Gardening in Arizona: The Little Garden that Could

By Janet Ryan
Published on March 1, 1979
1 / 5

The bare patio area didn't look promising at first.
The bare patio area didn't look promising at first.
2 / 5

Successful gardening in Arizona was a matter of hard work, wholistic methods, and water conservation. Soon the little yard was covered with lush growth.
Successful gardening in Arizona was a matter of hard work, wholistic methods, and water conservation. Soon the little yard was covered with lush growth.
3 / 5

We were warned that tomatoes couldn't survive the Arizona heat, but this Big Boy proved the skeptics wrong.
We were warned that tomatoes couldn't survive the Arizona heat, but this Big Boy proved the skeptics wrong.
4 / 5

Maybe these aren't the biggest ears you've ever seen, but every kernel was a taste of sunshine.
Maybe these aren't the biggest ears you've ever seen, but every kernel was a taste of sunshine.
5 / 5

Our "impossible" garden provided us with beautiful flowers as well as delicious vegetables.
Our "impossible" garden provided us with beautiful flowers as well as delicious vegetables.

When we moved to Tucson, Arizona from a big city in the
Northeast, we were delighted to find an apartment with a
patio … even though that plot was just a narrow
rectangle of barren adobe clay! We weren’t discouraged,
either, by the formidable challenges of gardening in Arizona: limited rainfall,  and temperatures that ranged between 100° and 110°

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