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High Desert Gardening

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 read2.1K 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
Animals Ground Squirrel Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Mr. Squirrel, Unwanted Tenant

JM Perez By JM Perez2 min read537 views

Can someone make this wind go away already? I surprised myself yelling. High Desert weather is erratic. We can never be too prepared as it’s difficult to tell what is coming our way. One minute it’s hot and the next your running towards coverage. There’s so much dust and dirt flying around. It’s such a lovely day and I wish we could all go outside, sit on the swings with a glass of sweet tea and be amused by our unwanted tenant, Mr. Ground Squirrel.

Fearless Ground Squirrel.
Fearless Ground Squirrel.

For a month now, we have failed at capturing a fearless ground Squirrel, which has been coming into our property regardless of the steps we’ve taken to keep it out. It doesn’t eat anything, just interested in digging holes (one of the holes goes all the way down to our storage basement). It climbs and sits in the motor area of one of our cars. It sits pretty in the shade and stares right back at us like it was our beloved pet or something. I have caught it standing on its hind legs looking all around like “yeah, this is the life and it’s all mine.” I laughed so hard a couple of days ago when my husband said it wasn’t a regular Squirrel. Ever since it made its appearance, we haven’t seen Rabbits or Gophers around. In a way it keeps anything else out, but we need to rid our yard of it.

In spite of the erratic weather, we are having fun indoors, watching movies and snacking on healthy treats.

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JM Perez By JM Perez