Sabino Creek

This week has been about celebrating Sabino Canyon and its' natural beauty in Southern Tucson.  Here is a video I put together to finish this blog series.  I always enjoy filming these on location.  Currently, I'm thinking about buying a new video editing program so that I can do more than what I'm able to now.  Little by little.  I got my new camera this past year so the other stuff will have to wait for the moment.  If you come to Tucson, you need to visit Sabino Canyon.  It's a beautiful hike and a great place to take a dip if you get hot.

Here's a weird green shot I got.....strange yet cool.....

More gardening adventures on the way........

Curiosity

Sometimes it's about the nature of flora and sometimes it's about the nature of fauna.  On the last stretch of my hike, I came upon 2 roadrunners that were curious and watching me take pictures. Well, we both were curious of each other.  Here is my 3rd blog on curiosity.  Tomorrow's blog revolves around the video shoot in the canyon.  I try to diversify these blogs a little so I don't get stuck writing about the same thing over and over again.   As a teacher, mentor, and human being, I like to switch it up a bit and not take myself too seriously.  However at the end of the day, it always come down to what I've positively done in my world today. And of course the overall view of my life is "What you leave behind"....so if my take on pics or poetry aren't up to your likings, I'll be going back to other adventures in the garden.:)

"Curiosity" From the perspective of the Roadrunner by Chris Rohrer

                                                "What is this I see......

                                                              ..........standing right before me?

Should I be concerned

from what this stranger's learned?

Of curiosity both shared

between two worlds scared.

Fear

Sometimes, when you look up, things look a lot different. Here is my second write from my photo shoot in Sabino Canyon this last weekend.

"Fear" by Chris Rohrer

Towering above me,

Spies the bold,

Ancient spirit of the old.

Observing my every move,

Forcing me to prove,

That fear won't stop me.

A Reflection of Time

This past weekend I went on a photo shoot in Sabino Canyon. I intended to get several video shots, but instead I discovered a whole lot more!  The shots presented themselves in different moods to me and made me look at things in a different light.  I absolutely love photography.....I'm not so sure about my poetry attempts, but I'll try to capture the spirit of these pictures.  Taking a break from the garden journal, here is the first of 3 blogs about things that caught my eye and emotion.  The first one is on reflection.

"A Reflection of Time" by Chris Rohrer

"All that was; is no more......

.....a moment in time from before.....

.....linking our present from this past.....

......binding us now until memories last.....

For here today, I see......

the reflection of this tree."

Tyche and the Oort Cloud

Not related to the garden, but instead, the mysteries of life and the universe, this post is about the adventure that lies ahead of us.  This work is not my own but one that intrigues, fascinates and excites the mind.  Before we begin with my Sabino Canyon posts tomorrow, I thought I'd share the latest information on space, the final frontier.  Today, the news is reporting that another gas giant planet, which is larger than Jupiter, is hiding in the outer Oort Cloud, a field made up of a trillion comets.  I love space and everything about it. Big Star Trek and BSG fan. Here's the story.......

A new planet in our solar system? Maybe.  Read on.

"It turns out there might be a previously undiscovered gas giant planet in our solar system. It's four times larger than Jupiter, with colorful spots and bands. It has its own moons. Its name is Tyche. And we haven't noticed it until now because it's in the hypothetical Oort Cloud, which the University of Phoenix says may contain a trillion comets. We know it sounds far-fetched, but you could do your own sleuthing about it in this article in The Independent or, better yet, the original paper, written by astrophysicists John Matese and Daniel Whitmire from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Let's rewind. Matese and Whitmire were studying the Outer Oort Cloud when they noticed that certain long-period comets (that is, comets that orbit for more than 200 years) came from a different direction than other comets.
According to the Independent,
"Professors Matese and Whitmire first proposed the existence of Tyche to explain why many of these long-period comets were coming from the wrong direction. ...[T]hey report that more than 20 per cent too many of the long-period comets observed since 1898 arrive from a band circling the sky at a higher angle than predicted by the galactic-tide theory."
The upshot is, this can be explained by a planet like Tyche, whose gravitational pull can dislodge the orbits of comets. Of course, counterarguments say that if this planet did exist, it would affect comets from the Inner Oort Cloud ... which hasn't been observed. Fortunately, we'll learn whether this theory is fact within the next two years. Matese and Whitmire say the data they need has already been captured by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and will soon be analyzed.
Matese and Whitmire are hoping their theory proves correct. "If it does, John and I will be doing cartwheels," Professor Whitmire told the Independent. "And that's not easy at our age."
Source:
http://blastr.com/2011/02/giant-gas-planet-may-be-l.php

 
This planet and universe prove that there are still mysteries out there.  There's nothing more exciting than the idea of a new planet in our solar system.  What do you think? 

