The Perfectionist In Me

Ever walk out in the garden and get frustrated?  That was me today as I was outside working on bits and pieces here and there.  I had to pull out two dead Jacarandas and then I replaced them with two Mandarin orange bushes.  Little by little the fruit garden is coming along.  However, as I was carefully taking one of the Mandarin bushes out of the container, the roots all fell out and I had to carefully try and place them into the ground.  I'm crossing my fingers that the plant will be okay.  If not, I have the plastic container and receipt. 

Look at this garden!!!  Can you believe that this is my headling pic for the blog?  It has filled in somewhat, but I had to trim the Cereus and Jacaranda down and all of it shows new growth.

As I move over to the fern garden, I see my basil is coming up nicely and I fertilize the bamboo.  The trees are all swaying in the wind and I'm enjoying the breeze until I see that the VERY top of my Euc has a bare branch.  Being OCD, I stare at it for several minutes.  I grab my binoculars, research info on the internet, and take a chair with a very long pole to examine where the tip of the tree goes bare.  I'm still just wondering if the leaves will come back as there are many branches with new growth.  Essentially I want all traces of winter gone from the garden NOW!

For the good news, I see fresh fruit on the apricot, peach, fig, tangelo and mulberry trees. The persimmons is about to flower.  In fact, I ate several of the mulberries and was very thankful that we have fruit trees all around us.  I looked at the whiskey barrels and saw beautiful flowers on the cacti.  My castor beans are coming back as are the older bougainvillea.  My only remaining sacred Jacaranda is very green and lush(only half the tree survived).  BUT for every several steps forward, we take one backwards!  An interesting thing in the bougainvillea world happened.  The freeze killed all the first year regular looking bougainvillea in the sun garden YET the Torchglow variety all survived. And what about all of those elephant ears I planted last year?  I believe May will reveal whether the bulbs survived or not.   I've got so much more work to do! I have one whole side of bamboo garden to put in while on another, I've still got to do the citrus garden. One thing at a time....I know.  It just is overwhelming sometimes.  So do you ever look at your garden and get frustrated? 

The beginnings of my succulent garden.

The Castor Report

Well...why am I so fascinated by a weed?  I don't know.  I really don't. But there is something very cool about this plant that won't die....... no matter what happens!  It needs sun...and it can take the heat here....boy was I shocked AND if it doesn't get the sun, it doesn't grow very well. 

These plants are currently taller than I am and I am having to reach to clip dried pods off.  Inside each pod are 3 seeds that I have been giving away because there are so many of them.  I can see how this would be invasive in places like Florida....what a nightmare! But here, they aren't a threat.

Here is the smaller plant with my old camera....

This summer we had a terrible storm and it knocked these guys down to the ground.  I used concrete blocks to bring them back up again and I thought I had lost them....but I didn't!!  I've heard these things can become trees, but I do believe our frost will end their lives.  From 4 seeds grew these monstrosities and from 4 seeds, I have been given hundreds more to share and put in ziploc bags. I think this plant will stay in the gardens as it has passed the tests of nature:)

Side Note: I don't really do these wordless pic days, but you'll notice I do them with videos. One of the things growing up that I loved was sitting with my Grandparents watching CBS Sunday Morning. At the end of each broadcast, a quiet montage is made where there isn't any talking....just pure silent beauty and that is why I put these mini vids on the blogs. There is something very relaxing about just taking a moment from the day and capturing it on film. I'm getting better with them.  My first attempts were pretty rocky....well, I think when I started blogging, like many people, I didn't know a lot about how to begin the experience, but I am learning and getting better with my camera and organization. 

The Dreaded Vacation

Now the title sounds terrible....I know.  But for me, Mr. Gardnerman(El Jardinero), coming back from vacation is terrible!!! Sometimes I cry and sometimes I breathe a sigh of relief....and sometimes I go into emergency mode and stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning to revive everything from near death!  I'll feel guilty and have a difficult time at night falling asleep knowing that it was my fault for abandoning my babies.

And they are babies....every year, a new group of plants go into the ground and if they can make it through a hot Tucson summer, then we are business.  It is crucial they get the attention they need the first year.  Some people have the attitude that "If it dies, it dies...plant something else." I agree with this attitude, but there are some plants that are special....like the fig tree or peach tree or the persimmons that have all been loved and nurtured faithfully. And one week can spell DOOM! for these beloved plants.

Last year at this time, I lost my beautiful Chinese Elm tree.  I cried...I admit it...I cried.  No matter what you do sometimes, you can't always save a plant.  Of all my plants in this one garden, this tree was gorgeous....it grew fast and gave great shade....only 2 years old and cotton rot killed her.  It was hard to let go......the birds were upset because this fast growing  tree became home. So in her honor, I planted another chinese elm.  I couldn't give up on this plant.  It is 2 years old now and doing well, but not the same height of the other tree.  My point here is that some plants are worth protecting and if you collect plants, it is important to pay special attention to their individual needs. "Well that's way too much work!", some may say.....but not if you love working in the garden.  This year is the year of the fruit trees....and I have had great success with them in this heat....so I am hoping that when I come home, they will all be there to greet me:)

This week in the garden.  I haven't been writing too much about the maintenance of the garden because it's just general sweeping, raking, and watering.  However, some good news to report....the castor  plants have begun to seed. Some of you say..."Weed....tropical weed!!" I know I know.....for those of you who live in the tropical areas, this is a real stinky pest, but here it adds a lot of punch and color to the garden.  I collected a half bag of castor seeds from just 3 plants!!!  They have already paid for themselves.  In each pod, there are 3 seeds or beans.  I put them in the ziploc bag and will plant a few when I get back.  There are still many pods left on the plants.....but they are still pink....so there will be more pod breaking when I get back.  Make sure that you use gloves when touching them....as they will irritate the skin....it is a toxic plant.

