Hi, Desert Gardener,

I can't believe it's already November! I've been having so much fun in my garden that October flew by. Be sure to check out the November monthly "to do" guide. November is still a great month to plant most plants, but it's getting a little late for some that are frost-sensitive. There are a few routine tasks you should take off your list since they contribute to winter cold damage.

👩‍🌾 🍂 👩‍🌾

I hope you have a fun filled Halloweed, I mean Halloween. (Yeah, I really did type Hallo"weed" first. I did it in the subject line, too. I decided to leave it to see if anyone noticed. Plants are always on my mind.)

🎃 👻 🎃

In this week's newsletter, we cover:

• What to do in the garden in November
• Featured plant: Cape honeysuckle
• Orange flowers (love or not?)
• Upcoming classes, & events
• and more!

🍂 November Activity Snapshot 🍂

Here’s a snapshot of the activities you can and/or should do this month and those you should skip.

See the November Gardening Guide for the details and exceptions.

🧡 Orange Flowering Plants 🧡

Do you like orange flowers? Not everyone does, but I do! I love how they offset our abundance of yellow flowers and contrast beautifully with cooling purple flowers.

So in the spirit of Halloween, I'm sharing an article from GardenDesign.com -- 25 Best Plants With Orange Flowers. Refreshingly, many of these can be grown in the desert Southwest. (National garden sites generally ignore the Southwest. Boo.)
Mary Irish, a highly respected horticultural expert, is among those who do not love orange flowers and has this to say about the color orange in her book, Arizona Gardener's Guide:

"I find orange a difficult color to use well in a garden.
It is garish, demanding, and blends poorly with other colors."

Yikes! So if you don't like orange, you're in good company.

BTW, Arizona Gardener's Guide was the first gardening book I bought when I moved to Tucson. I still refer to this classic frequently.

Upcoming Tucson Events

Fall is prime time for garden-related activities happening around Tucson. Upcoming highlights include:
* Fall Garden Fair @ Tucson Organic Gardeners (11/7)
* Desert Container Gardening @ Tucson Botanical Garden (11/5, online)
* Pruning Native Desert Trees Workshop @ Watershed Management Group (11/7)

Check out the details and find more events in the Tucson Gardening Event Guide →

Not in Tucson? Look for online classes. Anyone can participate in these.

Garden Quote

"Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web he does to himself." — Chief Seattle, Native American leader

In Case You Missed It

​How to Grow Desert Wildflowers (the Easy Way)​

​Desert Bluebell: Dazzling Native Wildflower

​Native Desert Plant List​

Before You Go...

Do you have a gardening question you'd like to see answered here? Send it to ask@swgardener.com.

If you found this information helpful or interesting, please share it with friends! They can sign up for this newsletter here.

Thank you for being a subscriber. Remember, you can access your free bonus guide, The 7 Most Common Gardening Mistakes, anytime.

​

Keep growing and learning,
​Desert Dee