When I moved to Arizona almost 2 years ago (time flies!) I was amazed by the saguaro cactus. I’d never seen them in real life! Sadly cacti that huge isn’t what you would call adorable and no, I don’t want anything that monstrous and pokey in my yard. Ever.

At the same time when I moved here I fell in love with succulents. They’re the coolest little desert flower cactus plant you’ve ever seen! They’re so funny looking and yes they make me smile 🙂 Once we moved into this apartment I wanted a flowerbed to hang over the ledge on our balcony & finally five months later — I got one!

Aren’t they the cutest plants you’ve ever seen? The one that looks like a bunch of little grapes cracks me up – it’s just so funny-looking! I’ve had them for a few days now and they’re still alive and looking great.

I’d had the dirt I used for a while and little aphids and teeny centipedes had found their way in…or grown in there…I don’t know, I don’t want to think about it — they were just there. And I wanted them gone.

So I googled “natural methods to kill aphids”. Everything I read suggested lemon juice, dish soap, or vinegar. I figured I’d try all three at once and poured some of each into a spray bottle and filled it up with water. I sprayed the dirt then eventually just dumped it all in (this was before I planted anything) and let it sit for a few hours.

It worked! No more aphids or centipedes or anything gross. Just adorable succulents!

That’s life with Mr.Layland & Me!