Harvesting Jojoba “Nuts”

~ Jojoba, Goat Nut ~ Summer is harvest time for one of our prized desert plants, Jojoba or Goat Nut (Simmondsia chinensis). As well as being valued for its drought tolerance and fire resistance in southwest yards, this durable, attractive evergreen shrub produces seeds from which the popular “jojoba oil” is extracted for use worldwide in cosmetics and body-care products. Its seeds can also be eaten if roasted, or made into a beverage. We’ll share with you how to prepare these […]

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Landscape Design

If you want to achieve your goals for enjoying your yard to its fullest potential without having to contract an expensive landscape architect, consider inviting botanist Robin Kobaly into your yard for a personal consultation.

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Why Plant Native?

We have been trained, over generations of time, that whenever we move into an area, we are to remove the native plants growing on our new site and replace them with plants from wherever we were before, or at least with plants we are familiar with. The plants we introduce into our new setting are not necessarily the ones best adapted to that area, but are the ones that have been marketed to us as the industrial standards that are […]

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Robin Kobaly

Welcome!

Robin Kobaly with The Power of Plants is your source for information about uses of native plants of the southwestern United States, and water-wise landscaping using native and drought-tolerant plants.

You’ll find useful tips here, as well as information on where you can take classes or obtain books and DVD’s on using native and water-wise plants in your daily life. Your guide, Robin Kobaly, is a professional botanist with thirty years of experience whose passion about plants has guided her entire life. We’re glad you’ve joined us here to explore the fascinating world of plants.

Meet Robin
About the Power of Plants
Water-Wise Landscaping: The DVD

Search for Beautiful Water-Wise Plants

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YOU WILL LOVE SEARCHING HERE for the best plants to satisfy your landscape needs for your Southwest yard! CLICK on the image above to take you to the full list of categories to search. Our WATER-WISE PLANT DATA BASE includes hundreds of plants, both native and non-native, that are water-wise, drought-tolerant, available at Southern California nurseries, and that are cold-hardy in our cool desert winters but still stand up to our extreme summer heat.

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