Epic Yard Farm

Epic Yard Farm Permaculture inspired residential food forest. Always experimenting & building a balanced ecosystem. Property Size: 7,100 sq.ft. ft.

Epic Yard Farm (傳奇都市果菜園 - 自然農法)

Our goal is to dedicate majority of our water usage into growing edibles. We spent the first two years building front patio, sheet mulching to remove as much of the bermuda grass as possible and started planting some edible perennial plants and trees. Then, we removed all concrete and pool from our backyard to expand our food forest. So far, we manage to plant a pretty good diversity of edibles in our garden, without it looking like a farm. (0.16 acre or 5⁄32 acre)

House Size: 1,300 sq. Current Gardening Area Size: approx. 1,500 sq.ft.

A big THANK YOU to our friend Rachel for gifting us these beautiful iris rhizomes! 🥰💚We have planted them in a few diffe...
10/18/2026

A big THANK YOU to our friend Rachel for gifting us these beautiful iris rhizomes! 🥰💚

We have planted them in a few different spots around Epic Yard Farm 2.0 to experiment and see where they will be happiest in our Arizona desert climate.

This is officially the beginning of our iris collection! 🌸 I am so excited to see them grow and hopefully reward us with some beautiful blooms!

One of my favorite things about our gardening community is the generosity of fellow gardeners who share not only plants, but also their friendship, knowledge and love of growing. ❤️

The heartbreak of growing figs! 😭💔My beautiful Raspberry Latte fig at 7 AM vs. 3:30 PM today.This morning, it was still ...
10/16/2026

The heartbreak of growing figs! 😭💔

My beautiful Raspberry Latte fig at 7 AM vs. 3:30 PM today.

This morning, it was still firm and not even close to feeling ripe. I thought I had plenty of time to put a protective bag over it this afternoon.

Well… apparently someone else had already made lunch plans. 😭🤣

Just a few hours later, the entire fig was GONE! Not even a little bite left for me!

I guess the birds and critters know something about fig ripening that I don’t. And apparently, they have a much better harvest schedule than I do!

Another reminder that when it comes to growing fruit in the desert, you snooze, you lose! 🤣

Birthday plant haul from the Fall Plant Sale at 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐜𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐦! 🌿🎂🦋We got there early, but apparently a whole ...
10/16/2026

Birthday plant haul from the Fall Plant Sale at 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐜𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐀𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐦! 🌿🎂🦋

We got there early, but apparently a whole bunch of other plant lovers had the same idea! 🤣 The crowd was already gathering, and there were so many beautiful plants to choose from.

I am slowly expanding our collection of native and pollinator-friendly plants at Epic Yard Farm 2.0. While I love growing edible plants and fruit trees, I also want to create a thriving habitat for butterflies, native bees, hummingbirds, and other beneficial wildlife.

Here’s what came home with us!

🌿 Flat Top Buckwheat
💜 Purple Lilac Vine
🧡 Mountain Flame (2)
🦋 Desert Milkweed
🌼 Mt. Lemmon Marigold
🤍 White Buttonbush
🌸 Pink Fairy Duster (2)

My goal is to add more year-round color, texture, and seasonal blooms while creating a garden that supports the wildlife around us. Every new plant is another little piece of that bigger picture.

I know these aren’t the cheapest plants out there, though I do get 20% off as a member, but knowing that the proceeds help support the arboretum’s educational programs, maintenance, and daily operations makes it even more worthwhile. I absolutely love this place and everything they do to inspire and educate our gardening community.

So really, my plant addiction is supporting a good cause. That’s what I call a win-win! 🥰🌿🤣

Now comes the fun part… figuring out where to plant everything! 😆🌱

Have you added any new plants to your garden this fall?

Sometimes, the simplest plants bring the biggest smiles. 🌻💛Back in February 2020, our friend Mike Hill from the Arizona ...
10/15/2026

Sometimes, the simplest plants bring the biggest smiles. 🌻💛

Back in February 2020, our friend Mike Hill from the Arizona Herb Association generously shared some native sunflower seeds with us from the demonstration garden at the Extension Office. Little did we know these sunflowers would become one of the highlights of our summer garden year after year!

Check out this MASSIVE sunflower plant growing in our Way Out Back Garden at Epic Yard Farm 2.0! 😍

This is ONE single plant! Growing in full Arizona sun, barely getting any supplemental water, and still managing to reach over 7 feet tall and nearly 8 feet wide!

