Love the new pics. You know, I'm ashamed because I have no excuse for not growing figs or grapes. I know so many people in person and on our fun forum that have had great results for years. Great pics and information Queenie and all! Here's something looking good this morning, a first bloom on our native passion flower, Passiflora foetida. It's got a ton of other flower buds too. I bought it as a tiny seedling at the last AZ Rare Fruit Growers sale (always worth going!) and now it's got three or four stems each over 7 feet long. Fun! This stem/branch is climbing up and over an orange tree. Anyway, I thought folks might enjoy it so here it is. The blooms aren't as large as some of the more tropical types, but our good ol' native species is immune to anything our climate can give it. My little covered patio is looking good these days too. Nothing fancy, but it's a nice space where I sit with hot coffee and the newspaper (paper or iPad version if the paper version is late) almost every day of the year, prior to doing some *quiet* early morning gardening chores. Happy gardening! Grant Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my garden June 2013

Kathy, that thought has entered my mind. Hahahaha! Not exactly that I'd slit my throat ... LOL, but am I going to regret giving up most of the roses and many other plants if the chilllli thrips infestation abates? I've given this a lot of thought and the truth is: actually not. They just pushed me into doing what I'd been thinking about doing anyway; making the yard easier care, less water, etc. Another goal is to make the house easier to sell for our heirs, or if/when Bob or I exit before the other leaving only one to take care of things, or face the need to sell. I've read on other forums how hard it is for a house to sell if it has an extensive ornamental garden, especially if there are a lot of roses which the public views as hard to grow. In a way they are as they need more water, more fertilizer, twice yearly pruning, and on and on. Anyway I've kept a few roses just in case. Besides it's not as if the garden is turning into a desert. There's still a lot of plants here, but the goal is to get it where when we take a few days summer vacation I won't have to bribe the kids, or pay someone to water. Another consideration is I just feel better about helping to conserve what fresh water the city/state/country/planet has. Also I enjoy the creative process of redesign and sharing it with all of you. I very much appreciate everyone's input :-)

Thank you for posting your beautiful project, meggie! I'm working on a landscape for my grandparents' house in Lewisville at the moment. They don't take care of their landscaping so drought tolerance is important, and using natives is always a plus. It's been tough because their front yard is a northern exposure and up against the house under the awning, it gets no sun and away from the house it gets shade all day except for a blast of mid-day sun. Do you happen to have any spots in your yard that get that kind of exposure? What plants have worked there?

cactusmcharris - wha?! how lucky for me! I'd love an intro, as I checked out the link and am so stoked for the variety of aloes I can get from IAS. I've found aloes hard to find at the local nurseries and not much easier online. Thank you! Also, your birthplace is the best. It gets such a bad rap being the homely step-sister of San Francisco, but I love it here. And the weather is definitely much better ;) Kara - yay Bay :) whereabouts are you exactly? We have like a million microclimates here, I'm always amazed at what will or won't grow based on where in the Bay you live. As for Blue Glow Agave - I am actually head over in love with that plant, and had planned to line my front walkway with rows them as my next project! So, excellent suggestion! hoovb - thank you! you guys have pretty much convinced me to go the mostly aloe route. I hadn't thought about the flowers and the hummingbirds, all just a bonus.