Fun Morning at Almost Eden Nursery Sassy Does Iberia Bank

Elderberry close up.

Elderberry - tall and loaded with flowers and berries.

I am seldom scheduled for anything, but when that happens, there is a conflict. I expect my 50th high school reunion will coincide with two absolutely crucial events the same weekend.

Almost Eden Nursery's owner was available Wednesday morning and I had a business phone call scheduled at the same time. Sassy and I went over early, at 7 am, but knocking on someone's door at that hour is not a good idea. We connected on Facebook and agreed on a later time, after the call, which took all of six minutes - the July 4th effect - get out of Phoenix before it is 120 degrees again. Add to the heat, steady, hot, mummifying winds. Dust storms - not a gardening state - but cacti grow like dandelions.

There is no relief from any day over 105 in Phoenix. If the humidity is up too, watch the electric bill soar. But here I am in the Natural State with rain and cooler temps. The afternoon heat gives way to tree shadows falling across the house as the sun sets.

The later trip to Almost Eden was fun. The owner was working. We have talked several times and he walked the last buy over to our house, pulling them on his gardening wagon. He knows plants very well, and my knowledge is rather narrow - roses, vegetables, and weeds.

I told him about my expanded wild garden, so we lined up elderberry plants, two more Chaste Trees, and several others that attract insects, bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies. He said, "Going down that road, it's a slippery slope."

Almost Eden also has a large grape arbor.

"More like an addiction?" I asked.

He is developing the property, which I would covet, except for the exponential increase in labor. He has the space and equipment to do anything he wants. 

I said, "I like all types of plants beneficial to the creatures. I am not proud. I like goosefoot, Queen Ann's Lace, and pigweed."

He said, almost like David Caruso on TV, "A little goes a long way."

I bought seven plants, quart and gallon sized pots, for $50. The Internet companies would charge $30 plus shipping for most of those - each. And these plants are alive, in great soil.

When I left I pointed out a potential name change. "I call our place the Jackson Rose Gardens, but since you are Almost Eden, I am calling it Eden." He laughed and said, "I'll take that."

Eden, by Thomas Cole

I looked up Roses without Chemicals, a good introductory book on roses and organic gardening. That is another author who had to have a conversion experience before giving up chemical fertilizers and pesticides. He sold them all.

A lot of gardeners had the wrong mothers. Mine had her own compost pile and knew all about beneficial insects.

The book agrees with me, citing research, that wood mulch is the best way to feed the soil when growing roses. 

And of course- grow plants that harbor beneficial insects. That includes weeds.

Sassy and I went to Iberia Bank to deposit a check and withdraw a dog treat. Sassy loved getting that little treat. Later, she met two police officers working on a lawnmower. One lives here. She made friends with them.