Today was an absolutely beautiful day here in the High Desert. I got the kids ready and drop them off to school and head right back home to tend to my garden and spend a great time in the backyard. The weather was great, the air was fresh, nature was peaceful and plants were covered with beautiful blooms.
Texas Sage in Bloom.Aptenia Cordifolia.Gaura Lindheimeri.
Our newest addition to the garden is the Pygmy Date Palm. Last year I got rid of all the rose bushes from the right section of my front yard (view here, picture captioned “Front Yard, Right“) and planted the the Pygmy Date Palm six months ago.
Pygmy Date Palm.
I came across a young bird this morning. It seems like the little bird came out of its nest for the first time and fell down to the ground. I spotted its mother on a nearby tree, so I left the baby alone.
Young Bird.
The squirrels are keeping me quite busy this summer, particularly the little ones. Early in the Summer the Pomegranate tree was covered in fruits and just a few days later, those little critters stripped almost all the fruit from the tree. I read somewhere that squirrels do not like the scent of spicy foods, garlic, peppermint and mothballs. I will try some of these to deter them and will be looking into other ideas since they have no problems climbing fences.
This has been a beautiful summer in the High Desert with Roses bursting all over the place. I took a morning stroll through the garden after dropping my babies off to school and it felt really good to walk among plants and enjoy nature’s beauties.
I spotted what turned out to be a cat-faced spider by the entrance to my storage shed.
Cat-faced Spider.
According to Wikipedia, the cat-faced spider is a common outdoor orb-weaver spider found in the USA and Canada.They are considered harmless with a low-toxicity venom and are useful natural predators for insects. They make their webs near lights, closed spaces, and on the sides of buildings. They can also be found under wood, overhangs, or guarded places such as animal burrows. They come in varying colors but are easily identified by the two horn shaped growths on their relatively large abdomen.
Hoping you are enjoying your day, wherever you are.
I love Lavender so much that I finally planted a couple in my front yard, right by my kitchen and bedroom windows. It’s beautiful, evergreen and it smell wonderful too. The plant attracts lacewings, bees, butterflies, ladybugs, praying mantises and hummingbirds. Lavender is known to repel mosquitoes, flies and other unwanted insects. Some common pest of Lavender plants are spittle bugs and aphids (ladybugs and praying mantises keep them in check).
Lavender ‘Lavance Purple.’Anouk Lavender.
The horsetails are thriving in the half barrel container. I cut them back every winter and they return stronger.
Horsetail (Equisetum Hyemale).
The Pomegranate tree has began producing flower buds and we are looking forward to lots of beautiful flowers.
Pomegranate flower buds.
The Yucca Pendula sprouts I transplanted almost three years ago are thriving on their own. I was pleasantly surprised this morning to see flower stalks emerging from the center of the rosettes. I am looking forward to seeing the fragrant ivory bell-shaped blooms. Click here to learn about Yucca Species Propagation.
Yucca Pendula Flower Stalk.
A variety of Gaura all around my property began producing a profusion of white, bright and light pink blossoms. Gaura Lindheimeri is a plant I really enjoy having around. They are self-cleaning, self-seedling, are drought tolerant, bloom for a long time and they bounce back stronger year after year.
Gaura plants attract bees, hummingbirds, butterflies, ladybugs as well as a variety of moths. A variety of moths such as the Primrose Moth and the Hawk Moth are attracted to the plant, feeding off their nectar, serving as a means of pollination and laying their eggs on the plant. The larvae and caterpillar feed on leaves and flowers. Unfortunately this plant also attracts aphids (which get eaten by praying mantis and ladybugs). Click here to learn about using ladybugs for aphids.
The Red Autumn Sage is another plant I love. It attracts hummingbirds and bees. I read somewhere that Salvia plants also attract groups of butterflies consisting of Swallowtails, Sulphers, Skippers and Brushfoots; some of which will lay their eggs on the plant.
Salvias are also self-cleaning, self-seedling, drought tolerant and bloom for a very long time (as early as spring through fall). They are very susceptible to spittlebugs (plant-feeding insects, which produces a cover of frothed-up plant sap resembling saliva). Click here to learn about controlling spittlebugs.
Salvia Greggii (Red Autumn Sage).
The Dwarf Cup flowers are in full bloom and going strong in the planter box. I found a couple of caterpillars on the plants, eating the flowers. They look like the larvae of Heliothis virescens.
Dwarf Cup Flowers.
I saw the beautiful female Mourning Dove as I was stepping out of the car and thought it was a figurine. The bird stood still as I took a closer look and flew away as my kids approached.
Female Mourning Dove.
Ground squirrels are at it again. I watched one having fun in the front yard this afternoon from my kitchen window. The rodent was busy eating the flowers on the Gaura Lindheimeri and attempted to eat those on the Desert Bird of Paradise.
I have not spent time in the garden lately and it’s been a few weeks since I shared what is happening around my home.
The weather has been intolerably cold lately that we have been sitting by the fireplace. After dropping my kids to school this morning, I took a look around my backyard and found a couple of interesting things.
Frozen Pipes.
The pipes are fine. What you see on the picture is the result of rain and wind on a very cold night. Last month, my husband covered all the outdoor faucets and exposed pipes with insulation and we drained the pipes a few days ago. Click here to learn about keeping your pipes from freezing.
Herb Robert covered in frost.
Nana Nandina, one of my favorite plants for Winter color, with its red winter foliage.
Nana Nandina.
A couple of weeks ago we cut down the Raywood Ash Tree and last weekend we said goodbye to our Sweet Almond Tree. Around June of last year it began bleeding sap and eventually died. We later found out that it was due to flatheaded borers. According to the website Yardener.com, adult borers are beetles, flat looking and colored metallic brown to dull gray. They emerge in the spring and females lay eggs in crevices in the tree bark. These hatch into yellowish-white worms, which promptly burrow into the trunk at the site where the eggs were laid. If the host tree is vigorous and healthy, these burrowing worms may be drowned by the sap. Weak trees fall victim to the borers’ activity as they tunnel in the trunk, producing sawdust-like material (called frass) and eventually girdling the tree. White, foamy sap leaking from cracks in the bark is a sign that borers are at work. Successive generations of borers widen tree wounds, burrowing more deeply into the heartwood of the tree.
I hope you are all staying warm during this holidays.
By JM Perez
