High Desert Gardening Archives – Page 26 of 29

Primitive DIY: Projects Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Charming Primitive Wood Planter

By JM PerezMay 11, 20132 min read600 views

Yesterday we took a trip to Lowe’s. I have noticed that close to the end of each Season, the store offers a very limited quantity of selected plants. Last Fall I missed out on a plant which I really liked by promising to return the following days and to this date, that particular plant hasn’t made a comeback. Today, when I spotted a Cytisus San Francisco Red Broom Plant, I quickly picked one of the only four in stock.

Where to plant this beauty, I asked myself. We looked at a huge variety of planters and I still couldn’t find one that would compliment this plant. I turned to my very handy husband and kindly asked if he could build a planter for me and he said yes. He built it using pieces of scrap and reclaimed woods we found laying against our storage shed when we bought our Home. The wood below was already painted white, all we did was used a wire brush and scraper to scratch and remove some of the paint which was chipping off. By doing that we ended up creating an old distressed finish and then we used a home-made stencil to spray paint the silhouettes of the Tulips bellow. Simply charming and it turned out better than I expected.

Primitive Planter. — *Primitive Wood Planter.*

Materials/Tools Needed	Step by step
Wood Chop Saw Lumber/Scrap Wood/Reclaimed Wood Nails/screws Hammer/Drill, Drill-bits	Decide on the size of your planter Measure and cut your pieces Assemble the pieces

This morning I filled up my planter with clean plane dirt and potting mix before setting the plant in. We all like it very much and they both make a lovely combination. I am grateful for a good find, a very handy husband, for my family as well as our priceless time together and for the ability to appreciate little things.

I hope our little projects inspire creativity for your gardening plans.

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By JM Perez

Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Peaceful Gardening

By JM PerezMay 9, 20131 min read460 views

It was a gorgeous day today. I got to spend a few minutes outdoors admiring Nature. I promised myself not to put on my gloves today; just sit back and enjoy the beauties surrounding me. A few of my favorite plants are starting to bloom, including the following:

Stella D’Oro Daylily is not only one of my favorite Daylily, but it’s also a favorite to rabbits around here. It’s a lovely repeat bloomer with buttercup yellow flowers. This is the first of three plants to bloom.

My Snapdragons surprised me this year by coming back to life after being eaten last year (to the last stems) by a rabbit and being stored in the garden shed without a drop of water for months. They are healthy and thriving and make lovely bouquets. They come in a variety of colors, some are intensely colored and others bi-color blends. Snapdragons look lovely when used as front borders and propagate by seeds as they often self-seed. This particular plants are not very drought tolerant; however, the Summer Snapdragons are.

The Red Riding Hood Beardtongue (Penstemon ‘Red Riding Hood’) is the latest addition to my drought tolerant plants. It is a gorgeous plant with an abundance of tube-shaped flowers on long stems. Ever since I planted it, it has attracted a good number of hummingbirds and butterflies.

Happy Gardening and Happy Ascension Day!

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By JM Perez

Ladybugs Spiders Insects Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Insects In The Garden

By JM PerezMay 3, 20131 min read1K views

For the past six years we have used our garage as storage for things we didn’t need in the house. It seems that for every item we’ve given away, we’ve somehow receive twice as much. This afternoon, we started re-organizing the garage, moving things around, sorting others in different boxes (those we are keeping, the giveaways and those we are simply getting rid of). I am always excited when we clean up because I know for sure that I will find items to donate to others in needs. I have learned never to hold on to things which no longer serve my needs and when it comes to donating I do it with love and never expecting anything in return, not even a simple thank you. My only reward is knowing that someone, hopefully, will put whatever they receive to good use.

While outdoors gardening, setting up the new planter and deadheading my roses, I found interesting bugs.

I spotted the Goldenrod Crab Spider above on the Judy Garland Rose pictured. It dropped off a flower petal when I got too close and landed on a stepping stone. Younger females especially tend to change color from white to yellow depending on their targeted flower (to blend in appropriately or become nearly invisible).

Wishing you a good night and a happy, fun-filled weekend.

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By JM Perez

Spring Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Still Pictures: Sparaxis & Freesia

By JM PerezApril 24, 20131 min read803 views

Here are a couple of lovely shots of Sparaxis and Freesia in my garden today.

Red Sparaxis. — *Crimson Sparaxis (Sparaxis Pillansii).*

Happy Gardening!

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By JM Perez

Spring Gardening High Desert

Deadheading Roses

By JM PerezApril 10, 20132 min read731 views

Here in the High Desert, the first two weeks of Spring are awesome. The weather is simply at its best (not too cold, not too hot) and one is able to get out and get things done. After this time, we are ‘blessed’ with what seems to be a 24 hour high and gusty winds, which will go on for a few more weeks before finally settling. Gardening is not impossible at this time, just challenging as you have to go out there well equipped and armed:

Safety Goggles to protect your eyes from dust and allergens in the air.
Safety Nose Masks (protection from dust and allergens).
Beanie hats, bandana, Sombrero, or whatever you can think of to protect your forehead from the cold wind.
Water resistant Gloves. They will keep your hands warm, protect them from blisters, thorns, handling gardening tools, sharp edges. They will prevent dirt from getting under your nails and prevent your hands from drying).
Dress warmly to protect your skin from the wind and cold.

It has been two weeks and a half since the beginning of Spring and the first Rose blooms in my garden are fading. I had only a few days to enjoy them and now snip them off like they were never there in the first place.

I was busy all morning going around my Rose Garden snipping off dead flowers from my Roses to give the plants a cleaner look and to encourage more flowering. For the past six years, it has become a task in which I take great pleasure in accomplishing and I do it once a week after the Rosebushes start flowering until the plant goes dormant. Here in the High Desert, it gets so hot that our beautiful flowers fade a few days after blooming and in extreme conditions they fade before fully blooming and sometimes the Rose’s buds dry out giving an unattractive appearance to the plant and subsequently, to the yard. To me, that is just unacceptable.

Happy Gardening!

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By JM Perez