Take a look at that sturdy, almost tree-like trunk and all those branches! It’s amazing how much growth can come from one little seed.

The birds absolutely love the seeds, and the flowers are constantly buzzing with bees and all kinds of pollinators. It’s truly a little ecosystem of its own.

We’ve had summers when these sunflowers reseeded so generously that we ended up with entire sunflower jungles. Mostly because I just couldn’t bring myself to thin them out. 🤣

I love plants that thrive in our challenging low desert climate without needing constant attention. And these sunflowers have certainly earned their place in our garden.

But beyond these beautiful sunflowers, this is also a reminder of something I truly appreciate about our gardening community. We are surrounded by so many generous and knowledgeable people who are always willing to share their seeds, plants, experiences, and love of growing.

Over the years, I’ve learned so much from fellow gardeners who have generously shared their knowledge, encouraged my experiments, and helped me become a better gardener. I’m incredibly thankful for every one of you! ❤️

That’s one of the most beautiful things about gardening. A handful of seeds shared by a friend can grow into years of flowers, countless happy pollinators, and memories that keep on giving. 🌻

Six years later, these sunflowers still put a big smile on my face every time I walk past them. 🥰

Do you have a special plant in your garden that came from a friend or fellow gardener? I’d love to hear its story! 💕

It’s like a scene straight out of a horror movie… 😱🩸 Fitting for Halloween, I guess! 🎃Every year, our pomegranate tree t...
10/14/2026

It’s like a scene straight out of a horror movie… 😱🩸 Fitting for Halloween, I guess! 🎃

Every year, our pomegranate tree turns into a crime scene, with the victims left hanging on the branches. 😂

This pomegranate tree came with the house when we moved into Epic Yard Farm 2.0, and I’m pretty sure it’s the Wonderful variety.

Every year, without fail, the birds and rodents find their way to the tree and eat through the pomegranates, one by one, until there’s practically nothing left but hollowed-out shells hanging from the branches. It’s quite a gruesome sight!

We’ve set out traps. We’ve tried rodent birth control baits. Yet, these little garden bandits persist! 😩

Since then, I’ve planted three other pomegranate varieties: Parfianka, Angel Red, and Pink Silk. All three have much better flavor than Wonderful, at least to my taste buds! I’m especially looking forward to having more varieties to harvest and compare.

But seeing this annual pomegranate massacre reminds me that I really need to step up my fruit protection game before these younger trees mature and start producing!

10/11/2026

Ah… good long soak.

Another compulsive gardening experiment to see just how far we can push the limits of growing in the Arizona low desert!...
10/10/2026

Another compulsive gardening experiment to see just how far we can push the limits of growing in the Arizona low desert! 😆🌸

I recently came across some information suggesting that Itoh Peonies (intersectional peonies) might be possible to grow here in the low desert. Naturally, that was all the encouragement I needed to order a collection of three bare roots from and give them a try! 😂

Peonies are known for needing winter chill to grow and bloom successfully, which makes our warm desert climate quite a challenge. Itoh Peonies are a hybrid between herbaceous and tree peonies, and some gardeners have reported success growing them in warmer climates.

Of course, growing them in Phoenix is a whole different story! Between our mild winters and brutally hot summers, I have no idea how well they will do. But that’s part of the fun of experimenting at Epic Yard Farm!

I’m going to plant these out this fall, find them a spot with some protection from our intense afternoon sun, and see what happens. Even if they survive but never bloom, we’ll learn something along the way.

Sometimes gardening is about growing what we know will thrive. Other times, it’s about being curious enough to try something that probably shouldn’t grow here. 🥰

Have any of my fellow low-desert gardeners tried growing peonies? I’d love to hear about your experience!

The question is… will this magnificent cloud formation bring us some rain.
10/10/2026

The question is… will this magnificent cloud formation bring us some rain.

10/10/2026

Dancing in the garden with the Queen butterflies.

Are you as excited as me for the Fall Plant Sales at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum this month! It almost always falls on ...
10/02/2026

Are you as excited as me for the Fall Plant Sales at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum this month! It almost always falls on my birthday week and I am looking for picking up a few more native and desert friendly plants from there.

They just published the plant list for the sale and I wanted to share them with you!

https://btarboretum.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/BTA-Fall-Plant-Sale-List-2026-10.1.26.pdf

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Tempe, AZ
85281, 85282, 85283, 85284, 85285, 85287

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