JM Perez

498 posts

Poet, Writer and Published Author. Insatiably passionate about gardening, Health and Wellness. I enjoy collecting Vintage and Antique choice pieces.

Ground Squirrel Plant Propagation Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Summer End Happenings

By JM PerezOctober 2, 20232 min read449 views

It has been quite an interesting couple of weeks here. The weather has been hectic and it’s hard to tell if we are still in Summer or moved onto Fall. One week it’s scorching hot and the next it’s very cold; then having to deal with allergies and everything in between. Nevertheless, it feels good to welcome a new season.

A few days ago, a young chicken found itself into our backyard, and it was quite hilarious to watch my kids run after it in multiple attempts to get it to return to where it came from. One of our close neighbor’s have a chicken coop, and strangely, the chickens prefer to sleep in a tree. It took a while, but in the end, the young chicken climbed onto a bench and flew into a different neighbor’s backyard. We all had a good laugh and workout out of it …

A few months ago I experienced first hand how invasive the ‘Madame Galen’ Trumpet Vine can get.
Last Fall, we trimmed the vine back to the main trunk and relocated it by an opened area next to the storage shed. We thought we took out all the roots, only to find out a few months later (after it rained heavily) that this plant is extremely invasive. Young plants began emerging and worsened each time we got rid of it. Two weeks ago, we dug a large area, found the main root and pulled it out. Keeping our fingers crossed!

Finally, after months of trial and error, we caught one of two mischievous squirrels. These rodents are becoming smarter when it comes to avoiding traps. They have destroyed so many of my tender and younger plants that I am now going back to using chicken wire to protect the most vulnerable plants.

I have been doing a lot of cleaning in and around the house. Indoors, I have been sorting, organizing, re-organizing, getting rid of, and giving away stuff someone else could use. There’s still much to do, but as of now, it’s good. Outdoors, we finally finished the deck.

Happy gardening.

Pages:

By JM Perez

Vintage Home Decor Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Scorching Weather & Beautiful Blooms

By JM PerezJuly 10, 20232 min read435 views

It’s a beautiful day out here in the High Desert.
I have not done much in the garden lately due to the scorching weather, but I go out early in the morning to make sure that all the potted plants are getting enough water. I am grateful they are still thriving.

I first discovered Allium Drumstick many years ago, when I was shopping for bulbs and couldn’t find the variety I liked. The came back year after year and I enjoyed them, until a couple of days ago, when I found the long stems on the ground. It turned out that a gopher ate the roots/bulbs.
I cut a few of the stems and placed them in a vintage vase.

*Allium (Sphaerocephalon) Drumstick Stems in Vintage Vase.*

Training, pruning and maintaining the Amethyst Falls Wisteria have been very rewarding. Our pergola is now partially covered in gorgeous lavender-purple flowers.

There are many plants currently blooming around the gardens:

*Rose Mallow (Lavatera Trimestris Loveliness).*

The Tulbaghia Violacea ‘Silver Lace’ (Variegated Society Garlic) below is one of my oldest plants, and it’s still thriving after fourteen years.

Lavender bushes are getting bigger.

Some succulents are blooming, such as the Pine Cone Cactus Flower, Corsican Stonecrop flower, and Sedum Morganianum (Donkey’s Tail).

Many rose bushes and trees are in bloom:

After a year, the Nicotiana Glauca seedling has grown quite a bit.

The steamy temperatures and high humidity have been harsh, especially for wildlife. I found a dead hummingbird as well as a few dead lizards. Ground squirrels and gophers have been active in the garden, damaging plants, sprinkler systems, and irrigation pipes.

I find so much joy in my garden. Spending time alone with Nature has always been healing and awakening.

Happy Gardening!

Pages:

By JM Perez

Plant Propagation Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Plants are Wonderful Mood Boosters

By JM PerezMay 19, 20231 min read554 views

For the most part, the weather has been steadily warming up. Of course, some days are as cold as winter days, but nothing serious as keeping us indoors. Trees have put out leaves, flowers are blooming, and critters are wreaking havoc in the gardens.