The Pretty Bulbs

Gladiolus need a bit of work here in Tucson. Read below for detailed info on the pretty bulbs in stores now.

 Obviously there is a plethora of bulbs out there to choose from on the shelves.....and writing a post on each and every one of them would be crazy.  In this series, the bulbs/tubers I have showcased are the ones that with a bit of attention, will grow in your gardens outside.  The bulbs presented today are the pretty ones that grow outside in the wetter and cooler climates(not Tucson:). They are not practical at all in your own desert landscape, but that doesn't mean you can't grow them inside your homes or on your outside patio areas in pots and planters.  I have found that the flowers don't last long and if planted in the ground for over the year, get the chill needed to rebloom again.....unless you put them in a brown bag in the fridge. You're lucky if the bulb even survives the ground during our harsh summers.  Bulbs in the desert require work and protection from the elements that include direct sun, dry conditions, wind and hungry wildlife. However, people enjoy these plants as a centerpiece on the table in the home or outside on the patio table.  Let me share with you what I've discovered about these fragrant and beautiful plants in my own gardening experimentations. This will be the final entry for the bulb series here in Tucson.

Here's a list on some of the major bulbs you will see in your local garden centers right now.  Some are great performers while others will disappoint.  Most flower a short time,which to me, doesn't justify the expense, but we all have different opinions and each of us garden for different reasons. This post is about whether or not these plants will do what the picture demonstrates after making our purchase:)

THE BULB LOWDOWN

1. Amaryllis-strongest performing bulb in the desert garden.  While the flower lasts longer than most bulbs, the tropical leaves make a nice addition in planters or pots outside.  Many Tucson gardeners use this plant and it is one of THE most purchased bulbs here.  Personally, I have several bulbs that I leave in the shade outside  to grow.  I just pulled them from my planters to recharge for next year.  The first posting on the bulb series shows the amaryllis that was in my planter.  I do recommend playing around with this bulb as you'll get great results.
2.  Calla Lily-pretty plant and it does well in pots and planters near water features.  Keep out of bright and direct sun here. They make a great addition in a very shady humid spot in the garden.  It will perform well here in the right situation.
3. Crocus-fun with short bursts of purple in the garden that last several weeks. Find a shadier spot with some light and you'll get some enjoyment for a short time.
4. Freesia-fragrant happiness that needs some indirect sun.  If it doesn't get enough, you won't get any flowers but a green stem.  Protect from the wind.  I've grown several varieties that have lasted for about a month and it was great while while they bloomed.
5. Gladiolus-Stay away from them.  They will leaf out but by the time they start to flower, our spring winds will come and blow them over.  I've seen this plant in and around the El Presidio garden.  However it was in a protected spot where the wind couldn't blow it over, but it was also in a spot that didn't receive a lot of sun so there were no flowers.  This one is too much effort to grow and is recommended for experienced gardeners.
6. Hyacinth-My personal favorite.  This plant grows in pots and planters, but seems stunted here and doesn't grow to its' full potential.  The flowers last a short time.
7. Narcissus-Short lasting flower bloom at about a month.  Fun for a time, but die quickly afterward.
8. Tiger Lily-Another popular plant in Tucson next to the amaryllis.  This one, if planted in the right spot, will do well outdoors for a longer period of time.  The orange variety does better. 
9.  Tulip-Not a great plant to grow here.  Short lasting and a waste of money. Not worth the time.
10. Iris-fun water garden plants that if placed in the right spot will do well.  At the Tucson Botanical Gardens, you will find a section dedicated to the Iris Society of Southern Arizona.  With a lot of water and indirect sunlight, these plants can thrive outside most of the year.  But again, not a good xeric plant and for me, it's too much effort to maintain. 

