Gardening

Health and Wellness Weather Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening

Rebirth in The Garden

JM Perez By JM Perez2 min read559 views

After days of cold, high winds and dreary weather, the sun is finally coming through and I am able to get up, get out and get my gardening tools ready for Spring. I love new beginnings as it reminds me of a Rebirth in the Garden when Nature re-awakens and the plants suddenly become aware and start breathing. The days are getting slightly warmer and everything looks so lovely, even the unwanted weeds in the backyard.

The Sweet Almond Tree is starting to bloom. The Raywood Ash or Claret Ash Tree is budding (with wind-pollinated dark purple flowers opening). Daffodils, Daylilies, Violet Queen, Birgi® Lily, Belladonna Amaryllis, Hyacinth, Grape Hyacinth, Imprimis Bearded Iris, Tulips and other bulbs have been sprouting over the past few weeks.

Rebirth in The Garden.
Rebirth in The Garden.

I started weeding yesterday and I was amazed at how much I was able to accomplish. I have noticed that the best time for me to weed is a couple of weeks before Spring (when the soil is still slightly moist from rain and/or snow) and I always start early to have everything done before Summer (when brush fire warnings are high). Here in the High Desert we have a variety of weeds (most of which are Tumbleweeds) growing in our yards as well as the open land around us. It is much easier to pull them up when they are small because their thorns are still tender. As they mature, they break at their roots spreading their seeds on their way as they are driven about by the wind. Quite messy and dangerous. As funny as it is watching them spin around; it’s all laughs until a bunch of them end up in your yard, underneath your car or you get injured by the thorns.

Ideas for Tumbleweeds

Well, you know how the saying goes: “when you live with tumbleweeds, you end up finding uses for them.” Looking for decor ideas and unique inspirations for your Home? Check out how other people entertain themselves and or make a living using Tumbleweeds. I particularly like the Tumbleweed on Panel and the Living Tree Art.

Tumbleweed Ideas.
Tumbleweed Ideas: 1., 2., 3., 4., 5., 6., 7.

How about Tumbleweeds to compliment a Flower Bouquet or to use as a lamp shade? Possibilities are endless.

Tumbleweed Ideas.
Tumbleweed Ideas: 1. Tumbleweed Lamp Shade, 2. Tumbleweed Couture, 3. Flower Arrangement.
Twinkling Tumbleweeds.
Image Source: Sunset.com.

Are you overwhelmed with the plants growing in your garden and can’t tell if they are weeds or not, if they are toxic or not, if they have healing properties or not? Are the plants looking so lovely that you are divided between keeping them or getting rid of them? You may find helpful information in the following links.

Happy Gardening!

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JM Perez By JM Perez
Insects Nature Gardening High Desert

Garden Pest: Stink Bugs

JM Perez By JM Perez1 min read513 views

Stink Bugs!

They are green or brown and they got the name ‘shield bug’ from their shield shape and the name ‘stink bug’ from the odor they emit when threaten or when squished. On Monday afternoon, while gardening, I found a Green Stink Bug on a dried Rose bush leaf, probably busy laying eggs on my Rose bushes. They enjoy feeding on tender growth and for that and much more, they are simply a nuisances.

Green Stink Bug on Roses Leaf.
Green Stink/Soldier Bug on Rose dead Leaf.
Stink/Shield/Soldier Bug.
Image Source:  1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

As Spring is nearing, you should start inspecting your Rose bushes (especially on the underside of leaves or along stems for eggs) and other plants as these bugs enjoy new growth. You can use a hard spray of water from the hose early in the morning to eradicate them (add 1 tablespoon of soap in the sprayer), you can buy some Helpful Garden Insects, or you can use organic pesticides.

Click here to read more about Stink Bugs.
Click here, here and here to read about Rose Pests and how to control them.

Here’s a Book on Roses which I recommend: The Ultimate Rose Book.

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

Winter: Colors in The Garden

JM Perez By JM Perez2 min read670 views

I enjoy having beautiful color changing plants with unique leaf textures in the garden. Such plants add dimension and color to the landscape as their foliage make them a great accent to the yard as they brighten and light up the grey, dreary days by becoming the focal points in Winter.

Red Colors in Winter.
1. Pyracantha                                  2. Heavenly Bamboo                                  3. Nana Nandina

The first noticeable color in my garden is red and it’s Pyracantha.
We have one in my front yard (which we inherited from the previous owner). It’s evergreen and grows upright with fountain like arching branches. The beautiful White flowers are produced in late Spring through early Summer and attract bees and butterflies. The plant produces red berries in Fall that persist into the Winter. The berries colors vary from bright red to orange and are eaten by birds. The plant is easy to grow, drought resistant, prefers full to partial sun and requires very little water is once the plants are established.
I cut mine back each fall and they always come back stronger and healthier the following year. You must be very cautious around this plant since it is covered in thorns. The berries are edible when cooked. Pyracanthas have their share disease problems, such as fireblight (a contagious and destructive disease affecting members of the family Rosaceae). Click here and here to read about plant care information.

