High Desert Gardening Archives – Page 18 of 29

DIY: Gopher Trapping

By JM PerezDecember 3, 20131 min read1.7K views

We are rejoicing today as the trap we set in place finally caught the Pocket Gopher, which has been digging holes on a daily basis around my Photinia Fraseri (Red Robin) shrubs. Last week, I covered a hole it dug at the base of one of the huge barrels in the front yard and it kept returning to the same hole. Yesterday, we finally had enough and my husband decided to set a Macabee Gopher Trap in the freshly dug hole.

Materials/Tools Needed:

Macabee Gopher Trap
Shovel, Garden Trowel
Wire chain (to secure the trap in place)
Stake (to hold, support and secure the wire chain in place)
Gloves or your bare hands
Fabric, cardboard, leaves, mulch or anything light to cover the hole.

Step by Step:

Using a shovel, open the tunnel wide enough to set the trap
Use a stake to secure the wire chain (attached to the trap) to prevent the injured Gopher from running away with the trap. Otherwise you will have to dig further to pull out the dead rodent and recover your trap.
Cover the hole with plastic, fabric, cardboard, plywood, leaves, mulch or stones (to help create the illusion that the hole has been closed from the outside).

This is the fifth Pocket Gopher we have caught since we moved here.

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By JM Perez

Insects Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Joy Of Gardening

By JM PerezNovember 16, 20131 min read655 views

Despite the hectic weather, it felt good stepping out today and watching the wind send leaves flying everywhere in the backyard as I slowly made my way towards the front porch. It was time to bring my Boston Fern indoors. I walked around the backyard and spent a couple of minutes with my Roses. These are some of the moments I cherish the most. Growing and caring for Roses is hard work as it demands a lot of determination, time, patience and love. In the end it pays a thousandfold and I have had a wonderful year with my Roses.

On my way to collect the trash can from the street earlier in the week, I couldn’t resist stopping by my Rose Garden where a couple of rose bushes where blooming. As I began taking pictures of the beautiful blooms, I spotted a large Green Valley Grasshopper (from its rather large size, I believe it’s a female). I can’t tell if the insect was just hanging out, perhaps resting from a long flight or just getting ready to feed on my plants.

Today my heart is particularly filled with gratitude for the gift of Life and beauty in the World.

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By JM Perez

Insects Weather Nature Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

The Wind has Settled Down

By JM PerezOctober 30, 20132 min read590 views

What a change and what a lovely day! The winds have finally settled down, the dirt has hardened a little from the little rain we had on Monday and the thick grey clouds melted away. There was no damages to the plants and structures; but a backyard covered with so many tumbleweeds. I didn’t mind as I was happy to see a beautiful blue sky, the mountains covered in snow and some of my late blooming perennials.

I was so delighted to see my Mums all in bloom. They are easy to grow, low maintenance and late bloomers. I am growing mine in containers along with other Fall perennials. They have remained green for a very, very long time and just recently burst open with bright colors ranging from red to yellow. More information here.

I love Dianthus and mine seem to surprise me every day with a new color. I love the varieties.

As I was walking around my Rose Garden, I saw a huge dried up stem which snapped as soon as I pulled on it to expose a tiny cream-colored larvae. According to the website fs.usda.gov (USDA Forest Service – US Department of Agriculture), adult flat headed wood borers are small to relatively large beetles with small antennae and a characteristic oval body shape and they are called metallic wood borers because they are iridescent or metallic looking underneath and sometimes on top. Larvae are white, legless grubs similar to bark beetle larvae, but the body shape is elongated, and the head area is different than bark beetle larvae. They attack stressed, dying, or dead trees and can also attack freshly cut timber before it is dried.
For more information, click here to download the PDF file.

Can you see the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug below? I wouldn’t have noticed it if it wasn’t for my husband. What a clever attempt to camouflage and blend into its surroundings.

Happy Gardening and discoveries in your Yards.

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By JM Perez

Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Getting Busy on a Windy Day

By JM PerezOctober 27, 20131 min read640 views

What do you do when it’s windy and the day is slow? I could watch TV, a Movie, listen to Music, read a Book and so much more. What I love to do on a windy day when gardening is not an option, is simply walk around my garden and take pictures of my beautiful flowers. This morning I went around my Rose Garden and captured a few images with my camera. There are a lot more Roses which are yet to bloom.

Happy Gardening!

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By JM Perez

Garden Improvement Primitive Repurposing DIY: Projects Flowers Shrubs & Trees

DIY: Garden Trellis

By JM PerezOctober 26, 20131 min read621 views

The weather is great today, making it is a good day to get busy in the garden.
I got to bury the legs of the Garden Trellis that my husband build a few years back. This trellis will support the young vine (Common Jasmine), as well as provide proper training and maintenance.

This simple/primitive garden trellis was built using old pieces of some baseboard we removed from the house when we were doing the upgrades, a medium size screw to hold the top together as well as some twines.

Materials/Tools Needed:

Old baseboard pieces
Jute Twine
Wood Screws, Power Drill, Drill Bits
Stain (for the Wood) or Paint/Spray Paint

Step by step:

Get your baseboard and cut them into three pieces of your desire height
Hold the three pieces and screw them together at the top
Paint/Stain the finish product (you could paint/stain the pieces of wood before or after screwing them)
Let dry
Wrap the twine around the tripod, keeping it nice and tight and it’s ready to be used.

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By JM Perez