Gardening

Yard Sculptures Fun Activities DIY: Projects Gardening

Moss Art & Sculpture

JM Perez By JM Perez2 min read1.6K views

Green. Such a vibrant color which makes most things beautiful and gives a sense of Hope. I love this color.

According to Empower Yourself with Color Psychology, green is the color of balance and harmony, creating equilibrium between the head and the heart. Green is also the color of growth, the color of spring, of renewal and rebirth. It is an emotionally positive color, giving us the ability to love and nurture ourselves and others unconditionally. The color green is also associated with jealousy and envy.

What is it about Moss that makes it so appealing? It adds simplicity and charm to the area it’s growing on.
When I was five and a half years old, we moved to a one acre property surrounded mostly by tall trees. There was a forest right next to our house and I enjoyed watching all the “green” growing heavily on the tree trunks. At one point I convinced myself that it was an enchanted Forest.  Each time I see Moss, I get reminded of that Forest.

Imagine waking up every single day to a gorgeous low maintenance evergreen lawn that requires no mowing, no fertilizers, no pesticides, little to no weeding and less watering once established. How about waking up to a beautiful sight within your backyard? Moss will do the trick and tolerates drought longer than grass.

Sculptures from The Lost Gardens of Heligan

Grey Lady by Susan & Pete Hill. Lost Gardens of Heligan.
The Dreaming Girl by Susan & Pete Hill. Lost Gardens of Heligan.
The Giant's Head by Susan & Pete Hill. Lost Gardens of Heligan.
The Giant’s Head by Susan & Pete Hill. Lost Gardens of Heligan.
Mud Maid by Susan & Pete Hill. Lost Gardens of Heligan.
Mud Maid by Susan & Pete Hill. Lost Gardens of Heligan.

What about the Moss Couch below? I find it quite charming and what a great idea! It will look awesome in my backyard. Click here for a step by step tutorial on Moss covered chair for your garden.

Moss Couch, Memphis Botanic Garden.
Moss Couch, Memphis Botanic Garden (My Big Backyard).
Bruno's Art & Sculpture Garden.
Bruno’s Art & Sculpture Garden.
Abandoned Car covered in Moss. Image Credit: Fine Art America.
Abandoned Car covered in Moss.
Image Credit: Fine Art America.

Six years ago when I first saw the pictures above, I knew it would be a wonderful idea to create one of those sculptures in the backyard. We quickly realized that we didn’t have enough shady areas at the back and this fact alone made it difficult to grow Moss around here. It was quite a disappointment to say the least.

Growing Moss in the High Desert is possible provided a shaded area. Maintaining it however, might be challenging and time consuming as we have hot, dry and humid weather in the High Desert. Not only must one plant Moss in shady areas, but the soil must constantly be kept moist (which will increase water bill costs).

Click here to learn about growing Moss.

Pages:
JM Perez By JM Perez
Insects Gardening High Desert

Rose Budworm

JM Perez By JM Perez1 min read4.4K views

For over a month now, I have noticed random holes in some of my Rose bush buds. I blamed the ants and other tiny insects. This afternoon I found a pinkish worm burrowing and eating its way into a bud (using the petals as food source). Due to their size and the color of the buds, the larvae can be hard to notice too.

Rose Budworm.
Pre-pupatory Larva of a Glistening Caerulean burrowed in a Rose bud.
Rose Budworm.
Pre-pupatory Larva of a Glistening Caerulean.
Rose Budworm.
Hole in a Rose Bud caused by a Budworm.

When next you’re working around your Garden and you see a bunch of holes on your Rose buds (or any other bud), simply hand pick the worm and dispose of it.

I found an interesting blog post which talks more about the life history of this Glistening Caerulean. Click here.

Pages:
JM Perez By JM Perez
Primitive Spiders Nature Gardening High Desert

Our Productive Day

JM Perez By JM Perez2 min read909 views

Tending to the garden and backyard today was productive and fun. We achieved so much and will be moving forward with our design. I dug out one of my young Yucca Pendula from the backyard and moved it to the front yard. I dug out most of my Gladiola from the front garden and move them to the back, relocated my Star Jasmine and I was pleasantly surprise to find out that one of my mini Rose bush is blooming for the first time in at least 4 years! It has been growing in the front yard all this time until last month, when I moved it to the backyard. It has surprised me with beautiful white rose flowers. I guess it just needed a breath of fresh air.