The second colorful plant in my garden which I love is Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina Domestica), a semi-evergreen shrub, a toxic plant, as parts of the plant are poisonous. The plant has fine-texture foliage and produces red berries in the Fall and persists through Winter and at this time, the foliage reddens before turning green. The plant produces white flowers in early Summer above the foliage. The plant prefers full to partial sun, it’s frost hardy, disease-resistant, drought resistant (though it performs best in moist and well-drained soil) and requires minimal care. Plant it in full sun for brighter leaf colors. Click here and here to read about plant care information.

One of my favorite plants for Winter color is Nana Nandina. It is a small evergreen dwarf bush with vivid green foliage that turns brilliant red in Fall and persists into the Winter. Just like the two other plants mentioned above, Nana Nandina prefers full to partial sun, it’s frost hardy, disease-resistant, deer and  rabbit resistant, drought resistant and requires minimal care. Planting this shrub in full sun will greatly reduce foliage diseases and will exhibit richer-colors. The plant requires fertilizer twice a year to encourage new growth.

1. Grevillea Noellii 2. Photinia Fraseri 3. Southern Moon® Yedda Hawthorn.
1. Grevillea Noellii                     2. Photinia Fraseri             3. Dwarf Yedda Hawthorn

Refer to the USDA Hardiness Zone Map below or click here to find your plant hardiness climate zone.

Other Winter Color plants are Japanese Pieris, Burning Bush, Hellebores, Camellias, Witch Hazels, Winter Jasmine, Winterthur, Berberis Berries, Grevillea Noellii, Ornamental Grasses and much more.

Happy gardening!

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JM Perez By JM Perez
Antiques Home Decor Gardening High Desert

Antique Wood Carved Horse

JM Perez By JM Perez1 min read843 views

Today has turned out to be a much beautiful day than I anticipated. I spent a few hours this morning tending to my plants. The weather has been so beautiful and I’ve been enjoying working in the garden. I took a moment to walk around the house and noticed that the weeds in the backyard are starting to grow rather rapidly. The amount of rain that fell these past couple of months was enough to keep the cycle going; the soil is still the same and no matter what I do, they keep on coming. I smiled. Weeding has been therapeutically beneficial for me.

On a much more positive note, my Antique Wood Carved Horse Figurine (with Brass Copper embellishments) finally arrived in the mail this afternoon. Old and gorgeous! It is made of carved wood, hammered brass, copper and bone inlays. This piece was hand carved from a block of wood and the brass chain bridle can connect to the saddle. The age of the horse is probably mid to late 1950’s.

Antique Wood Carved Horse Figurine.
Antique Wood Carved Horse Figurine.

I just added a rare piece to my Antique Horses collection.

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JM Perez By JM Perez
Nature DIY: Projects Gardening High Desert

Primitive 3 Legged Plant Stand

JM Perez By JM Perez2 min read1K views

This is the first year I have raked leaves in January. Usually by mid-December, the leaves from every tree in our property are completely gone. Fall went by so fast that the leaves from certain trees didn’t get a chance to completely change colors and fall off. Thanks to the erratic weather we’ve had the last couple of weeks, the last of the leaves from our Sweet Almond tree finally fell off. Many people are also experiencing Fall rather than Winter as their trees are barely losing their leaves. Thanks to a warm and lovely weather this morning, I was outside raking up the fallen leaves and working on a few projects. When Nature surprises me, I seize the moment.

Last month I wrote a post on Rabbits and the damages they cause in the garden. The picture below is one of the four barrel planters they ate from. Today we build four plant stands for the barrel planters using dismantled pieces of wood and slabs we kept from the demolition of an old Stall a couple of years ago. I was not interested in anything fancy, just a simple plant stand, high enough to prevent the Rabbits (and possibly squirrels) from eating the plants. All you need is three pieces of wood, cut same size (the height is up to you) as well as a square piece of wood. You gather your three pieces standing up, making sure they form a triangle and then you place the square piece at the top of your triangle and screw them in (each screw must go into your individual pieces).

Once you’re done, you can decide to paint your finish product or leave it as is.

Primitive 3 Legged Plant Stand.

The final task of the day was to lay Chicken Wire around our Daffodils, Stella D’Oro Daylily and Hyacinth beds (we used tie-down stake to anchor the wire into the ground).

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JM Perez By JM Perez