers become more difficult and quite the production.

I'm not sure what baby my sister is holding....but it's one of the "thousands" born everyday:)

My niece on a nature hike during fall at Point Beach State Park

The brothers

Today my nephews and nieces go hunting, camping, boating, and love to be outdoors. Wisconsin is one of the most beautiful places in the States, and because it's so lovely, Illinois people, mostly from uptight Chicago, flee their own state:) It could also be our cheese:) 

In my earlier days at college, I used to take foreigners on canoe trips or around the state and show them around our awesome state park system.  I remember torturing the Japanese exchange students on a 25 mile bike trail.  They had a great time and couldn't believe how big and spread out everything was!

When sweater vests were in....although I don't think this one ever was:) A packrat later chewed through it. I would still wear it today if I could just so I could hear my students complain.

The simple fact is that things don't have to cost a lot of money to be enjoyed together.  We learned that lesson early on in life and had a blast playing cops and robbers in the woods.  Or watching bears, from a distance, eat out of dumpsters.  Or accidentally walk up on one and freak out! If you haven't done so already in your area,  check out your state or national parks and create some beautiful memories that will last for years to come.

High Cliff State Park

Looking out to Leech Lake, Minnesota

Labels: camping, family camping, family reunions, High Cliff State Park, Leech Lake, memories, Minnesota, Point Beach State Park, The Rohrer Family, Two Rivers, Wisconsin State Parks

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How many times will you try a plant before giving up?  Over the course of years, I've experimented with a lot of plants.  These next upcoming posts will be on plants that just don't work for me in the garden.  We are currently suffering a severe frost for the next couple nights and I have to say....IT'S COLD!!!  I don't know what's going to happen after these two days are over, but I might be adding more failures to my plant list.  Part of this blog is to keep track of the failures and learn from them.  As gardeners, we have a pile of these "failed" plants hidden somewhere in our gardens.  Stay tuned for the next series on plants that may cause Tucsonans or the "Zone Niners" issues in their own yards.  I've got a nice list of plants you should definitely not plant and some that just may not work for me......

A Snap Shot from my hometown of Two Rivers

Labels: failed plants, gardening zone 9, Tucson, Two Rivers, Wisconsin, zone 9 gardening

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My favorite out of the bunch...some pics just happen...and this one turned out awesome. That's why you should always carry your camera with you wherever you go:)

Okay okay...this may be too soon, but September is just around the corner and I thought I'd jump start the feelings and emotions that happen to me and others when fall comes. I took these pics with 3 different cameras in Wisconsin last year.  My family loves my pictures but doesn't give me enough time to sit and ponder angles etc...nor do the nephews and nieces so I go out on my own. 

While it doesn't get this crazy colorful in Tucson, the plants seem to be happier here with the hot nasty summer gone and begin to flourish and become a healthier color again up until mid-December.  In my humble opinion, speaking of fall, the best places here in the desert to see leaves change would be in the northern part of the state around Flagstaff and Sedona areas, the White Mountains, or here on our very own Mt. Lemmon.

My niece at Point Beach

Ahhh Wisconsin...Mishicot! Nephew and nieces

But I'm sticking to Wisconsin for the moment.....best time to see colors change in my home state are in October....and around mid October.  However, if you are heading north, closer to the upper pennisula and in the Porcupine mountains, you'll want to go earlier as it will get cooler there faster.  Enjoy!!

We have a front today in Arizona and the temps are amazingly cool so I am taking advantage of them to clean up the property after the microburst several days ago.  Happy gardening folks....September is just around the corner:)

Point Beach

Sedum up close

I love how trees in my hometown connect!!

Hostas in their decline before winter

Labels: Autumn, Fall, Mishicot, Point Beach State Park, Two Rivers, Wisconsin

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Today I write my first blog ever and this is exciting. I love gardening and I really love plants. It has always been this way, but it was never as obvious to me as a child. My grandparents and mother loved to work on their gardens. One set of grandparents loved geraniums, rhubarbs, and strawberries while the other set loved growing all varieties of tomatoes. I was never crazy about the whole experience until later on in life when I was handed my first spider plant. It was at college and in the dorms. I started with a spider plant and then moved onto the easy to grow pothos and swedish ivy forms.....so here I am today, landscaper at my home and for my community of 16 condos in Tucson, AZ. I've come a long ways from my hometown of Two Rivers, WI.

Why this blog? I spend soooo much time in the garden outside and am faced with the daily challenges of keeping everything happy. Thank goodness I love this stuff or it could be a real chore! I know a lot about the plants for the southwestern desert....specifically the Sonoran desert. I love all plants and I plant appropriate plants in the right spots....but as gardeners, I think we all get a bit bored and would like to try our hands at something challenging...such is the case with gunnera or what many would call "Dinosaur food". I know I know...it grows in the cloud forests and loves the Pacific Northwest, Canada, Costa Rica, The Andes in Chile....I've been to all those places and have seen it grown. So my challenge for today besides trimming Heavenly Bamboo(nandina) and ripping out that weedy orange jubilee plant that decided to get between electrical wires(yikes!) and "forming" bouganvillia bushes so that they make beautiful structural pieces........my task today was to figure out what to do with my gunnera seeds. These large and amazing plants are quite astonishing in appearance.....but the question is, "Will they grow in Tucson?" My instinct says plant them in shade from the intense heat....create a faux bog to trap moisture.....but then doubt settles into my mind....should I put it in a pot first? Or should I go for the ground? No matter how much research I do on this plant.....not a single place has told me if anyone in Arizona has tried growing it and if they were or weren't successful....so I end today with....Is it possible?

Labels: gardening in Tucson, gardening zone 9, gunnera in Tucson, plants, Rohrer, Tucson, Two Rivers, zone 9 gardening, zone 9 gardening guide, zone 9 plants

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