I spotted a few interesting insects, one of which the Seaside Grasshopper below.

Tan Brown Grasshopper.
Seaside Grasshopper.

Four years ago, we harvested a couple of Mint Plants from a family friend. We brought them home and they took off as soon as we planted them. We knew little about growing this plant and we were so overwhelmed when they invaded pretty much everything around them. We thought we had removed all of it until last month when they began growing from the roots. I dug up one new shoot and planted it next to a mini rose bush. It has grown so much that I asked my husband to build a planter just for it. Growing up, my Mom used Mint in the kitchen all the time and I loved the smell. So, growing it not only remind me of the good times, but it also gives me an opportunity to introduce it to my children. Click here to learn about Mint benefits and here to find recipes.

Primitive Planter.
Primitive Planter.

I found a Tan Brown Widow Spider on one of the birdhouses we built. It seemed to have appropriated the birdhouse. According to the Center for Invasive Species Research, University of California Riverside, the Brown Widow Spider, Latrodectus Geometricus, became established in Southern California in early 2000 and has become well entrenched as part of the local spider fauna in urban Los Angeles and San Diego.  The brown widow spider is continuing its expansion in Southern California and could possibly move northward into Central California. Click here to read the complete article and click here to learn to identify this spider.

Brown Widow Spider.
Tan Brown Widow Spider.

Happy Gardening and enjoy your weekend.

Pages:
JM Perez By JM Perez
Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Scarab Beetles & Plants

JM Perez By JM Perez2 min read948 views

I spent part of my morning hard pruning more roses, cutting off the low hanging branches of Desert Willow trees growing along my fence and relocating some bricks for a future project. Everything was going well until I took a closer look at the last of my Crimson Glory Tea Tree. I knew I had lost it and I knew the cause: Curl Grubs, around fifteen to twenty of them! I pulled out the dried up shrub and made sure I removed every single larvae I could find from the hole and to my surprise, I found an adult. I read that as the Scarab Beetle emerges from the ground, it lays more eggs in the soil. It sounds to me that there is little to no hope to the plant since it’s a never ending cycle until the plant itself is destroyed and the main source of food is gone.

Crimson Glory Tea Tree.
Crimson Glory Tea Tree (a couple of weeks ago).

Crimson Glory Tea Tree is a plant I really like. I lost the first two after four years and decided to give it another try. Now I know that the plant is also a favorite of Scarab Beetles; therefore, I will not purchase another plant. At least not until I find a way to protect it from Beetles and other insects. It’s just unfortunate.

Curl Grub and Scarab Beetle.
Curl Grub and Scarab Beetle.

On a much happier note, my Pendula Yucca has been propagating like crazy from rhizomes. Just last month, I noticed three more sprouts and they are growing fast. I seems that for every plant I loose around the garden, I gain two from my Pendula Yucca. Like the saying goes, you lose some and you win some.

Pendula Yucca.
Pendula Yucca (and some new shoots).

We finally dug out the last Oleanders along one side of the backyard fence (Whoo-hoo!). It would be awesome to get rid of the ones on the other side by the end of the year; though it can wait.

Pages:
JM Perez By JM Perez
Fun Activities Birds Family Gratitude Gardening High Desert

Enjoying The Rain

JM Perez By JM Perez1 min read475 views

Yesterday’s rainfall brought so much joy and peace of mind.

It is the second rain we have had since the start of Summer and it was such a relief. Like most weekends, we are always out and about visiting Vintage and Antique Shops, Retail Stores, Nurseries and so much more. One thing I very much wanted to do this weekend was to take the kids to a Park and let them loose.
Instead of doing those wonderful things, we opted to stay home. As of now, the backyard fencing is 80% complete. We got rid of more Oleanders and what a difference! It feels like we gained three feet on that side of the yard. It started raining, so we ran into the garage, sat back enjoying some delicious and nutritious snacks while watching the rain fall. It was a wonderful moment for the kids. As soon as the rains stopped, they resumed drawing on the driveway with Crayola Sidewalk Chalk and we continued digging out more Oleanders.

Hawk.
Hawk perched on a Wire.

Early in the evening as my husband was removing and replacing all the solar batteries, he spotted a Hawk perched on a Wire just above the Sweet Almond Tree.

Pages:
JM Perez By JM Perez