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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A view from my bright pink dorm room back in the early 90's. A flashback in time to the colder and more serene moments.  Below the window is that first spider plant I took care of myself and the beginning of many more plants to land in my care.  This one image brings back a flood of good memories of nature and life as a college student.  This weekend I'll be getting back into the garden with a post on "Repetition" in the garden.  Until then, curl up with a good book and cup of tea:)

Outside my Honeycomb apartments in Stevens Point next to Schmeekle Reserve. I was secrectly a hobbit back then:)

Labels: dorm, Schmeekle Reserve, snow, Stevens Point, Watson Hall, Wisconsin

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A picture taken back in the early days of our University life....evidence that we were all heading into the natural world as professionals.  This is my dear group of friends who I have travelled, studied, and shared so many memories with...we hugged trees and studied in the very granola academic world of UW-Stevens Point.  For those of you who don't know the Wisconsin school system, this college was known, and still is, as the "Natural Resources College."  It was a wonderful experience and there was nothing like being around people of similiar mind and attitude. Today, going from left to right, my friend in the red scarf is a naturalist at a park in Michigan, I'm teaching Spanish, and on the right, my friend with the dark hair, became a Doctor of plants in New Zealand....not sure exactly what Doctors do with plants, but I do know that she is busy busy busy.  I do like when she goes out on her field  assignments and snaps pics of her wonderful world in the land of hobbits and elves. What do I hate about it all?  All of us now live in different locations!  What I wouldn't give to go back to simpler times of being broke and going on those nature hikes together in Schmeeckle Reserve or biking the Green Circle. The one thing I miss most about my youth are the deep friendships that were formed and that have now spread out across the globe.  There was nothing better than sharing those moments of the outdoors with one another.  In a future post, I'll write about the amazing Porcupine Mountains of Upper Michigan....wow!  But for now, I thought I'd share some of my tree hugger friends that are near and dear to me doing what they do best....hugging trees:)

http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/schmeeckle/

Granola Moments:)

I'm not sure what's going on here, but my friend is sure loving this tree in Yosemite!

Me in the Mingus Mountains outside of Jerome, AZ

Hanging off a tree near Poas in Costa Rica

Hug a tree!!  It'll make you feel better:)





Labels: college, Costa Rica, Jerome, Poas, Schmeeckle Reserve, Stevens Point, the Mingus Mountains, tree huggers, UW-Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Yosemite

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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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A beautiful day in Milwaukee with my Mom exploring the 3 enormous bio domes...one dedicated to the desert, one dedicated to the tropics, and one dedicated to flowers and arrangement.  They are definitely worth your time....my personal favorite...the desert and tropics....entering the desert dome was like going back to Tucson and it made me realize how much I miss being home gardening:)

Labels: Bio Domes, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

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Dad with Nolan during a storm

My parents have a goldfish pond and I have never thought of this before, but it was raining crazy here and filled the pond.  There could have been a fish massacre but my father went out and saved the poor guys.  Here is the vid along with several of yesterdays pics around town:)

Labels: Fish pond, the Lakeshore, travel to Two Rivers, visiting Two Rivers, Wisconsin

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