Articles published in the Past Newsletters

• The gardens of San Cristobal de las Casas
  In between adding pictures and information on the site and working on the CD-ROM releases, I still took the time to spend a week in southern Mexico. These are some pictures taken in the cute city of San Cristobal.

• Hunting for mushrooms
  Arizona has edible mushrooms. This is a short introduction to finding and collecting them.

• Angel Trumpets
  by Sheri Ann Richerson
  There is no sight like that of an Angle's Trumpet heavy with blossoms. The perfume that the flowers release is an extremely sweet, intoxicating scent. These plants will bloom year round if given the proper care...

• Phoenix’s Desert Botanical Garden
  The Desert Botanical Garden is one Phoenix’s landmarks. Now is a good time to visit it, or to rediscover it.

• Cinnamon
  Sheri Ann Richerson tells us about her effort to find and grow cinnamon.

• Mexican Mint Marigold
  This tender perennial compact and easy to maintain it also provides flower in fall, enhances many culinary dishes, makes a lovely tea and perfumes and brightens floral arrangements

• Citrus Calendar
  A list of what should be done to your citrus on a month per month basis.

• Monaco’s Jardin Exotique
  One of the highlights of my trip to France was the Jardin Exotique. An outstanding collection of succulents in a marvelous site. Visit it with me.

• Baking with Mesquite Flour
  This time of the year, mesquites drop large quantities of large dry pods, you can trash them or compost them. Why not cooking with them? They do add a delicious flavor to your cakes. Here is the secret of making mesquite flour.

• Euphorbia Stem Cuttings
  Many succulent euphorbias are propagated easily by cuttings. Here is an example, with tips and pictures.

• Temperature zones
  Temperature zones is a precious indicator of how a given plant might fare in your garden. Here is a primer on the 3 types we are using at Desert-Tropicals.com

• My Garden in May
  I have a number of things growing (or not growing) in my backyard. Sharing experiences might be useful, and let’s face it, it is always more entertaining to listen to other people problems. This time I am mostly talking about some warmth-loving fruit trees that you also can probably grow.

• Succulent Leaf Cuttings
  Leaf cutting is an easy way to propagate succulents with minimum impact on the parent plant.  This article talks about which plants are usable, and how to do it.

• Heirloom Roses at the Boyce-Thompson Arboretum
  The Boyce Thompson Arboretum is an interesting place, located east of Phoenix.  Among its many treasures, there is a collection of vintage roses.

• Wild Flowers of Arizona
  Some of the flowers blooming in large quantities around Phoenix in March.

• Miles' to Go nursery
  Miles' to Go Nursery is a great mail-order nursery located close to Tucson, Arizona. We went for a visit.

• History of the Agave
  Jan Kolendo, a British gardener, has a very interesting site about Agaves, and in particular Agave culture in climates that are not as favorable as southwestern USA. This first article is about the origin of the name, and the use of Agaves in precolombian America.
  Part 1
  Part 2

• Repotting African Violets
  Gerald Morissette comes back about another topic about African Violet culture. A lot of it is applicable to other delicate plant.

• Compost
  Most garden soils lack enough organic matter, and this is particularly true in the southwestern dry areas. Compost just happens to be the cheapest, and probably the best way to improve your soil. This is a basic introduction to creating your own compost.

• Bach's Cactus Nursery
  After having bought scores of cactus and succulents at the Desert Botanical Garden greenhouse, I decided to go to the source, and I went to Tucson to visit Bach's Cactus Nursery. Here is a short story about it.

• Propagating Succulents by Seeds
  It just so happens that it is the seeds season for cactus nurseries in Arizona. Take a look at a variety of succulent seedlings and get some information on how to grow cactus seeds at the same time.

• African Violet Leaf Cuttings
  Gerald Morissette, an African violet afficionado from Canada shows us his technique to propagate his plants, illustrated by great color pictures.

• Southwestern Native Interior Design
  Paul, our "Wise Gardener" takes us to visit his house, and talk to us about southwestern interior design

• Pruning your Grapevine(1/10/01)
  This article is a short introduction to pruning your grapevines. There are > pictures of showing you what to look for as a result.

• Growing more Grapevines from Cuttings(1/10/01)
  Now that you have pruned your grapevine, you are ending up with all this wood. How to use it to get more grapevines.
• Growing Fig Tree from Cuttings(1/10/01)
  Fig Trees are very easy to grow from cutting. A couple of pictures show you what to do to get a clone of your neighbor fig tree, or to have fig trees to give away.
• Designing a Desert Garden (12/15/00)
• Subtropical Fruits - From Avocado to Tamarind (12/15/00)
  This article is a good overview of subtropical fruit by two horticulturists from Florida. It covers a large number of fruits and it links to a number of pages with pictures
• Peaches, Nectarines, Plums, Apricots, Cherries...  Climate Puts Limits on What You Can Raise. (12/9/00)
• Get ready for the Frost
  Freezing temperatures are early this year. Here are some suggestion to decrease the damage. (11/25/00)
• Buying Rooted Grapevines Can Save You a Year (11/25/00)
• Early Spring Flowering Bulbs (11/25/00)
• The Date Palm (11/15/00)
• Tips about landscaping. (11/15/00)
• xeriscape trees (10/25/00)
• xeriscape shrubs (10/25/00)
• Growing a mango tree from the fruit
• Growing a pineapple plant from a pineapple crown

• Pictures of some of Art Pacheco's Fat Plants