Friday, March 6, 2009

My Favorite Pastime


Shopping the Cactus and Agave section of my favorite close-by nursery.


I promised my husband I would not buy any more plants that needed irrigation emitters installed, so unless I'm going to place a plant in a container, I usually just 'window' shop. Passing up plants at the nursery is hard enough, but March and April are garden tour and garden show months in the Phoenix area, and I always see ten or twelve plants I just have to have in the various gardens or shows I visit. The next eight weeks are going to be a test of willpower!

16 comments:

Claude said...

That's like putting a kid in a candy store and telling them to just look... It's just not right.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Aiyana .. "Use the force Luke ?" hahaha .. I know how hard it is to be "good" but sometimes we just can't help ourselves .. and really .. look at the BIG picture about us and our lives Aiyana .. we could have far worse "loves" that make us want those special plants .. right ? so sneak a few in and ENJOY !!

kesslerdee said...

I just can't resist! And I am hand-watering everything! I look forward to hearing about anything you decide you just must have!

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

I wonder how many new plants you will end up with. Willpower is a fine thing but when it comes to plants ............ ;-)

Anonymous said...

Like Dee, I hand-watered everything in my old garden. It was a labor of love. Now I have a sprinkler system and a drip system in my raised beds, but I still prefer to hand-water in order to keep an eye on things. So sneak a few in there, and enjoy!

Lythrum said...

I can imagine how much of a trial it will be. I am planning on being very conservative with my gardening plans this year. I want to visit some local nurseries too, but I plan on having a firm spending limit.

Julie said...

Oh...there must be a way you can work around the emitter problem!!! There is no way you will be able to resist, is there??????? LOL!

Ashraf sharif said...

Wow .. Many cacti plants i dream visit like this here .

i hope see more nursery cacti in USA .

Thank you Aiyana for photo.

Mary Beth said...

I'm currently hand watering all the planting beds - but looking forward to installing some drip irrigation soon - those battery powered timers make it too easy.

Barbara said...

Willpower with regard to plants? Hm, I don't know this word ;-) !! Will you really exist? For how long??? I'm crossing my fingers for you :-) !!

Rock rose said...

I can understand your problem. I am trying really hard this year to resist temptation of another plant. I have too many of my own waiting for the right day to go in the ground-a rainy day!

kml said...

Oh so hard to do! Take photos of them instead - perhaps that will help some. Good luck!

Unknown said...

Wow! If I had access to such great cacti collections, I'd be also calling this my favourite passtime.

Rosemary said...

Wow you have restaint.
Loved your penstemon photo in previous post. This area can grow this plant as well and it is a fav.

Holly said...

Hi! I just moved to the Phoenix area about a year ago and I would like to find some unique cacti to add to my yard. I've seen lots of the same few plants when I've gone to Lowe's or Moon Valley. What are your favorite local nurseries? Do you ever find cacti on sale? I like native AZ plants and ones with striking flowers. If you have any info you could reply to this post or make a post specifically about it--I read your blog periodically. Thanks!

Aiyana said...

Hi Holly,
The 2 nurseries I like to go to are Elgin Nursery at 8606 West McDowell Road in Phoenix, and Baker Nursery at 3414 North 40th Street, also in Phoenix. Another great nursery to find cactus, pottery, garden art, etc. is Desert Foothills Gardens Nursery at
33840 N. Cave Creek Rd. in Cave Creek. It's a long way from me so I don't get over there very often. There are fabulous cactus nurseries in Tucson and worth the drive to see some of the unusual cacti they have in the nurseries there. A way to get some cheap or free cacti and succulents is to join the Central Arizona Cactus and Succulent Society and attend the monthly meetings at Desert Botanical Garden. They have plant auctions at the meetings and even some free cacti and succulents. The Garden also has a nice, but small selection of cacti for sale.
Hope this answers your questions! Thanks for visiting.
Aiyana