Martha Retallick's Monthly Newsletter | July 14, 2026 The Rainfall Fan Club The best day in the life of any cistern owner: It's raining! And the rainwater is filling the tank. Copyright © Martha Retallick. All rights reserved. Is this rainstorm what my poor, sunburned lemon tree needs? Yes! It also needs something else. That need relates to the fence-mounted wooden bracket. More on this needy topic in a moment. First, let's join the Rainfall Fan Club. Here's my front yard during that...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Martha Retallick's Monthly Newsletter | June 16, 2026 Preparing for Monsoons My monsoon season preparations include having my trees trimmed by Tucson-based Romeo Tree Service. After the trimming is done, here comes a load of wood chip mulch. Copyright © Martha Retallick. All rights reserved. Although Arizona's summer forecast calls for above-average rainfall, the big storms aren't here yet. So, it's a great time to get ready. Since monsoons can appear suddenly and with great ferocity, tree...
2 months ago • 4 min read
Martha Retallick's Monthly Newsletter | May 12, 2026 Return of the Humans Nothing like celebrating Cyclovia Tucson with a wheelie! And 4th Avenue is the perfect place for it. Copyright © Martha Retallick. All rights reserved. On Sunday, April 12, approximately 35,000 people converged on central Tucson for Cyclovia, a free block party that stretched for three miles. The streets were closed to motorized traffic, which opened them up for music, art, games, food, education, and more. In addition...
3 months ago • 4 min read
Martha Retallick's Special Invitation to Subscribers | April 14, 2026 You're Invited! Food Conspiracy Co-op. Copyright © Martha Retallick. All rights reserved. Join me at Tucson’s Food Conspiracy Co-op this Sunday, April 19! For Your Calendar: Earth Day 2026 at the Food Conspiracy Co-op Sunday, April 19 11am – 2pm 412 North 4th Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85705 There is no charge to attend this event. Parking is available in the Food Conspiracy Co-op lot, east of the store between Hoff and 3rd...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Martha Retallick's Monthly Newsletter | April 14, 2026 Mystery Solved! Bee Brush. Copyright © Martha Retallick. All rights reserved. In last month's issue, I referred to the above shrub as I Forgottium. It's been in my front yard for years, but I couldn't recall the name. So, I asked readers to properly identify it, and three of you did. The mystery shrub is called Bee Brush, aka Aloysia gratissima. I sent those three readers signed and numbered copies of my book, City Nature, along with my...
4 months ago • 4 min read
Martha Retallick's Monthly Newsletter | March 17, 2026 The Yellow Issue Brittlebush flowers. Copyright © Martha Retallick. All rights reserved. The official start of spring is just days away. So, here's an issue that features one of my favorite seasonal colors. When it comes to spring flowers in southern Arizona, yellow is right up there at the top of the list. It's bright, loud, and hard to ignore. Wildflowers? A lot of yellow among them. But here's my confession: At my place, nearly all of...
5 months ago • 4 min read
Martha Retallick's Monthly Newsletter | February 17, 2026 Mid-Winter Eclecticism Ripening pomegranates. Copyright © Martha Retallick. All rights reserved. Your friendly neighborhood water harvester is currently experiencing a lack of things to do. With all the rain we've had, the garden doesn't need much watering and the cistern is full. And, since our drought-plagued 2025 is receding into history, I'm not hauling buckets of dishwater out to my landscape plants. Arizona Green So, I gave...
6 months ago • 3 min read
Martha Retallick's Monthly Newsletter | January 13, 2026 Thinking Like a Farmer My Meyer lemon tree. Copyright © Martha Retallick. All rights reserved. When I meet another Martha, my first question is: What elderly relative were you named after? Usually, it's a grandmother, an aunt, or some long-departed ancestor. I fall into the "ancestor" category. I'm named after my great-grandmother Martha. She was my mother's maternal grandmother. From her Victory Garden in Buffalo, a city with long and...
7 months ago • 4 min read
Martha Retallick's Monthly Newsletter | December 11, 2025 Dealing with Reality Malabar spinach. Copyright © Martha Retallick. All rights reserved. The Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather Service is out with its forecast for Arizona and the Southwestern region of the United States. And, I’m sorry, it’s probably not going to be the forecast you want to hear: Warm temperatures and below average rainfall. So much for that notion of coming out of that drought that we’ve been in –...
8 months ago • 3 min read