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	<title>The Firefly Forest &#187; Arizona Garden Plants</title>
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	<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly</link>
	<description>Discovering and enjoying nature - The Firefly Forest is a combination nature journal and plant and animal species identification guide</description>
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			<item>
		<title>Myrtillocactus geometrizans &#039;Dinosaur Back&#039;</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2007/04/03/myrtillocactus-geometrizans-dinosaur-back/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2007/04/03/myrtillocactus-geometrizans-dinosaur-back/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Apr 2007 03:20:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2007/04/03/myrtillocactus-geometrizans-dinosaur-back/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Blue Candle, Blue Myrtle Cactus, or Garambullo (Myrtillocactus geometrizans) is a large, white-flowered, columnar, treelike cactus native to Mexico. Because of their attractive, blue-green coloration, Blue Candle cacti are popular additions to cactus and xeriscape gardens here in Arizona. One of the smaller and definitely weirder-looking cultivated forms available in nurseries is M. geometrizans crest [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Slipper Plant or Candelilla</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2007/03/16/slipper-plant-or-candelilla/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2007/03/16/slipper-plant-or-candelilla/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 17 Mar 2007 01:39:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2007/03/16/slipper-plant-or-candelilla/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Slipper Plant or Candelilla (Pedilanthus macrocarpus) is native to the Sonoran Desert of Baja California and Sonora, Mexico. It is a common accent plant in desert and xeriscape gardens here in southern Arizona. This perennial plant can occasionally grow up to 6 feet (1.8 m) tall, but it usually stays below 4 feet (1.2 [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii)</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2007/02/21/autumn-sage-salvia-greggii/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2007/02/21/autumn-sage-salvia-greggii/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Feb 2007 03:11:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2007/02/21/autumn-sage-salvia-greggii/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii) is a perennial subshrub native to Texas. Because of its attractive flowers, long blooming season (spring through fall), evergreen foliage, drought tolerance, and ease of cultivation, Autumn Sage is also a popular garden plant, especially in southwestern states like Arizona.

Autumn Sage has spike-like clusters of 1 inch (2.54 cm) long, red, [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Zephirine Drouhin</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/11/21/zephirine-drouhin/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/11/21/zephirine-drouhin/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Nov 2006 17:11:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/11/21/zephirine-drouhin/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One of my favorite roses and one of the best garden roses for here in Arizona is the old-fashioned Bourbon climbing rose Zephirine Drouhin (Rosa &#039;Zephirine Drouhin&#039;).

Zephirine Drouhin roses don&#039;t seem to be seriously bothered by either pests or diseases in our often harsh Arizona climate, but like other roses, they will sometimes show iron [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Italian Cypress</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/05/11/italian-cypress/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/05/11/italian-cypress/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 May 2006 16:57:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/05/11/italian-cypress/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Italian Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) grows well in Tucson, but I don&#039;t think that its dark, formal, columnar style blends well with our natural desert vegetation.

I have a row of three of these towering trees in my yard, and although I&#039;m not too fond of their stiff, formal appearance, they are very popular with the birds [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Euphorbia rigida</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/04/16/euphorbia-rigida/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/04/16/euphorbia-rigida/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 16 Apr 2006 17:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/fire/2006/04/16/euphorbia-rigida/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Gopher Plant or Upright Myrtle Spurge (Euphorbia rigida) can be found blooming in gardens around Tucson right now.

This cultivated plant has numerous common names, with probably the most common being Gopher Plant. Its official common name is Upright Myrtle Spurge, but I have never heard anyone call it by this name.
Despite the odd appearance of [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Lady Banks Roses</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/04/03/lady-banks-roses/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/04/03/lady-banks-roses/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 Apr 2006 19:09:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/fire/2006/04/03/lady-banks-roses/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Lady Banks Roses (Rosa banksiae) bloom here in southern Arizona gardens in late March and early April.

