High Desert Archives – Strength Of The Small

Fruits Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Plants: The Sunshine On a Gloomy Day

By JM PerezApril 26, 20252 min read14 views

It is windy and raining! The past couple of months have been quite hectic in California, especially in the High Desert. It is as though Mother Nature is going through a phase … you know, like mood swing. One week we have high temperatures and the other, low temperatures. Even our bodies are becoming confused and concerned. I, personally, have not sneezed this much before.

A couple of years ago, we were gifted a few California Redbud seedlings. I wasn’t sure they would survive, since I have not seen any in the area. They are slow growers and are adapting well. I was pleasantly surprised to find them covered in tiny blooms. The Cercis occidentalis, also known as Western Redbud or California Redbud, is a deciduous shrub or small tree found in the foothills and mountains of California, as well as Utah and Arizona.

The Lavender Lady Lilac are thriving.

The French Lavender seedling I transplanted last spring has grown so much …

The Hedgehog Cactus has grown taller. Almost half of the buds are open, and the blooms are stunning.

Last Fall, I noticed that all my rose bushes on the left side of the front yard were not as healthy as they should have been and were not blooming as much either. We waited until they were dormant and relocated them to the backyard. They are now healthy, thriving, and blooming profusely.

The Lady Banks roses are blooming profusely this Spring and gracing the garden arches and gazebo with their delicate flowers.

Below is one of the two remaining original Photinia Fraseri shrubs. As you can see, it’s no longer a shrub, but a tree. I worked very hard on them after getting rid of over 30 shrubs along the front yard fence a couple of years ago and relocating two in the backyard. The shrub went through some hard pruning and straightening to look like that today. It’s healthy, beautiful, and thriving.

Nothing beats reading a good book on a gloomy day; on this note, I wish you all a wonderful weekend.

Happy gardening!

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By JM Perez

Coyote Fruits Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Mr. Coyote, The Unexpected Guest

By JM PerezNovember 8, 20242 min read131 views

Living in the desert is like taking a gamble. Most days are amazingly beautiful, and the stars are bright and visible at night. It’s less noisy and polluted as opposed to life in bigger cities. The mountain view is breathtaking, especially when covered in snow, and yes, it snows quite often here. Almost everything you can imagine is at close proximity: schools, groceries, malls, outlet stores, parks, movie theaters, museums, clinics, medical facilities, gas stations, car washes, restaurants, and hotels, just to name a few.

For the most part, living in the High Desert is wonderful; however, we also have our gloomy moments: the extreme heat, the high and gusty winds, the weeds (the obnoxious and undesirable plants), the surge of weird and toxic individuals moving here and disrupting the once established peace, and then the wild animals.

In the past, I was told by some neighbors about seeing coyotes around and a few who raise poultry said some jumped into their yards in an attempt to get a chicken or two. I personally thought they were all making up stories, given that for over seventeen years, I never saw one. Well, not until three weeks ago, when I spotted one in the front yard. I was horrified and petrified. After a while, it jumped over the fence and disappeared around the corner.

Late in the Spring we purchased a Mexican Fencepost Cactus, and a couple of weeks ago I noticed new (weird) growths from the top of the mother plant. At first I thought the tiny buds were flowers developing from the areoles, but they quickly turned into strange pups, as though the new growth are a different species: perhaps grafts? I will be keeping a close watch on this one.

We were gifted a small Sour Fig (Hottentot Fig Ice Plant) this summer, and I am impressed at how much it has grown and spread. Also known as Carpobrotus Edulis, it is a ground-creeping plant with succulent leaves native to South Africa. I have been told that it is an invasive plant, and I will be moving it into a large pot to limit its spread.

Last week we harvested the Pomegranates and there were so many. We ate some and they are so sweet. We gifted some to our daughter’s friend who loves them and we will use them in meals and smoothies.

Happy gardening!

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By JM Perez

Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Cacti: My New Addiction

By JM PerezMay 15, 20242 min read362 views

Finally, the weather is getting warmer and I have been tidying up the gardens.

I found a local nursery on Facebook last week and immediately connected the owner for a visit. We drove there the next day and I was amazed by the variety of cacti such as the Beavertail Cactus, Blue Flame Cactus, Candelabra Cactus, Claret Cup Cactus, Golden Barrel Cactus, Strawberry Hedgehog Cactus, Mexican Fence Post Cactus, Mammillaria Polyedra, Old Man Cactus, Organ Pipe Cactus, Peanut Cactus, Prickly Pear Cactus, Rat Tail Cactus, Saguaro Cactus, Silver Torch Cactus, Totem Pole Cactus, Turk’s Cap Cactus, and so much more.

