Gardening

Animals Ground Squirrel Gardening High Desert

Life of a Busy Squirrel

JM Perez By JM Perez2 min read895 views

I had planned on tending to my plants today, but my attention got drawn to one particular Squirrel.

From my bedroom window, I caught the squirrel on the first picture (left) climbing on the planter and eating some of the Clarkia Amoena.  As I ran outside to chase it off, it ran straight to its burrow, which is located at the next door neighbor’s backyard. When we built the Primitive 3 Legged Plant Stand early this year to raise it from the ground and prevent the Rabbits from eating the plants, I didn’t foresee Squirrels in the big picture. Just a few minutes later, I spotted the same squirrel next to our storage shed, wondering if it was safe to get into the basement, after damaging some of my Horsetail plants (picture on the right).

Squirrel
Squirrel on the Planter.

Either this Squirrel is starving or it just loves coming into our property. On the picture below (left), it found a nut somewhere in the backyard and it’s busy eating it. From he picture on the right, it’s just relaxing in the front yard underneath the Raywood Ash Tree. Life must be good or something for this little creature.

Squirrel Eating & Relaxing.
Squirrel enjoying a nut & Relaxing.

As I went to close the gate leading to the backyard, I spotted the little creature underneath the Sweet Almond Tree, enjoying a few Almonds. This Squirrel is fearless. I can’t believe how close I got to it before it ran off.

Squirrel enjoying some Almonds.
Squirrel enjoying some Almonds.

I guess after eating so many Almonds, it’s time to take a break and relax. Prior to that, it damaged and ravaged most of the plants in search of my Tulip and Crocus bulbs, seeds and digging up new sprouts. There was nothing funny about watching this varmint go through my garden the way it did. All the money spent on the plants and the energy spent in getting everything looking the way I wanted seemed to have vanished in an instant. I will be using an underground bulb cage for my next Fall bulb planting (click here for a tutorial in building yours).

Squirrel Relaxing
Squirrel Relaxing

So far, all attempts to get these Squirrels from our property have failed. For one we are thinking about removing all the Oleanders along the chain link fence in the backyard and installing wood fencing or Slats (none of these will prevent them from coming over; but it might slow them down as they will have to work harder).
For now, we set up a trap in one of their favorite locations. If it works, I will share the information with those of you dealing with sneaky Squirrels as well as other rodents in your yards.

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JM Perez By JM Perez
Ground Squirrel Weather Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Gladiolus Bulbs & Squirrels

JM Perez By JM Perez2 min read2.6K views

As the weather gets warmer (hotter, for those of us living in the High Desert), every one scrambles to the stores to stock up on cool drinks, snacks and others items to stay at home. The same scenario applies to animals as they search for their stores of stashed seeds, nuts and whatever they can find. I have seen Squirrels running in my neighbors backyard and just a couple ran across ours to get to the other side. There are just too many of them this year and they are starting to dig around. From the single squirrel I’ve seen on our property, they are now two.

Ground Squirrels.
Ground Squirrels digging and playing.

This morning, I found a bunch of holes in my children’s raised garden beds. I was saddened to see some of the Gladiolus bulbs pulled out, lying on the ground, partially eaten and the stems cut off. We had stunning Gladiolus blooms (Fiorentina, Pears, Star, Yellow and Orange) the last couple of years and I can’t say the same for this year. We have two more larger raised garden beds (not pictured) next to the ones below. One of which has Pink Tulips bulbs and the other Onions; both sustained damages as well.

Chicken Wire on Garden Bed.
Chicken Wire on Garden Bed.

To give me some peace of mind and to prevent further damages until we find a permanent solution, my husband decided to wrap some chicken wire around the top of the garden beds.

How Can You Fight Back?

  • Build Raised Garden Bed Fencing
  • Use Chicken Wire on your Garden Beds
  • Mulch with dried out Pine Needle
  • Sprinkle Coffee Ground around bulbs/base of your plants

The first two options are the best as a hungry squirrel will take high risks to get to its food source.

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JM Perez By JM Perez
Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Nerium Oleander Blooms

JM Perez By JM Perez2 min read1.1K views

The end of the month of May has always been one of my favorite time of the year mainly because I am enjoying the beauties of Spring (some of which will carry on through Summer and beyond). My Oleanders are starting to bloom all along my fenced backyard and it’s quite a lovely sight, making a great border. We pruned the plants last Summer after fertilizing and transferring a few to the other side of the fence. The plants have all kept the same height and are currently blooming profusely with pink, white and red flowers. This is one good reason for me to spend more time outdoors and enjoy the lovely view.

Nerium Oleander.
Nerium Oleander.

After attempting and failing to grow Oleanders for a year from seeds (collected from the seed capsule), I gave up. I think I would have had better luck by taking a cutting off an existing plant, submerging it in water until the cutting begin producing roots (after which you can plant the cutting in a garden bed or in a pot). This is such a simple and painless process compared to growing Oleanders from seeds.

Nerium Oleander Seeds & Young Plant.
Nerium Oleander Seeds & Young Plant.

Last Fall I noticed a strange sprout amongst my Birgi® Lily, which I quickly disregarded. Today, after taking a closer look, I realized that a seed had germinated after all and I know have a young plant. I will dig it out and place it in a pot next weekend. It might take years for the title plant to bloom and only then will I know its flowering color.

All parts of Oleander are poisonous and should be handled with extreme caution. It’s a Deadly Beauty.

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JM Perez By JM Perez
Health and Wellness Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Flowering Pomegranate

JM Perez By JM Perez2 min read2.2K views

I found profound peace and joy last weekend in the garden. I put on my gloves once to plant an onion which had sprouted in my fridge. I spent the rest of my time walking, admiring new blooms and meditating. Gardening is therapeutic and being in the garden, standing still in the midst of my plants always uplifts my Spirit.

Last year while shopping at Lowe’s, I bought a Pomegranate tree to honor my Mother, who loves its fruit. She would wake up every morning and off she went to the store to buy ripe pomegranates. She spent hours, lovingly making me Pomegranate juice when I was pregnant with my Son. It can be quite a tedious process especially when extracting the seeds is done by hand. She even had to wear gloves and ‘special clothes’ since pomegranate seeds and juice stain everything they come in contact with.
Pomegranate are high in anti-oxidants, they are a great source of potassium, fiber and they are rich in vitamin C.

Pomegranate Flower.
Pomegranate Flower.

At first I wasn’t sure the plant would survive, but I am amazed at how well it adapted and now thriving. It turns out that these fruit-bearing deciduous shrubs grow well in the High Desert as they are drought-tolerant and can be tolerant of moderate frost. I have only had it for half a year and I can’t tell if it’s fruitless/ornamental or if it will bear fruit; I guess I will find out in the upcoming weeks. For now, I will just sit back and enjoy the lovely bright red flowers.

Click here to learn about the Health Benefits of Pomegranate
Click here to learn How to Make Pomegranate Juice
Click here to learn How to Clean Pomegranate Juice Stains.

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JM Perez By JM Perez