Some of the plants which are currently bursting out with colors in the garden are Daililies, Peony, Agapanthus ‘Storm Cloud,’ Salvia, Sage, Gaura, Snapdragon and rose bushes.
Julia Rose Itoh Peony.
Julia Rose Itoh Peony is one of the newest addition to my front yard garden. I can’t get enough of its gorgeous large flowers with ruffled petals and sweet fragrance.
Julia Rose Itoh Peony.Julia Rose Itoh Peony.
Asparagus Fern always make a nice full display and is a wonderful houseplant too.
Asparagus Fern.Asparagus Fern Flowers.
I am loving the daylilies this year with their vibrant colors.
The Horsetail Reeds in one of my many sliced wine barrels have not been thriving this season. As you can see, the hard to control creeping woodsorrel have equally been competing for water and nutrients. As soon as I manually remove them, I will have stronger and healthier Horsetail Reeds to enjoy.
Horsetail Reeds and Gaura Lindheimeri.
Happy gardening and don’t forget to keep both your plants and yourselves hydrated.
This is the second year my Mimosa Trees have bloomed. Last year was just a test, since I only saw one pink flower the whole summer. I have heard from people that Mimosa is a fast growing plant; mine however, don’t seem to be growing fast. I planted them from seed four years ago and I haven’t had issues with them or heard a single complain about them. And no, the seeds do not germinate everywhere as some might think (at least not here in the High Desert).
I have a huge backyard and I purposely planted multiple seeds in the same hole (in different areas). They are thriving, growing at the same pace and hopefully will provide much needed shade from the sun as they get bigger.
Mimosa Trees.
The puffy soft pink flowers smell wonderful and hummingbirds, butterflies, birds and bees all love mimosa trees. Their leaves are very sensitive and fold at the touch and for the night (it reminds me of the Tamarind plant, Guaiacum Coulteri, Acacia, Averrhoa Bilimbi and Popcorn Cassia, just to name a few). I have heard that the seedpods as well as the seeds within are poisonous at all times, causing seizures and even death.
Pink Mimosa Flowers.
Crab Spiders are indeed fascinating creatures. I found one devouring a bee.
Goldenrod Crab Spider Devouring a Bee.
It’s a lovely day today and we are having a great time in the garden.
I have been busy all morning tending to my climbing roses (Sweetheart Rose). I pruned and began training the rose canes to the double garden arches leading into my backyard. I will be purchasing another climbing rose and training it up the opposite side of the double arch.
The Ice King Double Daffodils are the first bulbs to bloom this year.
Ice King Double Daffodil.
New Growth on Navajo Globe Willow and Photinia Fraseri ‘Red Robin.’
New Growth.
Azalea is blooming profusely in this Home Depot Lead Gray Resin Antibes Urn.
Azalea Blooms.
Siloam David Kirchhoff Daylily are finally emerging.
Siloam David Kirchhoff Daylily shoots.
I purchased a couple of allen + roth Fiberglass Urns and filled them with Asparagus Fern.
Asparagus Fern.
On Monday we bought two Purpleleaf Plum trees and some shrubs from Mark & Nellie’s Nursery & Landscape and had them delivered within a couple of hours. We planted them in the front yard and moved the Pygmy Date Palm trees to the backyard. I can’t wait for everything to start blooming.
Purpleleaf Plum Tree.
We finally got rid of all the Desert Willows trees around our property except for the one at the end of the backyard, which I am training to grow as single trunk trees. My main concern with the plants are ants. They are fond of Desert Willow trees.
Hungry squirrels have caused a lot of damage in the garden lately. It is always disheartening to watch them devour fresh new growth and gnawing on pretty much anything they dig their teeth into. As new growth emerges from the Gaura Lindheimeri, those rodents have it completely devoured the same day.
We’ve had a couple of beautiful and warm days here in the High Desert. I am enjoying Thanksgiving break with my wonderful kids. They keep me busy, sane and entertained. They are both avid readers and can’t seem to get enough. My son is about to finish reading all of the thirteen novels of A Series of Unfortunate Events. My daughter is reading the Nancy Drew Diaries. All is well and we are very grateful.
We have been busy in the backyard cleaning, pruning, trimming, propagating and transplanting plants. Everyone is looking forward to rake some falling leaves; however, the Mulberry tree has been slow at dropping off its leaves, which are still green. The Navajo Globe Willow, Mimosa and Pomegranate trees have shed almost all of their leaves.
As you can see on the picture below, the left side of the backyard fence is completely done and we will start enclosing the back middle as early as next week. We are very excited and thankful for the hard work.
The Heavenly Bamboo are thriving and new shoots are appearing all around the mother plant. I am still debating about transplanting the runners. The foliage on those in my front yard have all turned dark red.
Heavenly Bamboo new Shoots.
This Agave was planted two years ago as a pup and has thrived ever since. As of today, four pups to be exact have emerged from a distance to the mother plant, all attached by a thicker root. Three of the pups are growing in my property and the fourth one is in my neighbor’s yard.
Agave Ovatifolia ‘Frosty Blue’.
Below is the result of a Pendula Yucca I propagated from rhizomes three years ago. Two more emerged at some point, and the third has multiple trunks. In my backyard alone, I should have over thirty adults and a few new sprouts (which I often snip off to prevent the formation of new trunks). It took me almost a day to trim the plants’ sharp and spiky leaves (for this, one needs a good pair of cut resistant sleeves with thumbhole and good pruners).
Pendula Yucca.
I also trimmed the Texas Sage and Scotch Broom.
I started cutting back some of my perennials, such as Gaura Lindheimeri. We pruned the Purple Leaf Cherry Plum as well as the Photinia Fraseri a while back and we will be pruning the Mulberry tree as soon as it sheds its leaves.
Yes, I am sore and it was worth it.
The garden looks a lot cleaner and the plants healthier and nicer.
Today I made myself happy by getting my hands dirty in the garden!
Rose Moss are popping pretty much everywhere in the backyard and I planted as many as I could in pots. They are extremely drought tolerant with vividly colored blooms.
Rose Moss.
I have a variety of Lavender, all of which are adding a burst of color to the garden and the bees are loving it.
Russian Sage.
I have a couple of Silvery Cassia which I planted a couple of years ago. They are now about 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide each. This evergreen plant with its silver, sickle-shaped foliage is extremely drought tolerant as well as cold-hardy and blooms almost all year round.
Silvery Cassia.
The Crimson Glory Tea Tree is still growing strong and for the past years, I’ve enjoyed having it as a shrub. Now, however, I am training it into a small tree.
I have been growing Horsetail reeds in barrels for the past five years, cutting every shoot back to ground level to keep them in bounds and from invading the yard. A couple of weeks ago I found one shoot growing outside, at the base of the barrel and I am beginning to wonder if controlling this plant might become an issue.
Horsetail Reeds.
The weather has been great lately, but it seems the warm days are coming to an end.
By JM Perez