These evergreen ramblers are probably the easiest rose to grow here in Arizona. Lady Banks Roses have small, faintly fragrant, white or light yellow, usually double flowers, and they will bloom spectacularly for a short time every spring.

I have [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Dove Pincushions and Bees</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/03/31/dove-pincushions-and-bees/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/03/31/dove-pincushions-and-bees/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 01 Apr 2006 00:09:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/fire/2006/03/31/dove-pincushions-and-bees/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Cultivated Dove Pincushions (Scabiosa columbaria) are now blooming in gardens around Tucson.

These long-blooming perennials have lilac-colored flowers that attract butterflies and a wide variety bees, like this unidentified cream and black striped bee (Superfamily Apoidea).

Many garden flowers seem to attract only non-native Honeybees (Apis mellifera), but this native bee seemed quite pleased to have found [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/03/31/dove-pincushions-and-bees/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Pink Jasmine</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/03/10/pink-jasmine/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/03/10/pink-jasmine/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Mar 2006 15:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/fire/2006/03/10/pink-jasmine-and-a-white-lined-sphinx/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Pink Jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum) vines bloom in the springtime in my front courtyard here in Tucson, Arizona.

These flowers are extremely fragrant, and my whole yard is filled with the exotic, heady scent of jasmine. Pink Jasmine flowers are actually white, but the flower buds and the backs of the petal-like lobes are a lovely [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/03/10/pink-jasmine/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Cape Aloe</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/03/01/cape-aloe/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/03/01/cape-aloe/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Mar 2006 16:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/fire/2006/03/01/cape-aloe/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Even though they are commonly found in desert and cactus gardens here in the southwestern United States, Aloes are actually not native to the Americas. Aloes (Aloe spp.) are African plants from the drier parts of that continent. Here in Tucson, Arizona, Aloes like this South African Cape Aloe or Bitter Aloe (Aloe ferox) below [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/03/01/cape-aloe/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Sweet Violets</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/02/23/sweet-violets/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/02/23/sweet-violets/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Feb 2006 15:22:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/fire/2006/02/23/sweet-violets/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Sweet Violets (Viola odorata) begin blooming in gardens here in Tucson, Arizona in the very early spring, and these lovely flowers are in full bloom here by mid-February.

Sweet Violets were introduced here from Europe, and these adaptable plants can now be found growing wild in many areas of the US, including Arizona, but I haven&#039;t [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/02/23/sweet-violets/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Snailflower or Snail Vine</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/02/21/snailflower-or-snail-vine/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/02/21/snailflower-or-snail-vine/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 21 Feb 2006 14:30:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/fire/2006/02/21/snailflower-or-snail-vine/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The strange and lovely Snailflower (Vigna caracalla) vines are an attractive and unusual choice for any garden. Despite our desert heat and harsh climate, these vines do very well here in Tucson, Arizona, and they will begin blooming very early in the springtime.

This cultivated vine is also known as Snail Vine or Caracalla Bean (formerly [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/02/21/snailflower-or-snail-vine/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Pseudo-Rain on a Cabbage and Viola</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/02/15/pseudo-rain-on-a-cabbage-and-viola/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/02/15/pseudo-rain-on-a-cabbage-and-viola/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 16 Feb 2006 05:40:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/fire/2006/02/15/hoping-for-rain/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Our drought has left the desert dry, shriveled and dormant, and windy days like today swirl vast quantities of dust into the parched air. I keep hoping that tomorrow the rain will come, but each day just brings more empty sunlight. While the wild plants suffer and endure the drought, well-watered cultivated plants are thriving [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/02/15/pseudo-rain-on-a-cabbage-and-viola/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Persian Buttercup (Ranunculus)</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/02/12/persian-buttercup-ranunculus/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/02/12/persian-buttercup-ranunculus/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Feb 2006 15:36:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/fire/2006/02/12/persian-buttercup-ranunculus/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Persian Buttercups or Ranunculus (Ranunculus asiaticus) are now in full bloom in gardens and nurseries around Tucson.

