"Gardening" Arizona Style

You know how one thing leads to another?
Carolyn and I won a gift certificate from a local nursery at this summer's Meals On Wheels picnic. We chose two red Autumn Sage bushes to plant in our yard. What would have been a thirty minute job in the rich loam of Illinois turned into a three hour project in Arizona's granite.

Nonetheless, enthused about our "gardening," we decided we also needed a cactus. This project would be even more challenging. You need a spade to plant in Illinois, in Arizona the primary gardening tool is a hammer.
A few hours and a couple of muscle spasms later we had a nice Indian Fig cactus adorning our front "lawn." Now on a roll, we decided to build a Desert Garden of native, low water, full sun plants.

We chose a spot in our side yard and marked it off with small stones.

Then I gathered our tools. (Based on our previous experiences I upgraded to a pick and crowbar.)

I removed the existing landscape rock and cut out the weed barrier.

Digging the bed was the next order of business.

The first break came at ten minutes into the dig. It was time to don the gloves.

By dark, I had amassed quite a pile of "Arizona topsoil."

The next day I got a little behind in my work and began stacking the stones for the garden border.
The biggest challenge turned out to be wrestling the largest stones in place. A crow bar, brute effort and an assist from Carolyn and the minivan resolved the problem.

By afternoon of the second day, our mini Stonehedge was nearly complete.

Next it was time to shovel and rake three tons of fill dirt and super soil to make the plant bed.
The final stage - plant and cover the top soil with decomposed granite for a protective layer. (By the way, I was told it was OK to wear white since it was before Labor Day.)
This is the nearly finished product. We will add a few more plants in the spring and possibly some solar lighting to accent it at night.
Almost all of the plants in the garden do well in high desert conditions. Once well established they will not require a lot of water. Here are some we have chosen:

The “Arizona Sun” Gaillardia, also known as "Indian Blanket" blooms for weeks in the summer and attracts butterflies.
The Polka Dot Prickly Pear Cactus (also called the Bunny Ears Cactus) can grow to be three feet tall. It has lemon yellow flowers in spring. It is covered in very fine hair-like stickers. I wore gloves and a long sleeved shirt to work with it.

The Red Hot Poker is originally from South Africa. It attracts hummingbirds which are abundant here.

The Santa Barbara Salvia will have velvety purple spikes, summer through winter. It too attracts hummingbirds and hummingbirds.

Goodwin Creek Lavender will have spikey blue flowers and a wonderful fragrance.

Plumbago is a ground cover with small blue flowers that attract hummingbirds.

Coreopsis is a member of the sunflower family. They are prolific bloomers.

Stonecrop Sedum is a great ground cover for this area. It loves a sunny dry climate and is resistant to both deer and rabbits.

Moonshine Yarrow is a great rock garden flower. It loves the heat and needs little water. It has a long growing season.

Yet another plant that is drought tolerant and attractive to hummingbirds is the Purple Salvia.

Cotoneaster is an evergreen shrub that originated in Asia. We are using it as a centerpiece in our garden. It will grow tall if allowed or can be shaped as a small tree or bush.
To add color in the fall, we planted a fusia mum. It will need a little extra care to see that it survives. Rabbits, in particular, like them.

A Tragedy in Prescott Valley

Highway 69 is a busy highway that runs between Prescott and Prescott Valley. Anyone who has driven it in recent years has seen a young woman jogging along it.

Jessica Martin ran everyday before or after work from her job at New Frontier grocery to her home in Prescott Valley six or seven miles away. After the local paper did a feature on her, Jessica became well known to many. Her running style, arms bent at the elbows and hands extended in the air, was unique. When you saw her, you knew it was Jessica.

She ran to battle bi-polar disorder. Her goal was the Boston Marathon.

While running early in the morning on August 15th, Jessica was struck by a pickup truck on Highway 69. She was helicoptered to a Phoenix hospital but did not survive her injuries.

The outpouring of grief has been incredible. A roadside cross was set up at the accident site. People have left flowers, stuffed animals and other remembrances.

There has been a constant stream of visitors. It continues nearly two weeks after the accident.


Her jogging shoes hang there.


Handwritten notes have been posted by strangers attesting to the meaning that Jessica's life had for others.


Jessica celebrated her 29th birthday just three days before her death.

Seeing her run was inspiring and gave me great joy. She touched more people then she will ever know.