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High Desert Gardening

Mellow Sunday

JM Perez By JM Perez2 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.

Donkey’s Tail, 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.

Black-eyed Susan.

Have a blessed Sunday.

Summer is Here

JM Perez By JM Perez1 min read648 views

I just realized that it’s the first day of Summer and we are already half way through the year. A couple of months ago I couldn’t stand the cold and here we are, getting ready to brace ourselves through some incoming heat waves of the season.

We have not been able to enjoy the outdoors as much as we would have loved to. The weather has been quite unpredictable;we enjoy those Santa Ana winds, just not when combined with heat and humidity.

Not much is happening in the garden. Unlike the other Daylilies, Siloam David Kirchhoff Daylilies are now awakening with beautiful blooms. The Gauras are thriving with vigorous growth and hosting the Caterpillars of the White-lined Sphinx.

Siloam David Kirchhoff Daylily.

Earlier this month I dug up the perennial bulbs and got rid of them all, except the Allium Drumsticks which I relocated. I love their eye-catching oval shaped burgundy blooms.

Allium Drumsticks.
Allium Drumsticks.

Happy gardening!

Enjoying the Day

JM Perez By JM Perez2 min read896 views

It’s hot out here and there isn’t much to do, except walk around and enjoy the beautiful plants.

So what’s happening in my garden? A few day ago, I got rid of the perennial bulbs, all excluding the Allium Drumsticks which I really like. I pruned and shaped the Autumn Sage, Texas Sage, Lavender, Boxwood and the Dwarf Myrtle. We also completely removed and got rid of the second Navajo Globe Willow tree on our property. These trees are easy to grow from cuttings, but don’t thrive in the High Desert and are susceptible to diseases.

English Lavender.

The Daylilies have started to bloom.

Pretty Woman Daylily.
Stella D’Oro Daylily.

I planted a few Ornamental Grasses at the right corner of the end of my property along side some Spanish Lavender, Autumn Sage, Miniature Rose bushes and Agave Ovatifolia (which I recently transplanted).

Fountain Grass.

The Pomegranate tree is blooming and producing fruits.

Pomegranate tree.

I have quite a few Yellow Bird Of Paradise Bush ll around my property which I constantly prune and shape. They are one of my favorite ornamental trees along with the Desert Willow.

Yellow Bird Of Paradise Bush.
Desert Willow tree.

Once in a blue moon we have some unfortunate events going on around the garden. Today we found a damage on the irrigation tubing caused by either a thirsty gopher or Ground Squirrel. These rodents have figured out where things are around here and the are becoming quite sneaky. These Agave Ovatifolia ‘Frosty Blue’ have all been dug out and relocated. The mature Agave was damage by a Gopher.

Damaged drip irrigation tubing.

Happy gardening and have a wonderful day.

Peaceful Memorial Day

JM Perez By JM Perez1 min read536 views

What a week! Just when I thought that Nature was starting to warm up, the cold weather returned with some kind of fury. Still I am grateful. I was able to sort my thoughts and organize ideas for my next book (yes, it has been too long and I am working on it).

I had plans for the garden this weekend. I bought a set of 3 cobalt blue glazed ceramic planters that I was hoping to fill with plants; unfortunately, the strong winds and dust particles in the air are definitely harmful to my health. I will work on them during the next few days before the heat sets in by the weekend.

Dahlia Flowers.

Hannah Gordon Rose and Little Pete Mini-multiflora Rose are actually Rose Trees and the oldest plants in my garden. Last year I honestly thought they had died and made plans for replacements. To my amazement, they came back fuller and stronger this Spring and I am grateful.

Hannah Gordon Rose.
Little Pete Mini-multiflora Rose.

For many years I had these Snapdragon in pots and for all those years, they bloomed profusely and remained quite short. I finally removed them from the pots and planted straight to the ground, where thy have grown taller and seem to be healthier.

Snapdragon Flowers.

Wishing you all a wonderful Memorial Day with your loved ones.

Blooms of The Week

JM Perez By JM Perez1 min read748 views

I am loving these Spring to Summer flowering deciduous Azaleas, the Cannon’s Double Exbury Azalea shrubs; the latest addition to our plant family. With their delicate green foliage, cream, pink, apricot and yellow flowers; they have begun attracting bees and butterflies.

Cannon’s Double Exbury Azalea.

The amount of rain we received this year has done wonders to the plants. I pruned them last year and they have all returned healthier with strong growth on large canes. I used to have over fifteen rose bushes on my property; the ‘Blue Moon’ Hybrid Tea Rose is now the oldest rose bush and the only one I kept from eleven years ago. I love the large delicate double lavender-blue fragrant blossoms. There was a set and only one survived.

‘Blue Moon’ Hybrid Tea Rose.

My lone California Poppy blooming …

California Poppies.

Kordes Perfecta Rose is thriving too. She is the replacement of one of the ‘Blue Moon’ Hybrid Tea Rose lost a few years ago.

Kordes Perfecta Hybrid Tea Rose.

I can’t remember the name of the gorgeous hybrid rose tree below; its flowers however, keep on amazing me year after year.

Hybrid Tea Rose.

One of the rose buds on the Cecile Brunner Climbing Rose formed with elongated sepals. At first, I thought it was a deformed bud, but it opened its petals just fine. Interesting …

Cecile Brunner Climbing Rose (bud with elongated sepals).

Snow has not completely melted on the mountains, giving us that beautiful view.

Mountains.

I am looking forward to the weekend, there is so much to do in the garden.