As usual Grant, everything in your garden looks spankin' good! Thanks for keeping this post going each month.

See if you can find any of the tomatoes in this pic. There's probably a couple dozen green ones, some starting to blush to red now with all these warm temps we've had.

You can see the toms in this pic. (Sorry, I somehow lost the ability to post more than one at a time.)

Does anyone know what that plant is growing in the lower right? Millions of seeds and there are many of these growing in this garden. I seeded some flowers but I just don't know what this one is and don't want a pest to invade with all those seeds!!

My tomatoes are also finally starting to color.

I'm getting a great crop of poblano peppers (arugula, Swiss chard and fennel also in the background)

This post was edited by PhxLynne on Sun, Dec 7, 14 at 23:19

Also looking good are citrus. Lisbon lemons

Rio Red grapefruit.

and Meyer lemons

First year growing fennel

And my Black Simpson Seeded lettuce was great in a BLT today.

TERRIFIC new pics Mary and Lynne--all of your stuff looks so perfect! I'm definitely getting a TON of lemons now too, and this morning I plan to start harvesting some tangerines and "Arizona sweet" oranges for lunch. Yum! Tons of leaf lettuce too. I love your comment about yours being in a belt today, Lynne--funny!

Both of your tomato plants look great too. Nice job! Mary, I don't know the name of that one plant in your pic--but it's a type of weed that makes little tassle like seed pods, almost like love lies bleeding. Definitely a weed though, so I'd pull it out.

Here are a couple of quickies from my little garden. Everything is looking happy, especially thanks to two inches of rain earlier this week and beautiful warm temps.

Nasturtium-palooza, LOL:

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Variegated "amaryllis", Hippeastrum reticulatum 'Mrs. Garfield' out on the patio:

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"Popcorn cassia" starting its very very long bloom season (IF Jack Frost stays away, LOL):

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Keep the updates coming, pics or no. Happy gardening!
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my little garden, Dec 2014

Rajapuri banana has bloomed! Half of the bloom is open and about 35 bananas showing.

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Beautiful pictures and now I want a banana tree! Grant, do you think it's too late to plant amaryllis?

You can plant bulbs anytime here but since it's going to be a wet winter that's coming, I'd hold off until spring time so you won't risk rotting the bulb in ground.

Hong Kong Orchid trees are starting to bloom!
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shot of some of my Canna's in bloom.
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This post was edited by raimeiken on Sat, Dec 13, 14 at 16:34

some of my bananas looking a bit tattered because I was stuccoing the walls around them yesterday. I didn't have much room to work around them lol
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Humming bird on my pummelo tree. I see it every day buzzing around the yard at this time.
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Ice Cream bean tree looking amazing.
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More Canna flowers.
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Rice Paper plants and one of my Elephant ear Fig tree
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a couple of banana pups. left is 1000 finger, and right is Raja puri. I'll be planting them in ground this coming spring. I got these at the AZRFG fall plant sale.
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One of my Moreton Bay fig trees that I grew of seed. This one's 4 years old now. Leaves are quite big!
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This post was edited by raimeiken on Sat, Dec 13, 14 at 16:39

Cute baby bananas! Thanks for posting them--keep us posted!

Raimeiken, for some reason your last two posts just have little framed question marks instead of the pics. Hmmm...we'll have to try again later? Hope they work!

Lynne, you can plant Hippeastrum ("amaryllis") in pots indoors now and enjoy their blooms for winter, and then slowly ease them into life outside after the blooms fade. Then in spring you can plant them in the ground or just keep them in pots outside. Like ramekin mentioned, planting a dormant bulb in the ground outside now is a bit risky but it could work, although spring is better for that.

I usually buy bulbs around now, enjoy the blooms inside and then ease them to life outside when they make their leaves and the temps warm up a bit. Remember to give them afternoon shade in Phoenix if they're outside. Let us know what you do and how it works out.

Here's my first orange ("Arizona sweet") of the season.

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The orange was PERFECT. The tangerines were good, but need more time on the tree.

'Pretty Much Picasso' petunias are going crazy as they do each year. Such a great performer here all autumn/winter/spring.

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Indoors several more "Christmas cacti" (Thanksgiving cacti technically, Schlumbergera truncata) are blooming away. Such amazingly easy plants indoors here.

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Keep the pics and updates coming all. Happy (wet/chilly today) gardening! My place got 1.5 inches last night.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my little garden, Dec 2014

are the photos working now? I changed the host for them.

Yes, the photos are working now, raimeiken and I'm so glad they are--yours are great to see! That Moreton Bay gif leaf is gigantic, hah! I love it. Has it been growing outside for these years or do you bring it indoor/into a greenhouse? All of your pics look great!!

This fun NO-ID aloe is in bloom in my garden right now. It was a rescue from the rescue table at a DBG plant sale several years ago. It's nice and big which I LOVE. The flowers are an interesting cinnamon color:

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This glazed "Down Under" pot with wax begonias is looking nice too. I love having it where I can easily see it from inside the house:

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This big pot filled with hybrid petunias, lobelia and pineapple sage is looking really happy these days too.

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Keep the pics and updates coming all, happy gardening!
Grant happy to see the sun return!

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my garden, Dec 2014

I'm a million miles from you people but just to say what great photos, such interesting plants.... and those lemons !... I want some...lol..

do take care...and Happy Christmas...

