El Presidio Gardens (The Monsoon Report 2012)

Last night was not a good night.  My blog was removed(as were many others) and I think I felt a huge hole in my heart.  2 and half years of research and exploration gone.....just like that. It was a bit unnerving but thankfully I was able to get the blog up again.  Blogger/Google is a difficult beast for help.  It took me hours to get Las Aventuras running. It made me sad to think that I might lose you all.  It made me upset that all of my information and photography would disappear.  And all I can say was that there was a great big empty feeling inside.  My other half felt my pain and thankfully Pat was there to help me out. Several of you may have gone through this yourself.  It's a bit terrifying.  Think about how many thousands of hours you put in your work a year.  It's like a bad habit but used for good:) Okay that's that. So I thought I'd put a spin on our gardens and updates from around El Presidio.  How about an update during a monsoon storm?  We had some beautiful light during this night and the skies were incredible.  The above shot is taken from the parking lot.

The skies were dark and therefore our courtyard lights went on.  Here are our wonderful Oak trees providing a little ambience from around the property.

As we face the front entrance, I notice a light out, lots of clouds, and some much needed rain....but there was more....

As I looked up, I noticed a HUGE rainbow over our homes!  That was a first.

I got up on the second level and took a shot over the courtyard area.  The former pool is adjusting to the rains.  I will continue filling in more dirt for the spots that need it.  It has taken some time for the soil to settle in.  Hopefully soon a fountain will be going into that area.

Here is the front area of the Northern Planters.

And finally the side gardens.  Not all is done here yet but I am liking how it's all coming together.  This area above is called the Fruit Garden and the pic below is from the Fern Garden.   This area is the oldest of my works at 4 years of age.  I am loving the curving nature of bamboo as it's creating a natural green tunnel for folks returning home.  It's not perfect yet and requires me to tie up a lot of random bamboo sticking out, but as it gets older, this arch will get higher.

More updates coming from El Presidio Gardens.....weather permitting:)

Rotten Wood

This is a fun post today.  Well I didn't like getting up early on a weekend, but I did love that homeowners got together and removed the terribly terrible rotten wood around our property.  There are several phases going on right now at El Presidio.  We are revitalizing a 30 year old property that had not been properly cared for over the years.   One of my rants, if you've been following my blog for awhile, has been that it's not a good idea to use a lot of wood in your desert landscaping.  Why? Because it rots and breaks down over time with the hot hot sun.  Also dry rot termites love to dwell in old beams that have not been water proofed over the years.   For 4 years, I've watched the beams almost come crashing down onto homeowners moving furniture in and out of the property.  We removed the pool, cleaned out the planters and now....are removing the rotten wood. 

There is a special quality about an entrance with overhanging Wild Grape Vine.  It's beautiful.  For the homeowners of El Presidio who follow this blog, I'd like to state that we are going to keep this entrance to the property the same way it was built.  The front gates will be addressed at a later time, but for now, we will be looking at the shed area that required a heavy amount of removal.  This look is going to change.  And we will NOT be using any wood in this area.  Let's take a look at what we've done.

Those old rotted beams were removed carefully and examined to see if they could be used again.  Sadly most of them were so badly weather and termite damaged that they couldn't be salvaged.

Powersaws and manly man tools were used to remove all this wood.

One remaining cactus on the beam grew over the years in the rot of this wood.  Many homeowners enjoyed this solitary soldier.

Everyone was careful about the nails as there were plenty of these rusty guys in the wood.

 The removal was a success and it was determined that these beams will not be replaced as the natural canopy of the oaks and mesquite will act as our own canopy.  Plus it looks nice open.  The issue we have comes from thousands of acorns and birds droppings.  A shade cloth is not the answer nor is placing more wood that will have to replaced and maintained for years to come.  Most of the homeowners want something low maintenance.  And that's what we are going to provide.

 The shed will be re-stuccoed where the wood beams were originally and the 4 posts will be cut in half.  I am thinking cobalt blue pots with lovely flowers on these posts will add a lovely impact for visitors and homeowners coming in through the western and eastern gates.

 Currently the shed looks like this.  We are hoping to get this done before monsoon season begins.

 You can see the size of the beams we removed.  The pool has a plan as well, and I'd like to remind homeowners.....It's going to get ugly before it gets pretty.  A homeowner became upset  with the removal of the dangerous beams and I understand his feelings.  I'd love to have it all done right away but it costs money and our time.  And it's going to take time to repair and beautify our property.  But it's happening.  And slowly unless we have more homeowner participation.  

 We cut these beams up and now they sit in our parking lot.  I am a total lame-o.  I need to weight lift.  I can barely bench 40 pounds. I was the younger guy and had the most difficult time lifting heavy objects.  Hey, but I'm good with design and ideas:)

 The pic above is of the columns that will be cut in half.  They will be tiled with the similiar brick on top.  The question is....lights or cobalt blue pots with agave etc?  What do you all think?  Okay and for my wildlife friends here are some fascinating finds from our gardens here at El Presidio.

 Here are some of the honeycombs after our bee swarm a month ago. Cool!!

 The first cicada of the summer.  Awesome....and one of my favorite bugs to have around this time of year.

 And the butterflies in the garden are out of this world.  Here's a swallowtail doing a little jig around our tangerine tree.

 Here's one last shot of the honeycomb found within the rotten structure.  Very very cool!!!

