Gardening Archives – Page 4 of 33 – Strength Of The Small

Plant Propagation Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Endless Summer

By JM PerezAugust 31, 20212 min read613 views

Is it just me or does it feel like Summer keeps dragging on? We are experiencing severe drought conditions, brush fires, and heat waves. Rather than gardening this Summer, I have been busy protecting and keeping the plants alive from the scorching weather.

Early in the year I received a few cuttings of Sedum Spurium (Tricolor, Coccineum, and Dragon’s Blood). I thought they would look good in a container, so I planted them in a cement Conch Shell Planter.

*Dragon’s Blood Sedum Conch Shell Planter.*

The Madame Galen Trumpet Vines started blooming last week and they are so beautiful.
It is a hybrid trumpet creeper between the American trumpet vine and the Chinese trumpet vine. I am not sure if I picked the right location for the plant, but so far, so good. If you are looking for a fast growing, drought and frost tolerant climber, consider getting this plant. The plant is said to be invasive in some zones.

The Texas Sage ‘Green Cloud’ are blooming for the third time this year.
I found out an interesting fact about Texas Sage not too long ago. It appears that blooms are triggered by a change in humidity, and/or moisture in the soil after the rain (hence the name ‘barometer bush’). It hasn’t rained at all here in the High Desert since Spring, but it sprinkled a little yesterday and today the plant started blooming.

For the first time in many years, extreme and persistent heat is taking a toll on a few of my drought tolerant shrubs; increasing the watering and schedule time has made little to no difference. These scorching heat waves are becoming more and more exhausting, and we are looking forward to Fall and to cooler days ahead.

Happy gardening!

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By JM Perez

Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

July Favorite Plants

By JM PerezJuly 3, 20211 min read564 views

It’s another good year for my Agapanthus, these plants are truly drought and frost tolerant as well as tolerant to extreme heat. Despite another week of temperatures over 100 degree Fahrenheit, these plants sent up multiple stalks, with beautiful flowers atop each floral scapes.

Asparagus Fern is one of my favorite plants. It’s an easy to grow plant, heat, drought and frost tolerant that will thrive nearly anywhere with proper care once established.

Grow them as houseplants or outdoors in raised planters, in garden beds or in hanging baskets; Asparagus Fern is an attractive plant that make a wonderful display.

As we celebrate the Fourth of July weekend, let us be mindful of others, of brush fires, of bodily injury and/or property damage while setting off those fireworks.

Happy 4th!

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By JM Perez

Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Heat-Tolerant Plants

By JM PerezJune 25, 20212 min read652 views

These couple of weeks have been exhausting, with extreme heat and high temperatures reaching 107 Fahrenheit almost daily. All outdoor activities are being postponed or put on hold until early evening when the weather is cooler. In times like these, some rainfall is much needed and would be greatly appreciated.

There have been interesting finds in the garden such as the gorgeous Cherry Pink Calibrachoa below (also known as Million Bells). I’ve had them for over eight years. The first couple of years they were in hanging baskets and then I moved them in containers.

This season as usual the Pomegranate tree has produced hundreds of buds with most flowering, and a few dropping due to high winds.

I enjoyed watching the Amaryllis ‘Minerva’ and White Lilies blooms. I cut a few stems and they lasted for a couple of weeks in a vase. The combination was beautiful.

The Plains Coreopsis below also known as garden tickseed was part of a class experiment project for my daughter. She along with other classmates were given random seeds and were instructed to grow and care for them, reporting once a month. This seed germinated on time, but took a while to grow. I moved the seedling to a larger planter earlier in the month and it thrived. Last week one of the buds developed into a yellow flower with maroon/red center.

I have different varieties of Pine Cone Cactus in my backyard, Tephrocactus Articulatus var. Inermis, Tephrocactus articulatus var. Strobiliformis, and Tephrocactus var. Diadematus. I have had all three species for a year and they have flowered for the first time two weeks ago. The plants produce delicate showy white flowers with a yellow center at the tips of the joints, lasting up to 48 hours and closing at dusk to reopen at dawn.

It is recommended to use gloves while handling the strobiliformis species as they have little glochids at the areoles which irritate and are hard to get out of the skin.

Other heat tolerant plants in my garden are:

Happy gardening. Stay hydrated and rehydrate often.

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By JM Perez

Praying Mantis Insects Nature Gardening

Praying Mantis Egg Case Hatching

By JM PerezMay 19, 20211 min read1.7K views

Last October I wrote about the The Fascinating Life of Mantises and shared a video of a praying mantis laying eggs. We decided, early in the Spring, to get one ootheca (egg case) and observe it indoor until it hatches.

For this observation we used a jar, a dryer sheet and rubber band (to secure the opening of the jar), and a small branch from the Pomegranate tree. We placed a branch in the jar and gently stuck the egg case on one of the thorns of the branch so that it would be suspended and also, for the praying mantis nymphs to perch on once they emerge. The dryer sheet was a used one, very soft and breathable, allowing air to flow into, out of, and within the jar.

We had the egg case in a jar for about five weeks and watched with delight as nymphs emerged from the egg case last week.

And no, young mantises do not eat one another as soon as they hatch. Not releasing them soon enough, however, will cause them themselves to become prey. We gently released them on the leaves of a rose bush, to start feeding on aphids and hide from predators.

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By JM Perez

Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Awoken Beauties

By JM PerezApril 17, 20212 min read626 views

My gardens are fully awake and things are looking mighty festive, especially in the front yard, thanks to my perennials and annuals. The plants are looking green, hydrated, and happy. Last month I lost a patch of Siloam David Kirchhoff Daylilies to a very tenacious gopher. There is a second patch of Daylilies on the opposite side of the same garden bed, with tender shoots emerging. I will dig them up and relocate them this weekend.

Three years after planting my Julia Rose Itoh Peony in the ground, it bloomed for the first time. The plant produced just one flower, and gorgeous it was.

Our wonderful American Wisteria “Amethyst Falls” has put out more flowers this year. I am still enjoying its beautiful foliage and droops of blue/violet flowers.

Hybrid Tea Rose “Peace” is one that never disappoints; blooming from Spring to Fall in flushes.
There’s an interesting history behind the Peace rose. According to AmericaInWWII.com, this rose was named Peace to commemorate the end of World War II and wining the All-America Rose Selections (AARS) honors in 1946.

The French Lace floribunda rose below is one of my oldest miniature rose which I planted ten years ago. The flowers begin as delicate ivory buds with a slight apricot tint that open into white blossoms. Early last week, I saw a red bud which opened into the gorgeous flower below. As you can see, this week there is a flower with red spots on the edges of its petals.

According to GardeningKnowHow.com, there are different reasons why roses change color such as graft reversion, plant sport, temperature, and disease. Also, cross pollination resulting from different kinds of roses planted close together.

This years, I barely got to admire the lady banks. The small and delicate petals were quickly blown away as soon as they formed by strong winds which went on for days.