The Moreton fig has been growing outdoors the whole time. I don't protect them at all in the winter, and they've been exposed to 26f degrees before and no damage. The summer sun though burns the bigger leaves a bit but I'm sure if these were planted in ground, it wouldn't be a problem.

December datura.

Great thread! I harvested some of my salad bowl lettuce an hour ago:

Yum, that looks good! The seed is called "salad bowl"? I'm growing lots of lettuce now too, mostly romaine and 'spreckles'. I love picking my salad fresh from the garden.

Jon, great datura shot.

Grant, the petunias really perk up the yard in winter don't they? Thanks to you reminding me, I grabbed up a bunch 2 months ago and they are very happy.

@marymcp, yes it's called salad bowl lettuce. Bought it at Home Depot. I'm also growing a few different types of lettuce and the salad bowl by far has produced the most leaves. My romaine seems to be taking forever. The bibb lettuce I planted is pretty decent, but still didn't produce as much as the salad bowl. My kale looks good (and grew very easily), but after reaching maturity it's about half the size of kale you see in stores. My first time growing lettuce and kale.

Jay, thanks for the reply. Lettuce can be slow to start, you should reseed about every two weeks for good continued growth. This year I bought some starts from Vilardi Farms at the Roadrunner Farmer's Market and they took off nicely, now the sowed seed is coming in. I have not tried kale but like to grow bok choy. I have to cover it or the dogs will eat it all before I get any. [sigh] Crazy pooches.

I thought I should get some pics of my front yard tomatoes before the frost nips in. I'll string old fashioned Christmas lights in the bed and then cover them, hopefully that will be sufficient. These were labeled Black Cherry, they are clearly not, so NO-ID.

The Black Cherries are in among these babies somewhere.

And then "The Jungle". Methinks the compost had LOTS of tomato seeds in it. [grin]

Just pulled up the remaining pumpkins I had, due to the possible freeze. Have to figure out what to do with all of them. Need to cover my bananas tonight looks like the tomatoes already got it pretty bad.

Wow, nice harvest Cap'n. I'll post a link below from a Google search 'what to do with extra fresh pumpkins'. If you don't want to make a ton of puree and just want to pass them on, I have a friend who raises pigs and I'll bet he'd be happy to trade you some fresh hen and/or duck eggs for some of those pumpkins. Ping me at my email address if you want contact info.

I got my tomato bed settled in for the long winter frosts: laid down C9 Christmas lights, those are the old fashioned, large bulbs, two 25' strings, added some wire cages then frost cloth, holding the cloth down with lumber or rocks. This morning it was 36 on the patio but 50 under the frost cloth. Tomatoes, and me, are happy.

Here is a link that might be useful: 8 Things to do with Leftover Pumpkins

This hummingbird and I have been working together in the yard the past 3 days. I've been moving earth all around this aloe and she's been eating and keeping other hummingbirds away. The aloes needs to be moved but I sure won't until the blooms are well done.

Yesterday she and I bummed into each other as she was heading for a feeding. Didn't bother her any and still went to the flower. Scared the heck out of me though.

These aloe must provide a lot of nectar because she stays a long time and only ever drinks from 4 of the blossoms. She's there at the crack of dawn and hits it every 30 minutes or so.

The aloe in the construction site.

What looks good this morning,,,

...is unfortunately probably not going to look too good in a few more hours. I can already see the darkness in the leaves from last night's frost/freeze.

Time to start looking forward to spring.

AWESOME looking tomatoes and tomato plants, Mary! Mine faded months ago, hah. What's your secret??

Thanks for the fun comments, Marlorena, what made you pop in to our forum? We're happy to see your comment. Your UK climate can grow a lot of things that folks here would envy, so it all evens out for sure. :)

Delicious looking lettuce and salad, Jay, nice job! My leaf lettuce is still looking great too, although my salads never look as tasty as yours, hah!

Nice harvest there, Captain! You're growing a LOT of different types of pumpkins and squash. So fun to see. I've never really given pumpkins a serious try here. You're making me want to though. Thanks for posting your harvest. Impressive!

Nice new pics too, Waterbug. You're staying BUSY on that garden work. It looks really nice. I hope you post a lot of updates on how it all comes together. You're more ambitious than I am. I hope you start or have a thread with all of the changes and work you're doing? Nice cannas too of course. Like you, I love watching the hummers work over the aloes in the garden.

Speaking of which, here's Aloe 'Cynthia Giddy' in bloom this morning:

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Here's some of the oxalis 'Grand Duchess' in bloom in the garden too. Winter growing/summer dormant, so full sun since they love it in winter and are asleep in summer. Definitely the largest flowers of any oxalis I've seen. {{gwi:2122875}}

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Indoors this Schlumbergera 'Samba Brazil' is making a nice show. {{gwi:2122877}}

Despite the frost warning last night, no frost at my little garden, so these geraniums still look great.
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Happy gardening all!
Grant

Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my little garden, Dec 2014

Well, the thread title says both good and bad, so here is my last pic of this season. It's titled "28 DEGREES".

Today is rip-out day. Back in February!

Oh dear, Grubby, sorry for the damage. Darn Jack Frost. Thanks for the fun update though, sorry for the mush!