Tag: Arizona

How to Attract Birds and Butterflies to Your Garden

Gardens are usually visually appealing and atmospherically dynamic when tended to with love and guided intention. Most gardeners develop their green thumbs in order to create a personalized space that can be used as a sanctuary. One way to add another dynamic element to your environment is attracting birds and butterflies to you garden. Birds of all types, especially humming birds, will be attracted to your garden if a few simple steps are taken.

Attracting birds to your garden can be done in several fashions, depending on what kinds of birds you are hoping to attract.

Hummingbirds: Placing feeders filled with nectar and sugar water is a well known method for attracting these fascinating birds into your garden realm. One lesser known tidbit is that 60% of the diet of hummingbirds consists of insects. Spraying insecticide in your garden may actually be keeping hummingbirds away from your garden.

Quail, Doves, Sparrows: These are all seed loving birds, so growing plants that produce the kinds of seeds they prefer will naturally attract these birds. Sunflowers, globe mallow, desert marigolds, ironwood, brittlebush Palo Verde, barberry, desert hackberry, Mexican elderberry and pyracantha are all great choices for this.  Birds enjoy moving water as well, so any form of water feature will raise the frequency of the visits you’ll receive from your feathered friends.

Butterflies: These majestic creatures are attracted to plants like butterfly brush, desert bloom, desert milkweed, verbena, desert senna, fairy duster, lavender, citrus, privet, chocolate flower and butterfly weed. Planting one or more of these plants will ensure you are visited in your sanctuary on a regular basis by butterflies.

Attracting these beautiful creatures to your garden will not only add life to your garden in a very literal sense, it will help keep pests from populating as birds prey on many would-be invaders. Keeping your garden both beautiful and healthy can be accomplished by recruiting some of nature’s more than willing helpers.

How Trees Actually Produce Oxygen

We’ve all heard how important trees are to everything in our environment because of their ability to take in carbon dioxide and emit clean, breathable oxygen. While we all understand that trees perform this vital task many of us do not know how this process actually happens. We will outline how we and every other organism on the planet produce carbon dioxide and how trees transform our emissions and recycle them back into one of the necessary building blocks of life.

Photosynthesis:

Photosynthesis is a term that refers to a plants ability to transmute various energy sources like sun light, water and carbon dioxide into usable energy or ‘food’ that the trees uses for sustenance. Plants can survive and even thrive as long as they have all three of those energy sources available. When it comes to carbon dioxide, plants ‘ingest’ carbon dioxide through the leaves where it is turned into sugars that the tree can use for nutrition. The excess water that the tree takes in that isn’t used to break down these sugars is emitted as oxygenated molecules that are released back into the atmosphere. Once light and carbon dioxide are taken in the stomates in the leaves begin the process of converting the carbon dioxide into the sugars the tree desires. The tree separates the water into hydrogen and oxygen and the hydrogen that isn’t used attaches to the carbon dioxide, becoming a fully oxygenated molecule.

Now, this is a brief explanation of an extremely complex process that can be elaborated on scientifically at great length. The more we know about trees, the more we may value them and realize how important they are for this entire planet that we call home. We tend to not see things that don’t have their own means of locomotion or lack eyes, ears etc as less than organisms that stand on equal ground to us and all other sentient creatures we share the Earth with. Hopefully understanding how complex plants, specifically trees, actually are will change this tendency and put plant life on the pedestal it deserves to be on.

Gardening Tips for the Heat

Gardening during the hot season presents challenges that are not present during the rest of the year. If you are newer to the gardening world you may not be aware of some of these challenges or how to handle them. Even if you are an experienced gardener, brushing up is always a good idea. Staying up to speed can only enhance your abilities as a gardener as the information gets ingrained more and more over time. With that said, here are some tips to deal with the heat during the summer and keep your plants flourishing.

Add Mulch: Laying down an one to two inches of mulch over your planting beds will help you conserve moisture so you plants can stay hydrated. The sun naturally speeds up evaporation and can rob your plants of all important water.

Give Your Plants Some Space: Being careful to not over plant is important as a crowded planting bed can prevent the soil from retaining enough moisture for each plant to consume an adequate amount. Give your plants room to breathe (or drink, for that matter) and they will thrive.

Make Sure There is Shade: Making sure your plants are shaded during the hottest parts of the day will go a long way in you achieving your gardening goals during the hot portion of the year. It will help your plants stay comfortable and retain moisture.

Soak Pots: Make sure the potting mix in your pots stays moist so it can deliver water adequately to the root system of you plant. If the potting mix dries out, water will merely run down the sides of the pot, between the pot’s walls and the clump of dried out soil. Make sure your pots always contain moisture in the soil.

Use Less Fertilizer: While this may seem counter intuitive, withholding fertilizer from your plants during the summer will prevent them from growing to large and needing larger amounts of water, which can be difficult to retain.

Drink Water!!!: The Arizona heat and sun can absolutely rob your body of moisture and valuable hydration. Heat born illnesses can be extremely painful and even deadly, but they are easily avoidable. Maintaining proper hydration is all you need to do in order to keep heat stroke at bay. Take a bottle of ice cold water out into your garden with you and think about watering yourself while you are watering your plants.