Pincushion Carnival Yellow is an interesting plant I saw at the nursery. I resisted the urge to purchase a few as they reminded me of Gopher plants, which are loved by Gophers. I have many yellow flowering plants in my gardens, and I think a different variety called ‘Flame Giant’ Nodding Pincushion (Leucospermum cordifolium ‘Flame Giant’) will complement the other plants and add color to the garden.

My daughter’s Rose Mallow is blooming profusely.

It has been a joy watching the Freesias.

The ground cover roses weren’t doing well, so I moved them into planters, where they are thriving.

The Aeonium arboreum ‘Zwartkop’ have grown so much that they need their own container.

*Aeonium arboreum ‘Zwartkop’ and Sedeveria.*

When the weather outside is erratic, we can always count on plants to boost our mood.

Happy gardening!

Pages:

By JM Perez

Music

Soulful Words: Le Soleil Donne

By JM PerezMay 12, 20232 min read523 views

“Because through love, we feel the intensity of our connection to everything and everyone. And at the core we are all the same. We’re all one.” ― Loving Annabelle

LE SOLEIL DONNE
– Laurent Voulzy –

Tape sur nos systèmes
L’envie que tout le monde s’aime
Le soleil donne
Ce vieux désir super
Qu’on serait tous un peu frères
Le soleil donne

Le soleil donne
De l’or intelligent
Le soleil donne
La même couleur aux gens
La même couleur aux gens
Gentiment

Feel fire in your blood
Make believe we’re all in love, in the sundance
You can dream the sweetest games
Hold hands around the flames, in the sundance
In the sundance
The gold keeps coming down
In the sundance
White’s turning into brown
And rain don’t stay around painting the town
(We’re just dancing)
(In the sundance)

Nace al deseo de quererse mas, olé el sol
Oro inteligente alumbra la gente, olé el sol
Olé el sol
A todo el mundo da, olé el sol
Una tez morena, una tez morena igual

(Cuando, cuando baila el sol a sol mi piel morena tiene sabor)

Oh, oh, oh, oh, la même couleur aux gens
Ioh-oh, ioh-oh, la même couleur aux gens
Oh, oh, oh, oh, just color me tomorrow
You can never stop the changing skies, dancing in the sundance

Tape sur nos systèmes
L’envie que tout le monde s’aime
Le soleil donne
Ce vieux désir super
Qu’on serait tous un peu frères
Le soleil donne

Le soleil donne
De l’or intelligent,
Le soleil donne
La même couleur aux gens
La même couleur aux gens
Gentiment
(Sundance, sundance, sundance)
Le soleil donne
(Sundance, dance, dance, dance)

Oh, oh, oh, oh, la même couleur aux gens
Oh, oh, oh, la même couleur aux gens
Oh, oh, oh, oh, la misma tez morena,
Siento, me siento pedacitos del sol
Oh, oh, oh, oh, just color me tomorrow
We’ve got children living in our eyes, dancing in the sundance
Oh, oh, oh, oh, la même couleur aux gens
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, la même couleur aux gens

(yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
(yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

Oh, oh, oh, oh, la même couleur aux gens
Oh, oh, oh, la même couleur aux gens
Oh, oh, oh, oh, la même couleur aux gens
Ioh-oh, ioh-oh, la même couleur aux gens

Click here for the English translation.

Pages:

By JM Perez

Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

A Delayed Spring

By JM PerezApril 9, 20231 min read572 views

The weather hasn’t changed much; it is still very cold here in California especially for this time of year.

The signs of Spring came a little late this year due to the erratic weather we’ve had for the past couple of months.The Daffodils, which are usually our first bloomers, didn’t make it out until the end of March. As the weather began to warm up, everything is coming in a rush and the gardens bursting into life with flowers.

Daffodil Replete, also know as Luscious Double Daffodil, are my latest perennials addition. Many years ago I planted Ice King Double Daffodils as well as Tazetta ‘Grand Primo’, which I ended up loosing the bulbs to gophers the next season. I hope we can enjoy the Replete for may more years to come.

The Purple Leaf Cherry Plum trees were the first trees to put out flowers and they were absolutely stunning with lush display of delicate flowers. We live in an extremely windy area, which means that we often lose flowers and flower petals almost as soon as they emerge.