Thank you to all the homeowners who came out and helped out around the property.  Phase 2 of the rotten wood will happen soon.  Stay tuned for an email from our Vice President Jon.  Please remember, there is a vision and a plan for the property.  It's going to look great when it's all finished.  Right now, it's in the ugly phase.  It will all come together.  For El Presidio, it comes down to money and in particular making sure everyone pays their dues on time.  We had two units severely behind in dues.  One was foreclosed and a check is forthcoming for several thousands of dollars and the second has been paid up with the new ownership which is why we could go forth with the shed area.  With the foreclosed unit over 3000 dollars behind, one can only imagine why progress has been slow.  More tomorrow.....

El Presidio Record Keeping 2011

Caladiums and Elephant Ears.  I'll start off with the pretty pic first because the rest of it needs a lot of work. 

Do you ever wonder who placed that old tree in your yard?  Or wonder why a set of bushes were placed along a fence? Or perhaps the thoughts behind why or how they began their gardens before you took over?  Most properties around town carry old histories and stories about the people who created these gardens from a long time ago. Cars and people pass these places up and don't pay particular attention to the trees or plants that make up our city's landscape.  If you ask anyone about a specific plant, you're more than likely to receive a shrug or a "I don't know."  Some places have kept records about a tree or an important plant like at the University of Arizona. Today I begin my second visual record of the El Presidio Gardens.  There is progress, but I'll warn you.....some of it is in transition! PS.  There is never an end to the amount of material I have for this blog.  I have been saving all of my work for years just for this kind of thing.:)  There are a lot of pics for this moderate sized property. 

The fern garden is currently my masterpiece sample.  It's coming along nicely with some fine tuning to be done in spring.

One of the reasons for this blog is to keep a record of our grounds and show the progress being made every year. It's also to explain the thoughts and ideas of the current homeowners for why they've done what they've done, like for example, our pool being filled.  This blog allows current homeowners and renters to read what's going on around our place at all times.  Down the road, it will allow a future gardener/homeowner, like myself, to read why I planted what I did and understand the thinking behind the placement of a tree or shrub.  No one is perfect, but as time goes, modifications are made.  Change is always happening for gardeners, and that's just the process:) This is the purpose of a blog or gardening diary. Wouldn't it be nice to know that when we purchased a new place, we'd get a blog or diary on the landscape?

The courtyard.  Where do I begin?  The balance is off.  As promised, I will have a lot of El Presidio information coming up.  This summer has been a transition for everyone.   The pool is gone and filled in, but what shall we do?  Stay tuned for the transformations.

This year has been a difficult year in the garden and landscape due to our winter's freeze and MAJOR projects.  But I'll catch you all up over the course of several days.  After all that is what part of this blog is about.  I feel good that we've done some major work, but I also have to be patient with the reconstruction of the landscape.  It's a constant battle and a SLOW process. We've hired someone to look at our pool and give us a professional plan.  That post will be coming up and titled, "Decisions, Decisions".  For now, let's look at the property and the various sections.  What are the plans? What are the issues?

The front area needs a little fix.  The balance is off.  Cactus have been added on the left side to give this area a little desert punch.

This planter is where my tropical addictions go.  I love caladiums and elephant ears but I can't place them all over the property because they require too much water.

The area above needs to have the live oak saplings pruned back.  The wells also need some work.  I'd like to put my upright cactus here.

This ramada area needs a rake with some vines on the side.  The top is covered with cat's claw and solar lights.  Colorful pots will also address the side areas to make this space POP!!

The fern garden is near completion but on the left side of this space I have some work to do.  A privet needs to be removed.  More bamboo will be added. But who will dig the holes?

This space is on the fern garden side and will be a cactus garden.

Potted area full of citrus, dwarf fruit trees and vinca. 

Overgrown area of morning glory vine. This space will be "fixed" in spring.

Back to the courtyard.  A crepe myrtle is looking terrible.  I am going to cut it down and begin at "ground zero".  I think this will create a stronger and healthier looking plant.  I've done it with one already and it's has done well with this treatment.

The fruit garden is almost completely finished.  But the side planters must be addressed this fall and spring.

The courtyard is an eyesore for many homeowners....especially those trying to sell their places.  The HOA has had to wait for the dirt in the pool to sink a bit with our rains before putting a professional design in.  When getting rid of your pool, remember that it is a year long process for many people. Sometimes longer.....

This space needs to more rose bushes....and some cleaning up.

This space will be redefined in spring.  Cactus and other smaller shrubs will be added to give this space a little punch.

This side area will take time, but the Tree of Heaven(or Hell) has been placed in this contained area where it is spreading copies of itself all along this planter.  Remember keep this invasive plant in an area from other plants.

Those rocks along the courtyard will be removed and placed in the back of this garden to highlight other plants.

More torchglow bougainvillea will be planted in this area. It LOVES the hot western sun.  Does well with little to no watering.

The Whiskey Barrels are doing well and the various cacti are growing. Little to no water for this northern exposure.

Castor plants add that purple punch to the front entrance. 

The former pool area is the biggest challenge.  What will our professional designer tell us?

Hope you've enjoyed a quick view on some of the work we have ahead of us this fall and spring.  Our workday for homeowners is scheduled October 23rd at 9 AM. Lunch is provided:)  Stay tuned for more news on the El Presidio Grounds.