These are some of the top bulbs you'll see at your local gardening center now.  If you must have bulbs in your garden, stick with colocasia, canna, and caladiums.  And if you want a lower maintenance plant, stick with the canna which is the easiest plant to grow here, but make sure you give it sun.  Hope you enjoyed this series on bulbs.  I'm going to take a break for awhile from the plant series and write about some fun topics that I've been collecting over the past several weeks.  Several include some photo shoots around the Tucson area and will include one of my reflective videos.  The videos take time to put together, but I enjoy going on location and filming them.  Stay tuned for some reflective pieces on Sabino Canyon.  Until next time........

Hosta

There are many bulbs to plant in the garden here in Tucson.  Unfortuneatly, with our clay soil, many of those bulbs don't do well without some help from us, the gardener.  Most of these plants need to be in pots or planters.  I have one more post on the million other bulbs I've tried in the garden and it will include many of the favorites people have in their own gardens.  This series is a report on permanent bulbs that will last for a good portion of the year outside. The second to last posting on bulbs is about the mighty hosta.  The pic below was taken at my brother-in-law's house in Wisconsin during fall.

Many of us who are transplants from the Eastern side of the US love this particular plant, but like the lilac, it doesn't do well here in Tucson.  I have a green thumb and can get it to leaf out, but it doesn't grow to its' full potential.  This plant disappoints here in the desert even if you have placed it into a pot with the required soil.  I've place this plant around different areas in the garden to test lighting and soil conditions and it failed all of them.  However, Wal-Mart sure had a lot of hostas to sell last year.  But while looking at their collections of bulbs this year, I noticed they don't offer anymore of these plants. Could it have been a mistake on their part placing them in wrong region?  Maybe you have had a different experience with these plants in your zone 9 garden, but I have a green thumb and couldn't get this plant to grow for me.  The plants I've posted in this bulb series are the ones that will thrive in your garden, but I know many Tucsonans will try out the hosta because they miss their collections back home.....so I added this one specific plant into the bulb series as a plant NOT to put in your garden.  In my opinion, the hosta is too much effort to keep alive and I don't recommend putting this in your garden at all as it will most likely disappoint.  If you miss growing hostas, I recommend heading over to the blog titled Cheesehead Gardening in Wisconsin which has a lot of info on hostas and here, you'll be able to get your hosta fix via the computer:)  Plus the author is really funny while informative. I'd pass these bulbs if you see them at the store.  The last posting on bulbs will be a little more uplifting on the fun bulbs we put into pots for that little punch here and there.  Until next time.........

Canna

While technically not a bulb, but rather a rhizome, this plant can be treated as if it were a bulb.  This plant is unique in that it requires a good amount of sun.  I plant the rhizome as if it were a bulb, but canna requires almost full sun where the elephant ear or caladium would burn.  It can be grown in the ground, planter or pot with loose and rich soil.  Canna does really well in Tucson.  It dies back in winter but comes back again in late Spring.  This plant adds that tropical punch needed in your garden.  Plant with other tropicals.  Do not plant in a shadier spot or in hard soil.  It loves rich soil and it needs to be watered regularly once the leaves start appearing on the plant.  It's an extremely easy plant to grow and is definitely recommended for beginning gardeners or people new to Tucson.  This plant is particularly useful in the "thriller, filler, spiller" idea for pots as it acts as the "thriller" part of this idea.  It grows quickly, but be careful putting it with tropicals sensitive to direct sun like the elephant ears or caladiums.  I like to put the canna with sweet potato vine or another sun friendly tropical plant.  Gardeners can find this plant in stores now around Tucson.  Stay tuned for more bulbs for the garden.  Tomorrow I am going to focus on hostas and gladiolas.  Until tomorrow.....

Caladiums

This is taken from the planter in front of my place last year

Another bulb you'll find in the garden centers during this time of year are the caladiums.  They look more like dirty stones in their clear bags, but the package covers suggest otherwise.  This particular plant offers a variety of color and leaf design.  I personally love caladiums as they add a really nice look to the garden. Plant them with other tropicals to mix it up a little.  Some rules about growing them here in Tucson and some of my observations working with them.....
1.  The whiter the leaf; the more shade they'll take
2.  Red to pink varieties like a bit more sun
3. Like with most tropicals, do not put in direct desert sun or you'll burn their fragile designs
4.  Don't put into the ground until mid March and do not expect growth until it is hot again. At the end of May or beginning of June, you should see something green sticking out of the ground.  The ground, normally, should be at around 50 degrees, but with this plant, I actually think it has to be warmer.  A lot of people think that when it's 80 degrees during the day in February, plants will grow.  However, you need the right conditions.  The ground is always several degrees cooler after a "cold" winter and that is caused by our overnight lows. Once air and ground catch up to the 90-100 degree days, these caladiums will burst forth from the ground. Once they've started to leaf, make sure you water regularly. Just know that they take off slowly here.
4.  Again, these plants, like most tropical bulbs, do well in pots and planters with loose rich soil

