Beautiful pictures, Sarah! I am just now seeing buds on reptans. I have 2 azureas- one from seed & one from a MAG swapper. The odd thing is that one has light green foliage & one has dark green, I'm curious to compare the blooms when the 2nd one starts. Do you know if there's a difference between S. azurea & S. azurea grandiflora? I can't figure that out on the net. Maybe someone knows... Rose

The plant I have puts out a few voluteer seedlings most years. In the past 5 years none of the seedlings have survived their first winter while the original plant just keeps rolling along. It is peaking now with a least 100 tiny blooms per day. I can't say I'm exactly in love with the salvia but it does bloom just when something new is needed in the garden.

I believe that is one of bic9's golf greens. That is nice!! Modern organic fertilizers have no salt. Bic9 may be under the influence of the old style (Rodale school) of fertilizers made from composted cattle dung or even uncomposted cattle dung. That's not the case anymore, except for the Rodalians still clinging to compost. Modern bagged commercial organic fertilizer is practically salt free. If you buy raw ground grains at the feed store, those might have salt added to make it palatable to livestock, but not enough to make a difference. A few years ago morpheuspa tried to overdose his lawn with organic fertilizer by applying, if I'm not mistaken, 50 pounds per 1,000 square feet every week for the entire growing season. He has not mentioned any salt build up during that time, but it would be an interesting question to ask him. Definitely time to mow the tall bermuda. You'll scalp it at first, but that's okay. Take it down gradually, one notch lower every 3-4 days until you're at the bottom notch. Then raise it up one notch. Shampoo is used to soften hard soil. Core aeration is also used to soften hard soil. The difference is that core aeration seldom works, but shampoo seems to work every time. It works by breaking the surface tension of the water allowing it to soak in deeper and faster into the soil. The deeper moisture extends the time for evaporation which keeps the soil a little cooler over a longer time. That cooler and moister soil is the perfect environment for the beneficial fungi which do the work of softening your soil. It takes them a few weeks to repopulate the soil, but when they do, they redevelop your soil structure opening up bazillions of microscopic pores for air and water to penetrate. They swell when moist to push the soil particles apart. They shrink when dry to allow air and water in more easily. You asked, so sorry for the biology discussion. Shampoo is not a trick. Surfactants have been used for generations only on sports fields, because the only surfactants thought to work were very expensive. Well, when you boil it all down, shampoo is a surfactant almost identical to the expensive ones. Shampoo only costs you a few cents to try it. The rate is 3 ounces per 1,000 square feet. Use any shampoo you can see through. Apply the shampoo and follow up with 1/2 to 1 inch of water. If it is not soft the next time it rains or you water deeply, apply it again. I applied to my lawn twice in 2011 and it still gets almost too soft to walk on after it rains. If you want to check how hard or soft your soil is, try sticking a screwdriver into it now, before you spray, and a couple weeks after you spray. If you do that before and after core aeration you'll find no difference, but with shampoo you'll definitely see a difference.

Arizona Cypress and Italian Cypress along with Afghan Pines are some of the most successful trees planted out there. They should be able to survive on just the normal rainfall after 2-3 yrs. of supplemental watering to establish. Cedar Elm and Bur Oak (big leaves)are two deciduous trees that should do ok there. Of course Mesquite, Arizona Ash, and Hackberry should survive there, but are not normally considered desireable (but you may want to consider) Might look at what others have planted that have done well and perhaps see what the local nurseries are selling for that area.