June 2011 Garden Update
After several weeks, my small Las Vegas garden has blossomed into a lush green oasis. There is plenty of progress to update you on so I’ll just let the photos do the talking.
Las Vegas isn’t the ideal place to grow blueberries, but I’m going to give it a try. I planted seven varieties of blueberries in nine mini raised beds. Cross your fingers!
Above are my Bluecrop blueberries. These are commonly grown in the Northern states.
These ones are called Sunshine Blue. They are very compact and bushy.
My Misty blueberry doesn’t seem very happy. The leaf cutter bees are messing with her foliage.
This one is really neat. They call it Pink Lemonade. I doubt they taste like lemons, but their berries are actually pink when ripe!
Brightwell and Premier are rabbiteye varieties. They grow very tall and will produce bigger berries.
Blueberries love acidic soil. A mixture of peat moss, soil and compost should keep them happy.
I planted about 50 pepper plants in four beds and several pots. I also added marigolds on every bed to help keep some pests away.
Remember these from last time? The plants are already growing! In fact, I just harvested some banana peppers the other day.
This was originally my cabbage bed. I pulled out all the cool season crops and planted more peppers. Pictured above are the habaneros, bells and the hottest Bhut Jolokia ghost peppers.
Do you like banana peppers?
Or, are you more of a bell pepper person?
Maybe you don’t like peppers at all?
Focused in front are more pepper plants. The raised bed in the middle of the photo is my okra bed. I don’t really like eating okra but my family enjoys them. It find it too slimy in the mouth.
I originally had strawberries on this bed. Unfortunately, they didn’t do very well. I replaced them with okras instead.
In the very front are my eggplants. You can also see the L-shaped bed I built for the peppers. There are actually two facing each other.
I am currently growing two varieties of eggplants: black beauty and Japanese
Unfortunately, she will eventually turn into an eggplant parmigiana.
I’m also growing some zucchinis. I heard these are monsters.
My wonderful friend, Jason Tucker gave me this tree collard. This rare plant will produce leafy greens all year round. Isn’t that neat!
I also planted some tomatoes. I may have to plant more next year. In the background are my mint beds. I was forced to build them to keep all mints 100% contained.
Have you ever had chocolate mint before? They totally remind me of girl scout cookies! The mint on the right is the spearmint I moved from the herb bed.
On top is the yerba buena mint and at the bottom is the peppermint.
The candy mint and banana mint. I can’t wait to use them for desserts!
Finally, here is my herb bed. I dug out all cool season herbs and added new ones.
I harvested my boxwood basil daily until it became all twigs. This is why I replanted a new one.
This spicy saber serrata basil was ready to die until I chopped half of it off. It’s now looking bright and healthy.
Gosh, this is actually the third time I replaced my Thai Basil. It just kept dying on me! So far, this one is looking good. I pinched all it’s flowers off to encourage more growth.
I added this dark opal basil to my collection.
The sweet basil is definitely doing well. It has given me some good marinara and pesto sauce.
Italian oregano, anyone?
Or, do you prefer Greek?
Maybe you like yours variegated?
I had to move the lemon verbana on the upper herb bed because it was blocking everything.
The curry plant is already blooming flowers.
I also moved my lavender and added another variety.
I also added a pomegranate tree/bush.
I love pomegranates!
See you again next time! Happy gardening!
For updates, you can subscribe HERE, follow me on Twitter or join me on Facebook. Thanks!
1. Jeanette (Baking Jeannie)
June 21st, 2011
Good job Farmer Rylan (LOL) making the Las Vegas desert green. Every thing looks so green and healthy. What an inspiration you are!!
I have not done the vegetables and fruits but trying with five orchids I have on my balcony/patio. It maybe another three months before I get any blooms.
Keep up the good work.
Jeannie
2. Maxine
June 21st, 2011
ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS RYLAN –
Finally, someone else who loves all Basils – Mints – and Lavenders. Yayyyy
Love it all
Hope you are well – i have pictures waiting for you over there ———> (LOLLL)
Maxine
3. Bonny
June 21st, 2011
Ooooh, now I am green…with envy! Our Pacific Northwest winter, er, I mean “spring” held back a lot of plants. Your desert garden is lovely. You must feel refreshed when you are there. My fav is the herb garden! Well done!
Blueberries do well here, but the deer usually beat me to them.
You have leaf cutting bees?! Now, those are quite the creative insects; do they free-hand or use a Cricut? (groan…bad pun).
Really wonderful job and photos – thanks for sharing.
4. Koko
June 21st, 2011
Oh my…..hands down, awesome garden. Those blueberries will all be to die for…I hope they all work out! Beautiful herbs too. Enjoy the harvest when the time comes!
5. leslie
June 21st, 2011
Ohh how I wish I could grow a garden! Yours is beautiful
6. Bodil
June 22nd, 2011
I LOVE your garden. It`s green, fresh, healthy, clean design, inviting, uncluttered and exciting. LOVE IT!!!
Keep up the good work. It will pay off eventually.
7. Rosilet
June 22nd, 2011
Its just AMAZING, so so beautiful! Hope to carry on seeing the evolution
Kisses from Mallorca!
8. Mary Lazarides
June 22nd, 2011
Just beautiful!! Everything looks so healthy. That’s dedication.
9. OysterCulture
June 25th, 2011
What gorgeous plants and I love all the marigolds to keep the insects at bay. they all looked to be doing so well.
