What a week! It rained heavily all day on Monday. I am not fond of rain at this time of the year; however, I welcomed this rain with an open mind and hands. The rain was the last push to aid the late spring flowers to blossom beautifully and profusely.

On Sunday morning, I decided to carefully separate and transplant the largest pup of  the White -Striped Century Plant (Agave Americana ‘Mediopicta Alba’). I am so glad I did that just then, as the heavy rain surely helped the young plant acclimate to its new location. There are three more smaller pups growing at the base of the mother plant, which I am hoping to remove and relocate by the end of the year. I also transplanted lavender and Japanese Boxwood seedlings (crossing my fingers for the successful growth of the latter).

I am loving the Hedgehog Cactus. There are three pups at its base.

The Sour Fig has bloomed for the first time from a stem cutting from last Summer. The flower starts off yellow and then fades to a light purple after a couple of days. The plant is highly invasive and grows aggressively. They are wonderful as ground cover; however, I will be transplanting a few cuttings in a large planter and getting rid of the rest before they take over the middle section of my backyard.

Last year I strategically planted California Poppies as well as Oriental Poppies. This Spring, they came back stronger, sprouting everywhere except where I originally planted them. At first I wanted to get rid of those that went out of the designated area, but they look so beautiful and colorful that I decided to let them be.

There are four Spanish Broom shrubs that I also planted strategically (next to a barrel of Horsetail Reeds) in the middle section of the front yard. The Spanish Boom picture is about two and a half years old, and requires hard pruning at least twice a year to stop it from growing too tall. The plant self seeds and is invasive. The flowers on the other hand have a strong and pleasing perfume-like scents.

It’s going to be a very hot weekend here in the High Desert; rather than gardening, I will be hunting for large planters, and maybe for some vintage pieces.

Happy Gardening!

It is windy and raining! The past couple of months have been quite hectic in California, especially in the High Desert. It is as though Mother Nature is going through a phase … you know, like mood swing. One week we have high temperatures and the other, low temperatures. Even our bodies are becoming confused and concerned. I, personally, have not sneezed this much before.

A couple of years ago, we were gifted a few California Redbud seedlings. I wasn’t sure they would survive, since I have not seen any in the area. They are slow growers and are adapting well. I was pleasantly surprised to find them covered in tiny blooms. The Cercis occidentalis, also known as Western Redbud or California Redbud, is a deciduous shrub or small tree found in the foothills and mountains of California, as well as Utah and Arizona.

The Lavender Lady Lilac are thriving.

The French Lavender seedling I transplanted last spring has grown so much …

The Hedgehog Cactus has grown taller. Almost half of the buds are open, and the blooms are stunning.

Last Fall, I noticed that all my rose bushes on the left side of the front yard were not as healthy as they should have been and were not blooming as much either. We waited until they were dormant and relocated them to the backyard. They are now healthy, thriving, and blooming profusely.

The Lady Banks roses are blooming profusely this Spring and gracing the garden arches and gazebo with their delicate flowers.

Below is one of the two remaining original Photinia Fraseri shrubs. As you can see, it’s no longer a shrub, but a tree. I worked very hard on them after getting rid of over 30 shrubs along the front yard fence a couple of years ago and relocating two in the backyard. The shrub went through some hard pruning and straightening to look like that today. It’s healthy, beautiful, and thriving.

Nothing beats reading a good book on a gloomy day; on this note, I wish you all a wonderful weekend.

Happy gardening!