These lovely cultivated flowers are in the Buttercup Family (Ranunculaceae), and they are native to the eastern Mediterranean.

Garden varieties of Persian Buttercup have large, double flowers densely packed with delicate, tissue paper-like petals.

The flowers of Persian Buttercups come in [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/02/12/persian-buttercup-ranunculus/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Paperwhite Narcissus</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/01/01/narcissus/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/01/01/narcissus/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 01 Jan 2006 17:37:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/fire/2006/01/01/narcissus/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[At the dawn of the new year, the native wildflowers are still sleeping or not yet born, and even many of those cultivated plants still blooming have only a few tired and tattered flowers, but there is one plant in glorious full bloom at this time here in Tucson, Arizona.

The cultivated Paperwhite Narcissus (Narcissus papyraceus) [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2006/01/01/narcissus/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Firethorn (Pyracantha) Berries</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2005/12/12/firethorn-pyracantha-berries/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2005/12/12/firethorn-pyracantha-berries/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 12 Dec 2005 15:48:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/fire/2005/12/12/firethorn-pyracantha-berries/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Firethorn or Pyracantha (Pyracantha spp.) bushes in my yard are now covered with ripe, scarlet berries.

Firethorns are cultivated, evergreen shrubs with thorny branches, dark green leaves, white flowers and orange or red berries. I like the ones with red berries the best, so I only planted red-berried Pyracantha cultivars.
The berries are edible, but unfortunately [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2005/12/12/firethorn-pyracantha-berries/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Garden Petunia</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2005/12/06/garden-petunia/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2005/12/06/garden-petunia/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 06 Dec 2005 20:49:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2005/12/06/garden-petunia/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Petunias (Petunia × atkinsiana, formerly Petunia × hybrida) are some of the most common and colorful garden flowers.

Garden petunias are hybrids between South American species of petunia, Large White Petunia (Petunia axillaris) and Violetflower Petunia (Petunia integrifolia, formerly Petunia violacea).
Petunias grow very well here in Tucson, and they usually don&#039;t have severe problems with insect [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2005/12/06/garden-petunia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Lovely Lavender</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2005/11/29/the-lovely-lavender/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2005/11/29/the-lovely-lavender/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 29 Nov 2005 18:40:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/fire/2005/11/29/the-lovely-lavender/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[One of my all-time favorite plants is Lavender (Lavandula spp.).

Not only is it beautiful in both form and color, lavender has the most heavenly scent, a combination of floral, herbal, and a touch of honey.

Not surprisingly, Lavender is very popular with a wide variety of bees.
Lavender is native to areas around the Mediterranean, and this [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2005/11/29/the-lovely-lavender/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Osage Orange</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2005/10/25/osage-orange/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2005/10/25/osage-orange/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Oct 2005 17:54:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/fire/2005/10/25/osage-orange/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I found an Osage Orange (Maclura pomifera) tree heavy with fruit growing along the nature trail in Agua Caliente Park here in Tucson.

These trees are not native to Arizona and I was rather surprised to find one here. The ancestors of this Osage Orange were most likely planted in the 1800s when Agua Caliente was [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2005/10/25/osage-orange/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Cultivated Cacti</title>
		<link>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2005/07/11/cultivated-cacti/</link>
		<comments>http://fireflyforest.net/firefly/2005/07/11/cultivated-cacti/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 Jul 2005 18:40:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>T. Beth Kinsey</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Arizona Garden Plants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://fireflyforest.net/fire/2005/07/11/cultivated-cacti/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Many species of cacti from South America are commonly grown here in Tucson gardens. Not only are these South American cacti very easy to grow and require little water, but many of them also have extremely showy flowers.
I don&#039;t know the species of the cacti shown below as they came without name tags, but they [...]]]></description>
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