I was interested in the Hedgehog Cacti, specifically to the one below whose flowers were different from the others. I can’t tell if it’s a Trichocereus Candicans or Gymnocalycium Ritterianum.

We also purchased a Lophocereus Marginatus, also known as Mexican Fencepost Cactus.

We finally have a Blue Spruce! I love everything, Cedar, Fir, Pine, and Spruce trees (especially for their cones); though I love Spruce Trees the most. A couple of months ago, we purchased a Blue Spruce from a local nursery. This, I must admit, is a gamble given the facts that these spruce trees are not well adapted to our wet springs as well as to our hot and humid summers. A couple of people I spoke to said they have owned a couple of trees for many years now and they are growing strong. I am a little hopeful.

Along with the Spruce Tree, we purchased two San Jose Juniper Topiary trees. These bonsai garden trees are a great addition to the garden and I hope they will survive for us to enjoy for many, many years.

The Yellow and White Lady Banks roses are blooming profusely this Spring and gracing the garden arches with their tiny and delicate flowers.

The Amethyst Falls Wisteria, blooming.

Best wishes for a peaceful week and Happy gardening!

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By JM Perez

Weather Nature High Desert

Colorful Skies

By JM PerezApril 10, 20241 min read338 views

Until two weeks ago I couldn’t venture outside, due to the impact of the atmospheric river storms. While providing much needed water supply to California, these storms caused a lot of damages and life-threatening conditions to the state with heavy rain and damaging wind gusts.

The skies on the other hand, have been very colorful.

A Sundog on a cloudy day …

Stay warm and safe!

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By JM Perez

Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Fragrant Roses In The Garden

By JM PerezDecember 1, 20232 min read540 views

It’s December and the year is almost coming to an end. Fall decorations are being put away and Christmas lights and decorations are going up all around the neighborhood. We might be the only household around who still respects the change of seasons; though we must admit that it’s heartwarming to see colorful lights and festive activities.

One of my latest plant additions to the front garden is the Angel Face Rose, also know as Angel Face Floribunda Rose. This beauty was purchased at the Lake Arrowhead Outdoor Nursery (The Standard Design Group Nurseries). With loads of vibrant ruffled lavender blossoms, the Angel Face Rose has a very strong fruity fragrance and blooms profusely. Its glossy dark green leaves complement the flower color.

According to the websites Wikipedia and weekand.com, Rosa ‘Angel Face’ originated at Swim and Weeks nursery in Southern California and was introduced in 1968. Developed by Herbert Swim & Weeks Rose Growers, ‘Angel Face’ is a cross between floribundas, (‘Circus’ × ‘Lavender Pinocchio’) and hybrid tea, ‘Sterling Silver’. The ‘Circus’ x ‘Lavender Pinocchio’ was the female parent, and ‘Sterling Silver’ was the male parent. On a side note, ‘Sterling Silver’ was the first modern mauve rose, introduced by American hybridizer Gladys Fisher in 1957.

My Blue Moon hybrid tea rose pulled through this year with gorgeous, vibrant roses, after a year of not putting out flowers. The lilac blooms have an intense fragrance and the plant has an upright, vigorous growth.

Purchased as a bare root rose, I didn’t think my Perfume Delight Rose would make it passed this year, but it pulled through. It is thriving and I am grateful.

Perfume Delight Rose is a pink hybrid tea rose, developed by Herbert Swim & Weeks Rose Growers in 1973. The bright deep pink flowers exude an intense damask fragrance and are said to be be rain resistant and as well as disease resistant, with large, glossy, leathery foliage.

Fall is a beautiful season! Many trees in the neighborhood have graced us with their gorgeous colors; I want to believe that it has a lot to do with the rains and cool weather we’ve had this year. A couple of weeks ago we caught the gopher that was wrecking havoc in the front yard (digging holes and leaving behind mounds of dirt, mostly).

We relocated a few Agave Ovatifolia as well as a couple of Yucca Pendula from the backyard to the front and transplanted six young and healthy Heavenly Bamboo to the left side of the front yard. I am growing a few Spanish Broom from seed to gift to family, friends, and neighbors in the Spring.

Happy Gardening.

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By JM Perez