Wear a Hat: Wearing hats will keep the sun out of your eyes and off of your shoulders, if the hat is fully brimmed. Sun exposure can be very damaging to your skin if the exposure is too intense. This is especially true for sensitive facial and shoulder skin.

Wear Sun Protection: Protecting your body from harmful uv rays can be done in several ways. Sun block is an option as long as you have a strong enough spf, but sun block can be harmful in it’s own right if you have allergies or sensitivities. Another option is to where light colored and lightly weighted clothing to create a barrier between your skin and the sun. Light clothing that can reflect sun light away from your skin can also help keep you cool.

Growing Tropical Fruit Producing Plants in Arizona

Living in the Valley of the Sun is great, especially if you are interested or into growing tropical fruit plants. This blog entry is going to offer up some tips on growing these gorgeous and beneficial tropical plants, so if you have been curious about trying your green thumb, or even if you have one that is already established, stay with us and get growing!

Avocados are great to grow in the valley. Make sure the soil you plant them in is very rich with soil amendments such as Texas Greensand, volcanite, and rock phosphate.  After coming up with the appropriate mix, make sure to top your soil off with compost in order to produce the most robust and delicious avocados.

Mangos also do very well in the desert southwestern climate of the Valley of the Sun. The process of starting mangos is a little bit different. Start by coating the seeds in compost and laying them down flat in a bed of compost in a bucket. The germination process will take between ten and thirty days, after which you can place the seeds into a larger pot that is appropriate for facilitating healthy mango growth. Papayas are grown in a similar fashion and will produce fruit in approximately nine months.

Another great option to grow in AZ is the Pineapple. You can start grown pineapples by planting the top of a pineapple that you have already eaten. Make sure that you place it within well drained potting soil and place it in a spot that is shaded in the afternoon. The time frame for producing fruit is about two years, so patience is definitely needed, however the plant itself is very appealing visually and will serve you by enhancing your gardens aesthetic quality. Make sure to keep your tropical fruit bearing plants slightly damp as they need to constantly be in a state of slight dampness.

Fruit bearing trees and plants are beautiful and productive which make them an attractive and beneficial addition to any outdoor spaces that your home may have. Growing your own food is fulfilling and will save you money while also giving you the benefit of relaxation and accomplishment that comes with successfully fostering a garden. Arizona is an ideal climate for quite a bit of fruit and vegetable bearing plants and trees, so why not take advantage and expand the functionality and productivity of your property? Do yourself a favor and invest some money and time in diversifying the plant life in your outdoor spaces.

Desert Landscapes or Xeriscape

Living in the desert southwest and it’s extreme climate limits the kinds of gardens you can successfully cultivate in the state of Arizona. The selection of available trees and plants that can successfully thrive in the Valley of the sun are limited, especially if you are anything short of an expert gardener. Desert landscaping is a beautiful and simple process that expresses the spirit and aesthetic of the southwest while necessitating little to no maintenance and watering. The reason for this is the plants that are used in desert landscaping, or xeriscape, are native to the desert and thrive in the Arizona climate naturally. The arid climate has caused plants to develop and evolve with means to retain water between rainy seasons. This means that watering your plants will not be necessary as they will retain water for long periods of time. You can choose to water you plants in a xeriscape, you just don’t have to very often.

Xeriscape landscapes can be extremely beautiful and serene as they lend themselves to being shaded sanctuaries with a balanced and clean look that is serene and soothing. Cacti, agave, aloe, palo verde trees, and rocks are among the common elements found in xeriscape gardens. Grouping these elements together with sculptures, water fixtures, and yard adornments will create a brand of garden that you won’t find in other regions of the country and will be hard pressed to find aside from a few select locations across the planet. The simplicity of xeriscape leaves plenty of room for creativity, which means gardeners can express themselves and create unique, one of a kind desert landscape creations.

Adding a xeriscape garden to the outdoor spaces of your home will enhance your every day experience as well as the appeal and value of your home and property. The spacious nature of xeriscape gardens make them ideal for entertaining guests and hosting out door parties or events. Adding paths, ponds and outdoor furniture among other elements can help you seamlessly transition the theme and feel of your indoor spaces into your outdoor spaces which can make you feel like you have a much larger home. Living in the Southwest means you experience some of the best weather in the world during the winter months. During the fall, winter and early spring, the temperature is perfect for spending time with loved ones enjoying the outdoors, whether you are partaking in outdoor activities or enjoying fresh air at home.

A & P Nursery in Gilbert, AZ is home to xeriscape experts as well as plants, sculptures, fountains and other garden supplies and accessories. If you are looking to create beautiful outdoor spaces that require minimal watering and care, xeriscape is definitley for you. The aesthetic of xeriscape is pure southwest and will make your home feel like it ‘s right where it’s supposed to be, blending seamlessly into the natural landscape and environment that surrounds it. We offer landscape services as well as planning and consultation for you garden projects. Visit www.apnursery.com or call us at 480-892-7939 today!