So I was in Staples buying file folders for my filing cabinet when I got this urge...more of a calling I'd say to go to my favorite garden centre. So off I go and I wander in and what do my disbelieving eyes see but a Domino Peace Lily in a 4in pot. I had to use every ounce of my strength to stop myself from grabbing them all and running around the store in a psychotic squealing frenzy. They've always had these in 8in pots but I just HATE buying big plants. Not nearly as much joy in growing them as there is if you buy a small one and get it to an 8in pot yourself. So though they always had those I have been waiting and waiting and waiting for about 2 years to find it in a 4in pot. Alas my patience has been rewarded and I also managed to only buy one, which wasn't nearly as hard as refraining from squealing as I dislike duplicates. Finding this plant also negates the upset that I should feel at having bought file folders that don't fit in my cabinet.

Yes half high blueberry varieties are more cold tolerant than highbush blueberry varieties. In Michigan highbush blueberry are commonly grown in the southern half of the lower peninsula. Highbush will grow north of this area but suffers a greater chance of cold injury primarily to flowering wood. This results in reduced yield and even crop failure. Not ideal for commercial production. Half high bushes are usually crosses of highbush blueberry and lowbush blueberry V. angustifolium. Lowbush is what most people think of as wild blueberry. Technically both highbush and lowbush can be wild. Half highs are shorter and snowcover helps limit cold injury. They also are more cold hardy due to their lowbush lineage. The flavor of the berry is intermediate between highbush and lowbush. There is no standard wild blueberry flavor. I have many wild blueberries on my property. There are at least three lowbush species, highbush, natural half highs, and several lowbush hydrid clones. Berry flavor, color, and size is quite variable. Some have nice flavor others not so much. Flavor of berries is often improved by letting the fruit hang for a few days after the entire berry turns blue. The beauty of half highs are that they extend the area blueberries can be grown to the north. They are also smaller in stature making them more suitable for edible landscaping. Finally I believe they are more tolerant of less than ideal soil conditions (pH) than highbush blueberry.

Oh how your post makes my heart quiver! I just now completed an email to my uncle Patrick up in Sweet Home, Oregon. The fruit that grows wild there will never be matched by this Arizona desert, but then Oregon's growing season cannot compete with Arizona's. I am a transplanted Oregonian, and as such can never find enough green here to satisfy my soul, but my garden here in Gilbert is the envy of all my relatives up there in the wet, green state. Just this summer I took 20 some pounds of tomatoes and a cantalope, and two giant onions on the plane to Portland, which I distributed to appreciative uncles, aunts, and Mom upon my arrival. You will find that there are lots of great things to grow here for your daughter to go out in the garden and browse upon. We have had great success with strawberries and grapes of three varieties, and you can't beat growing your own pomegranites, which flourish here. The citrus is wonderful, and we enjoy peaches, plums, nectarines, apricots, apples, and we are trying for some good pears, although to date we have only grown oriental ones akin to small cannonballs and practically inedible. I was glad to see in responses to your post that blackberries will grow here. I tried some years back, but didn't have much luck, and I just LOVE 'em. The wine I made from them in Sweet Home 20 years ago was so good my mouth waters just thinking of them! And up there they grow EVERYWHERE. I am sure you will love gardening in this desert state, especially since you are blessed with a big lot. Be sure to set aside enough room for a big garden, you will be glad you did. Send me an email via GardenWeb and I will send you a few pictures of what grows here. You will be amazed!

Yes, this will be an adventure! DH suggested last night that maybe we should consider using our winter dry dock space at the marina as our pot garden this summer. Each space has its own water supply & there's not quite so many trees. Next week, we're going to see what the dockmaster has to say about turning the marina into a farm? :) Grainlady, we are a coastal Zone 7(a). That sounds better than it really is...way different than, say, a Kentucky Zone 7(a). What is really means is that we don't get absurdly cold in the winter (or, at least not too often!). Our springs are usually cold, raw, wet, & with an onshore wind. Brrrr. With spring water temps in the upper 30s to low 40s that wind is COLD. We average around 4" precip/month year around...no wet/dry season as, for example, the PNW. This year has been unusual. We had 15" in March & it's been a little dry ever since but certainly not dry enough to consider watering. Nobody waters anything here except for pots & many of those don't need water either. Rain barrels are sorta funny for Mystic. :) Sounds like you've got an extensive watering set-up. Late May, June, & the first half of July are typically FOGGY...did I mention summer is foggy here?! lol Yesterday, the fog was so thick I couldn't see the gardens. Every surface is dripping wet until 2:00 p.m.'ish (maybe a bit earlier if we're lucky). A common joke here is that we need marine radar head gear to take a walk safely to Dunkin Donuts on a Saturday morning. It's always mid-day before you can find a seat outside & not end up with wet undies! Summer temps are in the mid-70s with evenings only dropping to the upper 60s (if we're lucky) and low-mid 70s if we're not lucky. Always less than 10 degrees difference between daytime high & nightime lows. Dew points have been climbing the past decade...mid 60s a decade ago & now are frequently more like 70-74 degrees. Hence, temp + dew point = fog. Did I mention it's foggy here! rofl Our veggie growing problems are rot & salt related not the need to water. Fungal disease is also a problem if the plants survive long enough. This is rhoddy, azalea, & hydrangea territory. We have almost effortless drop-dead gorgeous ornamental gardens but growing veggies is challenging. Add the salt spray & my neighbors are going to have a good laugh seeing our veggie pot garden. :) Fall is great in New England. Clear skies, still have our routine 4" of rain/month & little fog. Here, at the southern coast our growing season extends to Thanksgiving & often well into December. Leaf raking is a Christmas & New Year's activity. We don't get the beautiful New England fall folliage colors because it doesn't get cold enough at night...have to go inland for the famous New England leaf peeking. Anyway, even though it's been a warm spring it's ridiculously cold (45 degrees right now) & windy today. Certainly not good basil weather (they are in the garage). I do hope we get lots of greens. Our summer dinners are usually huge salads with fruit, nuts, & various seeds topped with either a piece of fish or chicken. I use herbs as salad greens also. I've always grown those...even basil adjusts to the fog & develops more intense flavor than when I was living inland. But potatoes, onions, tomatoes, squash, etc...not so much so we'll see how this experiment goes. If nothing else we'll give the marina & neighborhood something to chuckle about all summer! /tricia