Flowers Shrubs & Trees Archives – Page 9 of 28

Irresponsible Pet Owners

By JM PerezMay 29, 20192 min read903 views

Tuesday night was so noisy and I barely slept. There were probably three to four stray cats going around the house and making weird noises by the windows.

I used to love my neighborhood and neighbors. I use to think our block was the best and had the best – and for a while it was so. Most of the folks we met here when we bought our home have either died, sold the home and moved or have become landlords. Nothing is the same and we are now surrounded by dishonest individuals; they put on a mask in public, but behind closed doors their true nature comes thru.

Although I do not own a pet, I am against all form of animal cruelty. I despise careless and abusive pet owners. Why get an animal when we can’t care for it properly? When we can’t guarantee it won’t become a nuisance to a neighbor? Just don’t do it because it’s wrong. The neighborhood is filled wit stray animals and it started about two years ago. I am not sure if lousy animal owners come and drop off their furry companions here or if perhaps to save face, some neighbors let the animals roam freely.

There’s a family in the neighborhood who lies a lot and who has been taking in cats and dog regardless of being told by the landlord not to do so. Our cameras have caught the animals as well as other irrefutable proofs we have, still they are set on the lies and deceits. How can people stoop so low? How can people deliberately ruin the peace of a neighborhood for their selfish needs? These people are always on the lookout, fearing that they will eventually get caught. I was told a story about a lady who was so guilty that one day, when she saw a car parked by her house, she immediately texted the landlord saying that she couldn’t go outside because she was sick. The landlord replied saying that she was at her home. This is exactly what I call ugly people, fake people.

This morning I found cat hair everywhere in the yard as well as damaged plants. The poor cats are probably hungry and I do not have pet food. Besides, feeding one will attract the others and before I know it, they will all take refuge on my property.

Please, do not own pets if you are not serious about the responsibilities that comes along.

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By JM Perez

Memorial Day Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Peaceful Memorial Day

By JM PerezMay 27, 20191 min read548 views

What a week! Just when I thought that Nature was starting to warm up, the cold weather returned with some kind of fury. Still I am grateful. I was able to sort my thoughts and organize ideas for my next book (yes, it has been too long and I am working on it).

I had plans for the garden this weekend. I bought a set of 3 cobalt blue glazed ceramic planters that I was hoping to fill with plants; unfortunately, the strong winds and dust particles in the air are definitely harmful to my health. I will work on them during the next few days before the heat sets in by the weekend.

Hannah Gordon Rose and Little Pete Mini-multiflora Rose are actually Rose Trees and the oldest plants in my garden. Last year I honestly thought they had died and made plans for replacements. To my amazement, they came back fuller and stronger this Spring and I am grateful.

For many years I had these Snapdragon in pots and for all those years, they bloomed profusely and remained quite short. I finally removed them from the pots and planted straight to the ground, where thy have grown taller and seem to be healthier.

Wishing you all a wonderful Memorial Day with your loved ones.

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By JM Perez

Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Blooms of The Week

By JM PerezMay 3, 20191 min read766 views

I am loving these Spring to Summer flowering deciduous Azaleas, the Cannon’s Double Exbury Azalea shrubs; the latest addition to our plant family. With their delicate green foliage, cream, pink, apricot and yellow flowers; they have begun attracting bees and butterflies.

The amount of rain we received this year has done wonders to the plants. I pruned them last year and they have all returned healthier with strong growth on large canes. I used to have over fifteen rose bushes on my property; the ‘Blue Moon’ Hybrid Tea Rose is now the oldest rose bush and the only one I kept from eleven years ago. I love the large delicate double lavender-blue fragrant blossoms. There was a set and only one survived.

My lone California Poppy blooming …

Kordes Perfecta Rose is thriving too. She is the replacement of one of the ‘Blue Moon’ Hybrid Tea Rose lost a few years ago.

I can’t remember the name of the gorgeous hybrid rose tree below; its flowers however, keep on amazing me year after year.

One of the rose buds on the Cecile Brunner Climbing Rose formed with elongated sepals. At first, I thought it was a deformed bud, but it opened its petals just fine. Interesting …

*Cecile Brunner Climbing Rose (bud with elongated sepals).*

Snow has not completely melted on the mountains, giving us that beautiful view.

I am looking forward to the weekend, there is so much to do in the garden.

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By JM Perez

Ladybugs Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Beauties Awake in Spring

By JM PerezApril 18, 20192 min read783 views

The weather is warming up, awakening and encouraging the plants to thrive. This is the Spring I love. When everyone and everything comes alive. When the old suddenly becomes news, when what was lost is once again found and when beauty is given for ashes. I love all the seasons, but I love Spring best for new beginnings in the garden.

Last Spring I bought two climbing roses (Yellow Lady Banks Rose) and planted them at each end of the second set of arches by the front gate leading to the backyard. By now, the arches would have been fully covered, but as you can see, only the climbing rose facing the front yard has covered half of the arch. Late last Fall, my neighbor’s cat was strangely attracted to that climbing rose and continuously peed on it for weeks straight. Of course, I could see the tracks, but I didn’t know at the time since all my plants run on drip irrigation. One day I saw that the rose was wilting, so I increased the amount of water thinking it was due to the heat. The next day, the plant died and I could smell the cat urine around the plant and in the soil. I would have made them replace the plant, had the cat (who has caught several times on camera) not gone missing. Yes, cat urine will kill your plants.

I had to wait until early Spring, when climbing roses were available in nurseries to get a replacement. I bought a White Lady Banks climbing rose and given that these are fast growing roses, I am pretty sure the arch will be fully covered by the end of the year. The Lady Banks’ Roses are beautiful and being thornless, they make training and maintaining painless. Also, they are drought tolerant and disease resistant especially when provided with full sun exposure.

After getting rid of almost all my rose bushes years ago, I decided to buy one more last month to replace one of the Blue Moon Roses which died. This one if called Kordes Perfecta Rose and bloomed for the first time yesterday. It’s quite a beauty.

My Rose trees are always infested with Aphids during this time of year. As I was about to spray the rose tree in the backyard with liquid Sevin® Insect Killer a couple of days ago, I was delighted and grateful to see a colony of ladybug larvae at the base of the plant while the majority were making their way up. Knowing the solution would kill them too, I surrendered and allowed them to do their job. As of today the rose tree is almost insect free.

A Painted Lady Butterfly resting on the green leaves of a Golden Arborvitae.

Happy gardening and I hope everyone is having a great day.

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By JM Perez

Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Busy in the Backyard

By JM PerezMarch 24, 20192 min read688 views

Spring break was wonderful. I slept a lot, ate a lot, and gardened a lot, just as I wished I would. My backyard looks amazing, it really does and I love how everything turned out.
We are redesigning parts of it, but as of now, we are working around the gazebo. I have been training a different set of climbing roses to make their way up the second set of garden arches by the side gate.

On Friday we saw a sun dog, (a little late as it was fading away). It was bright and quite a sight.

The Spanish Lavender I thought I had lost last Fall came back strong this Spring. It did poorly in a planter, so I planted it in ground, in a well drained soil and it’s thriving. I love the pleasing scent and vibrant flowers.

The Julia Rose Itoh Peony has tripled in size since last week and the delicate leaves will soon turn green.

A lone California Poppy plant.

Today was such a wonderful day and I decided to reward myself with a simple pleasure. For dinner I had a barbecue chicken pizza, a glass of beer (I hardly drink beer, if at all. But when I do, the only one I can handle is Stella Artois). I also enjoyed a delightful read (Didn’t My Skin Used to Fit?: Living, Laughing, Loving Life After Forty!) by Martha Bolton.