Hi okiegarden, Welcome to The Seed Exchange I thought you might like to know there is no email link on your Member Page, thus no way to email you. Please see addressing newbie and newer member issues for instructions on getting it set up along with a location in your Member Profile. hth. Sue...chemocurl

Welcome to Arizona gardening. Its not required but recommended that your tomatoes either get afternoon shade or be protected from the afternoon sun with 50% shade cloth. I'm not sure how many bean plants you will need. I have not been as successful with them as some other members have been. I started a thread about tomatoes in the tomato forum that may be of help to you. The link is below. Peppers grow well here but do better with afternoon shade. From time to time a farmer will stop by and say they grow in Arizona without shade or shade cloth. Farming is different than vegetable gardening though. I drive by some farms on occasion that are not far from my home. Each time I do the temps drop as much as 5-10 degrees, sometimes more at night. A field full of peppers or tomatoes is evaporating massive amounts of water over a large area which drops the temperature and increases relative humidity. In my garden I can have 8 percent relative humidity at 110 degrees with a 15 mile an hour wind speed. At the same time in the farmers field its 99 degrees with 50 percent humidity with a 15 mile an hour wind. That dryer wind in the home garden in full afternoon sun can suck the life out of a plant. My main crops are squash, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and a few melons during the summer. If you click on the photo it will take you to my photobucket page where you can see more pictures. Here is a link that might be useful: What varieties will continue to produce through hot weather?

Hi! I finally settled on: some knockout roses, pink pentas, caladiums, mexican petunias, a little purple queen, a little yellow lantana, some pineapples, a firebush (which doesn't seem happy in the full sun spot I chose....), a meyer lemon tree, and some pink crown of thorns. I think I need a couple of other clumps of color or something to balance... theres a spot that needs some white or orange. For white I've thought of maybe vinca (?) but I thought maybe someone else might have a better suggestion... and I am not so fond of them but I know they are drought tolerant and perennial. I think I could also use something with a little height in addition, not necessarily a white or orange flower. The photos don't really do it justice, and it had been so dry I was holding off a little on spending more on plants to fill in, but now that the rain has started I'm ready. And now what I've planted will fill in too, although I am wishing it would hurry up a bit! :-) thanks for any suggestions! Here is a link that might be useful: june gallery

I think most native plants are boring and I like to collect the unusual and exotic from around the world. NO WAY...although some native plants may be boring bec. we see them too much (i.e.: New England Asters.. sorry!). Yes, I also like to grow others--not so much exotic-- because I like MANY plants. I don't really care one way or another, I just grow what I like. I do care, but I also like to grow other plants. I like variety. I think native plant advocates are bossy and annoying. Never thought of it this way... but it might just be that I don't know that many... LOL! I am just starting to become interested and would like to know more. You certainly have arisen my interest.. and would love to learn more. I have ALWAYS been interested in wildflowers (have a big collection of books), and sort of assumed they were natives. I also thought (wrongly) that natives were happier in the wild... I can identify many 'wildflowers', but don't know whether they are natives or not. Have lots to learn. I would like to know more but unsure how or where to look. There seems to be a lot of sites providing info, but what I still haven't seen is a LONG list of natives.. I would like to grow more native but unsure how to grow or obtain native plants. Yes.. but my problem is the small size of my garden more than anything else!!!!! I give native plants preference in my garden planning. Not yet!! I grow natives in my town or city gardens or borders or in my yard. I do have a few! I would be interested in getting together with other native plant lovers to share seeds, cuttings and information. As long as I don't have to drive too far I would be interested in an online native plant club. not sure I would be interested in getting together with others to promote the cause of native plants. probably not I would be interested in attending talks and lectures or classes on native plants. Yes.. again, if I don't have to drive too far. I would be interested in native plant seed and live plant exchanges. yes I think that there are already enough information and attention in this subject and any more would be redundant. Yes, there is actually a lot of info, but, honestly, I think it is hard to navigate through all the info. Anne-Marie