High Desert Archives – Page 19 of 43

Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Lovelies In The Garden

By JM PerezApril 13, 20142 min read951 views

Today is a beautiful day and things are looking up around here. The past couple of days have been really warm and rather than going outside to soak up some sun, I have remained indoors during the heat of the day. Squirrels are getting out in search for food with the Sweet Almond tree being their main target. The unwanted rodents have been digging at the base of the backyard fence to gain entry into the front yard with no success. We are looking into various fruit tree protection methods. Click here for some ideas.

The garden is lively with little surprises and beautiful blooms, amongst them the gorgeous Cytisus San Francisco below, also known as San Francisco Scotch Broom. From Spring to early Summer, the semi-evergreen shrub is covered in abundant sprays of fragrant yellow and ruby-red blooms.

Cytisus Scoparius 'San Francisco' — *Cytisus Scoparius ‘San Francisco’.*

The sight of this Purple Freesia and its pleasant sweet scent brightened up my day.

I have found so many tiny self-sown Gaura Lindheimeri seedlings around the gardens. I transplanted a few into pots and the rest around garden beds. It’s a great and inexpensive way to grow a garden. This drought tolerant flowering perennial will flourish in full sun and various soil types such as sandy, rocky and loamy (partial shade works too). The plant blooms profusely from Spring until frost.

To our amazement we discovered new Oleanders growth poking up through the dirt where we dug up the mother plant last Fall. In addition to being extremely poisonous, this drought, heat-tolerant and fast-growing ornamental shrub is very hard to eradicate. Last month’s three-day rainfall was enough to stimulate root growth. We dug a trench and disposed of the remaining roots. I will continue to monitor the area to ensure no shoots return.

Wishing you graceful moments in your own Garden.

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By JM Perez

Vintage Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Rose in a Vintage Cruet

By JM PerezApril 11, 20141 min read621 views

I spent a good part of my morning in the garden snipping off dead flowers from my Roses. It appears that Spring and Fall are the ideal seasons for my Roses to thrive and produce gorgeous flowers. All of my Rose bushes have a distinct, strong fruity fragrance and I enjoy living the moment. They make beautiful cut flowers too.

I cut a few fresh flowers which I placed in my Vintage Cruet (Chicago Peace® Hybrid Tea, Scarlet Knight, Queen Elizabeth and Iceberg Floribunda). Doesn’t it make a beautiful centerpiece and display?

I am still learning about pressing and drying flowers for keepsake. Click here to learn how to make dry flower arrangements.

Linking up to Beverly’s Pink Saturday.

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By JM Perez

Spring Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

The Sweetheart Rose

By JM PerezApril 4, 20141 min read1.2K views

For two and a half years we had a couple of Potato Vine growing in the front yard, alongside the arches. The plants were thriving until early last year when they died. We had quite a rough Winter and they didn’t survive the repeated freezes. We dug them out last Summer and replaced them with climbing Roses.

Cecile Brunner Climbing Rose (also know as The Sweetheart Rose and Climbing Mademoiselle Cécile Brünner Rose) were quite small when I purchased them and have doubled their size since then. I trained the main canes of my ‘John Cabot’ Rose to grow horizontally on a trellis to encourage the plant to put out more blooms and it is always full of flowers. I planted the Cecile Brunner Climbing Rosebushes on each side of a Vintage wrought Iron Arch set, a gorgeous decorative feature in my front yard, by the garden gate, leading to the backyard. These arches will support and showcase the plants.

During the coming days, I will begin training the Roses to grow horizontally on the arches, to create a beautiful and inviting gateway. The Rosebushes bloom profusely from mid-Spring until frost with fragrant light pink blossoms.

Click here, here or here to learn about Training Climbing Roses.

Linking up to Beverly’s Pink Saturday

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By JM Perez

Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Surprises in The Garden

By JM PerezMarch 28, 20142 min read854 views

The Wind has calmed down, at least for today and we focused our energy on ridding the yard of weeds. We spent part of the afternoon in the backyard, finishing up some projects, starting new ones and tending to the plants. Our little helpers pitched in as much as they could, which was awesome.

I noticed a couple of flowering plants here and there including some California Poppies. The ones I received from a neighbor last year reseeded so much that I am finding them growing all over my property. I am not fond of having things popping all over the place, so I have been busy relocating most of them to create a neat garden. A few are blooming with orange and golden yellow flowers. I love their silky texture.

While walking around in the yard, I spotted what seem to be either a young growing Almond tree or a young growing Apricot tree, still at its early stage of growth. In a few months, I will know for sure which tree it is since the sprouts of both are somewhat similar. I am guessing that the seeds were buried last year by Squirrels and now that they are sprouting the threat to their survival include rabbits and the same Squirrels, which may return to collect the seeds. We dug out the young plant, placed chicken wire at the base to protect the roots and we also enclosed the young plant with chicken wire to keep squirrels from getting to the plant.

I was also pleasantly surprised to see that a broken root from a Rosebush I relocated early this year has emerged from the dirt with healthy new growth. I simply pulled out the loose root and buried it in the dirt – it reminds me of hope, new beginnings and strengthens my belief in the idea that nothing is really lost in the World.

Unbeknownst to us, one of our wonderful neighbors has been sick. My husband and I decided to do something for them, which is to rid their entire front yard of weeds; a process we started late this afternoon. We are glad we can assist them in such a time of need and we wish them a speedy recovery as we miss seeing them around.

It’s been a week rich in emotions and today was a good day.

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By JM Perez

Spring Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

High Desert Windy Days

By JM PerezMarch 25, 20141 min read548 views

Windy days have returned in the High Desert and thankfully for us, we are done with our Spring cleanup.
This afternoon we accomplished so much in the backyard. We planted and transplanted a few plants. We started weeding all over again since more weeds are actively and rapidly growing from the last rainfall.

I was delighted on Friday morning as I captured the moon as it was still up in the clear blue sky.
Click here to learn more about this occurrence.

I am loving the beautiful sight of our High Desert Mountains. From my backyard these mountains are southeast of us as opposed to the snowy mountains which are southwest. The view is lovely whichever way you look.

The first Tree Rose in the backyard to bloom.

The Dwarf Cup Flower are starting to produce beautiful purple, cup-shaped flowers.

Dwarf Cup Flower (Nierembergia Caerulea 'Purple Robe'). — *Dwarf Cup Flower (Nierembergia Caerulea ‘Purple Robe’).*

Coleonema Pulchrum “Pink Breath of Heaven” bursting with beautiful tiny pale pink flowers and fragrant leaves.

Three years ago I purchased a Saucer Magnolia tree from Lowe’s, which I found in the plants clearance area. It flowered the following year and hasn’t since then. On Friday we relocated it to the backyard and it’s leafing out. I am confident that it was the right move to help the plant thrive and I am looking forward to see some gorgeous blooms in the up coming days, hopefully.

We finally parted with the huge bare root Ocotillo we’ve had for three years. It never rooted.

Happy Spring Gardening!

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By JM Perez