I have some great neighbors who will take care of the place while I am gone. I spent a morning going over directions and felt terrible with all the little details.  However, she is a gardener and understands the needs of the plants:)

A couple of nights ago, I went out to the Arizona Inn Hotel for some drinks near the downtown of Tucson and took some pics of the landscape.  They had some wonderful old growth near their swimming pool. The pics are below and show several clumps of bamboo and palm trees.

Mexican Palms(note..clumped=awesome!)Clumping Bamboo

I will be going home to visit my family and friends in Wisconsin.  I lived along the beaches of Lake Michigan and will be visiting places such as Point Beach State Park, the Milwaukee Biodomes and Zoo, and other gardens in the cities of  Two Rivers, Manitowoc, Milwaukee and Green Bay. I'll be looking for design and different kinds of plants that "may" do well in our Tucson desert:) Stay tuned for more adventures in the garden:)

Finally, I found this music video dedicated to a mother who is an avid gardener. It is absolutely touching plus it inspires:)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBN-CAhOYQ0

"Spring"ing to Life

The Castor Plant.


Well, one week since posts and I am liking everything that is going on around the property. The live oaks have shed A LOT of leaves....I have mounds all over and I just keep blowing them into piles....and more piles. It truly does make a good mulch...it's just not an attractive mulch. Soon the pollen will drop from these two huge trees.....you can see on the branches and buds are swelling and about to burst.....it's going to be a HUGE mess! Usually it will work this way....one day nothing; the next a carpet of pollen all over the patio grounds. While it looks like a disaster struck, it can be quite pretty.

Also this week, I checked my elephant ear bulbs in the ground because several weeks ago, I found one rotten. It frightened me and I ran to their beds to check and see if the bulbs were still solid....and thankfully, several hundreds of dollars of Colocasia Esculenta were saved and more are still arriving. I ordered from Brent and Becky's bulbs. It was my first time ever ordering from a catalogue this year. I also purchased several seeds from Hint's Farms and I wasn't disappointed.

Today was an affirmation that what I am doing will be amazing for all. The smell alone of the plants carried this fragrance all around the grounds. Currently, the citrus trees are giving off the scents and it's a wonderful smell! The smells along with the blooms and the birds/hummers flying around the property are making me truly excited for what is going to be quite a show. The nectarines, plums, peach, apple, fig, and citrus trees are all beginning to bloom and leaf out. However, I see nothing on the persimmons tree, but I am assured that things will begin soon on this tree. The branches are bendy so that is a good sign. Another smell on the grounds is from the purple verbena plant. They look great and smell fantastic. During winter, they can look kind of weedy and ugly, but the minute the heat and sun come back, these things really clean up nice and make a beautiful addition to the garden.....and the smell!! Roses currently have buds on them and ready to open in about a week. I am sure many people are going to enjoy the color parade of these plants. Finally on growth....the Hosta plant and Hydrangea. People told me it was impossible to grow and yet.....they are growing wonderfully. They are both in total shade...new leaves every day and both are quite full. I look forward to monitoring their success because if they work, that will open up a whole new sector of plantings as we have extreme shade areas that can be easily watered. I'll keep you updated.

As for sprouting. The first castor bean that I planted has popped out of the ground as do I see the Pride of Maeira shooting up. It was planted in FULL sunlight and so I'll see if these can take our full sun load during our extremely hot months here of 110-115 degrees! If not, I have planted several where the morning sun will only touch them. Above, I put a picture of what the castor bean plant looks like when full grown. While it's a weed in most places, here it makes a catchy tropical view in the garden. There are several varieties and I have planted only 2. Rincus Comunis and the Zhanzibar variety which can grow up to 15 feet tall. It is my hope to harvest the seeds to plant for the next year. It is a poisonous plant(mostly in the seed)....of course, a lot of plants are, but what's unique about this plant is the way it can "shoot" it's seeds to spread out. I saw this plant for the first time down in the Lake Chapala area specifically in the retirement community of Ajijic. There was a forest of them and during the hot spell of the day, the plants made an exploding sound shooting their seeds all over the place. I thought they were rats running around because I had seen many of them. Being a little bit on the bad side, I brought several of them back with me to the US and planted them in the ground and it was quite fun to watch them pop up and work their magic. This may sound cheesy, but I wanted to create an active garden for people....of sort of Pandora(from Avatar) that comes alive and invigorates the senses. It's a garden for smell, birds and butterflies, people and their gardening needs, for inspiration and color, and most of all an escape from our busy lives.

That's all for this week. My new and exciting bulbs will hopefully be coming this week....one of them is the Borneo Elephant Ear. It will grow to 15 feet tall with leaves 4-5 feet wide. These will be placed around our smaller pool and under our live oaks....it should be quite a sight! The datura is doing well and appears to be growing so I will update on that as well. Until next week.....