Hello and welcome to igardendaily! My name is Andrea and I have been gardening in various climates of the U.S. for eighteen years. I currently reside near Boise, Idaho and am learning more every day about gardening in the intermountain west. This is a semi-arid climate (USDA Zone 6A/6B and Sunset 2B/3A) with long, warm, sunny days for most of the 150+ day growing season. The really nice thing about growing in this warm, even hot, summer climate is that nighttime brings a significant “cool down” helping the vegetation survive the intense heat and sun.
The intermountain west has been somewhat overlooked as far as national gardening literature goes, so it is my goal that local folks, as well as others across the country, discover something new about the garden culture in this part of the western U.S.
On a personal note, I have gone through many phases as a gardener. I started out obsessed with flowers…the next phase was an intense drive to create mixed borders of trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals showcasing textures and four season interest. Then came edible gardening, where I became passionate about growing as many fruits and vegetables as I could manage. And currently, I have a renewed interest in garden structure and design.
I like to think of my journey as “the evolution of a daily gardener.” The knowledge gained in each phase is with me and influences decisions every day. My one constant is the intense motivation to grow and create. This feeling takes root in my soul, fueling my mind and body with an energy found nowhere else.
Now enough about me. I invite YOU, no matter what phase you are enjoying of your “garden evolution,” to share your thoughts and energy here with me at igardendaily.com
igardendaily 
wow… ur like a gardener of words too!!! makes me want to go grow something…
I was trying to sing “oh lemon tree” to “oh Christmas tree”. Maybe it’s just my singing, but it didn’t work. As for a tip on how to get your lemon tree to grow, probably the best advice is to move it back to California! Miss you all…
I’m awarding you the Versatile Blogger Award! Keep up the good work! Check out my blog to see what it’s all about!
Elaine
Andrea…thanks for stopping at my yard on the tour yesterday and taking time to say hi. It was nice to meet you and get your Moo card. Your yard and photography is really beautiful on your blog. You obviously know what you are up to. Keep up the good work. Stop in and say hi anytime. Mike
Hi – I went through a similar evolution, started off gardening with needing some basic landscape plants put in, then fell in love with colorful flowers, then 2 years later thought veggies and fruits were the only way to go (or edibles as you put it) – and so we put in fruit trees, a blackberry bush (now have two)- and even tried kiwi (but took it up when reality hit that it was not ideal for my yard). anyhow, shortly after that veggie year, I realized that flowers also have an important place – and soon found a balance of having both.
However, with much less time to garden these days (sniff), I barely had veggies this year and if it were not for perennials doing their own thing, well I would have missed out on flowers (but it is pretty cool to an established garden flourish, still needs loving, but really can be self maintaining too)- and so another reason I am glad to have this blog is that because I am NOT able to garden daily – well part of me can enjoy reflections from someone who does. lol
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Andrea, thanks for finding my blog and leading me back to yours. I love what you are doing here, both in featuring other gardens as well as your own. Great photos too. Can’t wait to explore more!
Gorgeous photo. What are the latern-like flowers? We moved recently from the San Francisco Bay Area, which itself has many microclimates, but none as hot and dry as Boise. I volunteered at Draggin’ Wing High Desert Nursery to learn more about the plants that grow well here and about the weeds that need to go. 🙂 I especially like how much the temps drop at night during the summer months.
I look forward to following your posts.
Hi there! Dragging’ Wing is a great place to learn about native plants and others that love the Boise climate. I wasn’t sure which “lantern” flowers you were speaking of but then figured you must mean the header photo on my blog. That is a small-flowering clematis named ‘Oshikiri’. I love those flowers! Thank you for stopping by my blog!