High Desert Archives – Page 8 of 44

Snowfall Antiques Winter Repurposing Yard Sculptures Holidays Garden Decor Nature High Desert

End of Year Beauty

By JM PerezDecember 26, 20191 min read1.3K views

This will be one holiday season to remember.

The weather has been at its best all year long and I am very thankful for it all. Christmas was wonderful at our home yesterday and this morning, we have been blessed with more snow fall. We woke up to a sublime sight as everything was covered in white (our second snowfall of the year).

Early in the morning after breakfast, I excitedly walked around the backyard with my phone, taking photos of this beautiful winter scenery. Personally, I am quite content with this amount of snow and I am really hoping that we wouldn’t get more of it.

My daughter pointed out the palm tree on the picture below, stating that the weight of the snow on some of the fans has transformed the tree into a fancy dress. Can you see it?

I love the view from my backyard, which is still a work in progress. I love how snow makes pretty much everything look beautiful, fresh, dreamy and magical.

With one or two days of sunshine, the snow will be completely gone, revealing all the lovely green. Before that, we should be able to build a snowman this time around.

I hope everyone is staying warm and having a wonderful time this holiday season.

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By JM Perez

Thanksgiving Snowfall Weather Nature High Desert

White Thanksgiving

By JM PerezNovember 28, 20191 min read988 views

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” — John F. Kennedy

Nature has blessed us with snow today!

It’s been so long since it has snowed this much in the High Desert, with some areas seeing more snow than others. The neighborhood is alive with children and adults building snowmen and engaging in snow ball fights. It is such a beautiful day and I am thankful for Nature’s gift on this Thanksgiving day.

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” – Anonymous

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

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By JM Perez

Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Still Pictures: Blue Dawn Flower

By JM PerezJuly 19, 20191 min read1.2K views

The blue down flowers are out …

Happy Gardening!

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By JM Perez

Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Roses Of Sharon

By JM PerezJuly 5, 20191 min read1.6K views

Fridays are for touring nurseries and possibly plants shopping. Today was a good day as I finally found some gorgeous Rose Of Sharon trees/shrubs from the enchanting Chateau™ series which will survive in my climate zone. For years I tried variety Hibiscus, none of which made it pass Winter. Today, I am hopeful that I can enjoy these Roses of Sharon for many years.

Also, how beautiful is the Rose Cherub Daylily below? This is yet another cold-hardy plant with dark-green leaves and graceful ruffled rose-pink flowers with chartreuse-colored throats. It will be a great companion plant for the other variety of daylilies in my garden and humming birds and butterflies alike will love it.

Wishing you all a fantastic weekend and happy gardening.

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By JM Perez

Caterpillars Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Mellow Sunday

By JM PerezJune 30, 20192 min read1.2K views

It has been a busy day around the backyard garden. The weather has been cool lately, allowing us to trim most of the dead Pine Tree branches which were on our side of the property. Summer is another synonym of fire season and it never hurts to remove any fire starters around a home. That part has been completed on our side, the neighbors just have to continue working on theirs and it will be perfect.

On Friday morning we picked up a Vintage wrought iron tripled plant stand from a local store and the set of 3 cobalt blue glazed ceramic planters I bought last month look beautiful on it. The planters are filled with a variety of Echeveria succulents. Going forward with the cleanup, I have been trimming and shaping the Japanese Boxwood as well as the Common Broom shrubs, which are hosting the Genista Caterpillars, the larvae of the Genista Broom Moth, Lepidoptera Pyralidae . Yes, it’s that time of year again. I will be using a solution first thing tomorrow morning to get rid of the pests before they completely damage the plants.

The first Donkey’s Tail Succulent also known as Sedum Morganianum,blooming.

Yesterday we spent the day in Crestline, CA, shopping, sight seeing and of course, eating. It is such a beautiful and friendly little city that you can’t help but fall in love with. We stopped at a nursery and almost took the stunning Black-eyed Susan home, when I remembered that we have too many yellow flowering plants. I will be ordering the Rudbeckia “Cherry Brandy”, a new addition and different color to the garden.