Flowers Shrubs & Trees Archives – Page 25 of 28

Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Peaceful Gardening

By JM PerezMay 9, 20131 min read532 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

Caterpillars Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Nature On a Cloudy Day

By JM PerezMay 7, 20132 min read762 views

It’s been four days since the winds started, with a little rainfall on Sunday night.
This morning I suited up and went to the backyard to make sure nothing was broken and that nothing big landed into our property (like the huge cardboard box which I found on Saturday morning nicely tucked beneath my Texas Sage shrub). I was pleasantly surprised once I stepped out. It wasn’t as cold, the winds were light and the air was fresh (I have always loved the smell of clean dirt after the rain). As I walked all the way to the backyard and back to the front yard, I saw the beautiful Red and Yellow Freesia below. Such a beautiful scented flower.

In the garden today, I noticed something feeding on my Gaura Lindheimeri (Wand flower).
As I took a closer look, I realized it was a large caterpillar with a green head and orange spike on its tail. Mostly green with some black and tiny yellow spots. My first reaction was to jump as I freaked out (I am not fond of caterpillars and everything that looks and acts like one, even if it’s not one). My husband and the kids came out to check it out and after noticing a few birds around it, my husband relocated it on a branch of a shrub (Photinia Fraseri). Later in life, these Caterpillars turn into Hummingbird Moths.

White-lined Sphinx Moth Caterpillar. — *White-lined Sphinx Caterpillar.*

After all the fun with the caterpillar, I deadheaded some roses. One of these days, when I won’t be as busy, I will blend a Potpourri mixture by drying out my rose heads and adding some scented oils.

I hope you are all in good Spirits and finding time to get out and smell the Roses despite the unstable weather.

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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 read1.1K 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).