10. Alicia
June 25th, 2011
Everything looks so healthy and beautiful – you definitely have a green thumb!
11. MGlòria
June 26th, 2011
Beautiful and tasty garden!
12. Devona
June 26th, 2011
I love living my garden dreams through yours, lol. One day…one day.
13. Julie K.
June 26th, 2011
Your garden is amazing, you are doing a great job. Do those marigolds actually keep the insects away? I was thinking about planting some marigolds into my herbs garden but I wasn´t sure whether they would go on well.
14. Angie@Angiesrecipes
June 27th, 2011
I am in love with your garden! So green and so organized!
15. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
June 28th, 2011
Look at that lush abundance of green! And your garden is, as I knew it would be, absolutely picture perfect!
16. syaf
June 28th, 2011
Oh gosh.. beautiful and sweettt, just like the owner. Wish you were my neighbour! LOL
17. Barbara
June 28th, 2011
Rylan, I LOVE your garden. It’s laid out perfectly and so neatly. Wish I was a neighbor so I could help with an excess crops!
I do miss a garden; I had such nice one in Michigan. Oh well, I’ve probably gotten too lazy to keep one in pristine condition.
18. shaz
June 28th, 2011
What a fantastic collection of plants. I love the herb boxes. You sure do like peppers huh?
19. sophia
June 28th, 2011
Wow have you got the green thumb!!! It all looks so healthful and verdant. From the looks of that lovely green, I’m sure you’ll get some lovely blueberries. I’m planning to get a few pots of fresh herb plants, too.
20. Joanne
June 30th, 2011
That is one gorgeously hefty garden! I’m going to keep my fingers crossed for those blueberries!
21. Rhonda D,
July 3rd, 2011
Your garden beds are really lovely. Can’t wait to see how the blueberries do for you!
22. sweetlife
July 3rd, 2011
I love your garde, this is exaclty what I have planned for my backyard when we move home. Thank you sharing your wonderful pics, ggod luck with the berries.
sweetlife
23. noobcook
July 4th, 2011
your garden looks absolutely stunning — so lush!
24. Ari
July 6th, 2011
All of your plants look great! I can’t wait to see pics of the pink lemonade blueberries – those sound really cool! I started a little square foot garden myself, but am already having trouble with lots of cute rabbits eating everything that comes up. Pomegranates are one of my favorite fruits. I know they do really well in the desert because I have family in Utah who grow them.
25. Gera@Sweets Foods Blog
July 7th, 2011
This is a marvelous garden plenty of future delicious fruits and vegs – good hand and excellent photos
Cheers,
Gera
26. Barbara @ Barbara Bakes
July 19th, 2011
Such an impressive garden. Gorgeous photos!
27. QueenLeilani
September 22nd, 2011
The colors are beautiful! Can’t wait to see how they grow… =)
28. Kelly
October 20th, 2011
Wow, I love how the raised beds look, what a fabulous use of your backyard! Your pictures are awesome. Happy gardening!
29. Lindsay
November 13th, 2011
Hey! It’s Lindsay from Homespun Sprout! Your garden is FANTASTIC! Now I see that you are in Vegas too…I totally have garden envy here! Your beds are BEAUTIFUL! How did they blueberries do? Your herbs all look SO wonderful in the pictures. If you decide you need some garden markers, let me know!! ha ha! http://www.homespunsprout.etsy.com
)
30. KellyM
January 21st, 2012
I love your garden! What a great set-up you have! It is absolutely beautiful and very inspiring. Can you tell me what dimensions your blueberry beds are? I’m getting ready to try my hand a blueberries and have no idea what size containers to put them in.
31. Beuna
February 25th, 2012
Your garden is looks fabulous! If your blueberries haven’t done well you may want to move them to a partly shady area. Most blueberries do better in cooler climates. What do you have on the bottom of your mint boxes to prevent underground spreading? I grow mine in large pots and then place the pots on a paver.
32. Tasty Travels
June 1st, 2012
Beautiful herb garden!!
33. Thane
June 24th, 2012
I got your link from John at YouTube growingyourgreens. I must say, this is quite a wonderful set up you have created. A word of caution, since you’re growing peppers, don’t prune them the way Ray at YouTube’s Prazzus55712 or Voodoo Garden suggested. You’re are appearantly doing just fine, and you don’t want to ruin your plants or your harvest. I hope you have some success with the blueberries, but they do require a certain amout of chill hours to survive and produce berries. A great resource that I found for them is http://www.fallcreeknursery.com/gardeners/variety/southern_highbush. There you can see what may work best for your area if some of the ones you planted are suffering by next year. Thanks for sharing this with the rest of us. Best of luck to you.
34. Francine
October 7th, 2012
What a beautiful garden! Perfect pictures! What camera did you use for this shots? Thank you! And Congrats!
35. Garden Planning & CSAs | Post Grad
March 20th, 2013
[...] Art & Appetite (please only Pin from original [...]
36. Chris
May 4th, 2013
How did you construct the herb garden box?
37. Warwick Kowalczyk
May 6th, 2013
You have a wonderful array of plants in your garden. Some really unique plants, all of which seem to be thriving and looking very healthy.
Great to see someone else who has discovered chocolate mint. It’s such a beautiful plant
38. Ctn
May 8th, 2013
Thank you for visiting artandappetite , in order for us to answer your questions, please email me at ctnato@yahoo.com. To know better the owner of this website, please visit cakecentralmagazine.com and search for Jene Rylan Ty Nato. I hope you continue to visit artandappetite.