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.
French Lace Rose.Little Pete Mini-multiflora Rose.Blue Moon Rose Bud.
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.
Green Valley Grasshopper.Spartan Floribunda Rose.
Today my heart is particularly filled with gratitude for the gift of Life and beauty in the World.
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.
Snowy Mountains.
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.
Chrysanthemums.
I love Dianthus and mine seem to surprise me every day with a new color. I love the varieties.
A few Dianthus variety.
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.
Flat Headed Borer Larva.
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.
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.
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.
Garden Trellis for Common Jasmine.
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.
Fall has settled in and here in the High Desert, we have tasted its mood swings. Some of us are happy to be getting back into our warm outfits (enjoying the peaceful and cheerful atmosphere of a cozy evening by the fireplace) and others not so much. Fall is a beautiful season and I love it for everything except the shortening daylight. The kids on the other hand are excited as they look forward to falling leaves and gathering around the table for Thanksgiving. Here in the High Desert, it’s the same old; though one can’t get accustomed to it.
What about Gardening?
There is quite a lot to deal with in Fall that we often forget about gardening. Between shopping and organizing Halloween parties, Thanksgiving gatherings, finding time to rake falling leaves (and everything in between) to putting up the Christmas Tree, decorating the house/yard and buying gifts, there is very little to no time allocated for gardening. No time to start something, yet Fall is the time to find that unique spot surrounded by trees with leaves starting to change colors for that perfect engagement, maternity, family or self-portrait. What about taking a moment to plan, execute and start enchantment in your backyard with beautiful plants of your choice?
Fall is the best time for planting, transplanting and propagating pretty much everything as the soil is ideal at this time for the plant to develop roots while dormant. Fall is also a good time to find deals on plants as nurseries deeply discount them to make room for new inventories.
What Can You Do Now?
Grow your favorite plants from seed
Prune Roses, Shrubs, Trees and trim Perennials, hedges to prevent Winter damage
If you had houseplants outdoors, now is the time to bring them back indoors
Plant a new Lawn or fertilize the one you have
Protect Cacti and Succulents from excessive rain and frost by wrapping them with plastic
Protect Roses and Perennial beds for Winter from drying and frost by heaving with cedar mulch, mulch of straw, pine needles, chopped leaves or wood chips
Visit garden centers for tools, seeds and plants at discounted prices
I ordered some seeds and plants last month and I planted them a few days ago. My Roses and Shrubs have been pruned for the last time until next Spring. My Pyracantha has began producing red berries (which are mildly poisonous, by the way) and the Tulbaghia ‘Silver Lace’ are still flowering. A few more from this morning:
Texas Sage ‘Green Cloud’ – Drought resistant and blooming from early Summer through Fall. I have another variety called ‘Heavenly Cloud’ with green to gray foliage and deep purple blooms.
Texas Sage (‘Green Cloud’).
Red Autumn Sage – Drought resistant with long periods of bloom.
Red Autumn Sage (‘Furman’s Red’).
Tulbaghia ‘Silver Lace’ – Drought resistant and garlic-scented semi-evergreen hardy plant blooming from early Summer through Fall with beautiful umbels of lilac flowers.
Tulbaghia Violacea (‘Silver Lace’).
One of my goals is to surround my garden with a lot more Native Plants as there are many benefits of growing them and going native (they are beautiful, low maintenance, save water, attract and provide habitat for birds, attract beneficial insects). Click here or here to learn about going Native.
By JM Perez