Taken in the Amazon, I found a patch of these beautiful caladiums growing in the wild.

These bulbs are easy to grow and I highly recommend trying them out in your own gardens.  Until next time, see you in the garden:)

Alocasia vs. Colocasia

Over the years, I've done a lot of work with Alocasia and Colocasia in the desert.  Many people ask why we wouldn't just grow cacti and succulents in our gardens.  The simple answer to that is the color green.  These plants add the color needed to punch up a garden in certain spots. The leaves make a wonderful background display or look great as a focal point.  While these two plants(and their many variety offsprings!!) look similiar, they have very different needs. For a quick answer to this post, I will say colocasia over alocasia if you are looking to pot something.  But as we all know, there is not a simple answer for anything.  Here's why I say what I say.  Even though our zone 9 desert doesn't have an abundance of running streams and rivers, homeowners DO have fountains and ponds in their yards.  Today's post examines the big question....What is Alocasia?  What is Colocasia?  How are they different?  Both these plants belong to the family 'Araceae'.  The differences are many as you'll see.

Colocasia Esculenta

 As I was putting my garden journal together from this past year, I realized that this was one of my research topics while investigating bulbs from magazines.  I spent several weeks investigating which route I should take.  This issue, if you can call it that, is really the minute differences between the two plants.  We'll also explore in this post, briefly, the concept of water gardening.  That will be a post down the road after one of our projects is completed on the property. Let's begin the fun lush topic of Alocasia vs. Colocasia.

Note the upright leaf of the alocasia as it points to the sky

What is Alocasia?  These are stunningly designed elephant ear type plants that normally point upwards to the sky. They add a lot of focal impact in the tropical garden and summer patio container. They perform best in compost rich well drained soil and are extremely frost sensitive.  These plants do need water!!!  Most are recommended for the water garden which may be a pond or fountain that you have in your backyard.  These like light but not the direct sunlight as it will scorch and burn the leaves. Shade is better for this plant than the colocasia which will tolerate much more light.  Alocasia is also the Colocasia on steroids.....the leaves are HUGE on a lot of these plants. There is Alocasia Amazonica(which I've planted in pots near my water fountain during my days of the small patio gardening), Borneo giant, Calidora, California, Sarian, Freydek, and many many others.  I tried Borneo in our courtyard and it failed.  I think it got too much shade so you can't put these in full shade here...they do need some light.  I'll talk more about the perfect full shade bulb tomorrow.  These plants add great focal energy and strength to an area that you need to pop.  Here's the truth about these plants in our subtropical climate.  While in summer, these plants thrive with more than average watering ; they will freeze and die in winter.  And when I say die, I mean die.  Colcasia will come back.  Most Alocasia will not.  If you must have these plants in your garden, put them in pots and bring them in when it gets cold.....and for most of these plants, anything that gets below 50 degrees at night will start their decline.   They are wonderful plants and if you have a fountain or pond, these would be great to put into a water type pot near or even in your water feature!! Air moisture is the key with Alocasia with semi moist soil. Check your plant tags for the specific requirents  The humidity from the pond or fountain will make this plant one happy camper. It's definitely not a xeric plant and I recommend this plant only if you have a water feature in your yard.  Putting it near these features will change its' status from high maintenance plant to a plant you need to keep an eye on:) This is not a plant for the beginning gardener.  My personal success comes from these simple rules....keep soil moist but not soggy.  Keep it warm and out of direct sun.  Provide humidity and life is good. They can be grown here in Tucson, but they tend to act like the high maintenance friend who needs constant attention. PS. I have learned to let those type of people go.  What an enabling moron I was!  Live and learn:) I should also tell you that I don't grow alocasia in my own garden.  If you have a small patio or greenhouse, I recommend this plant but for placing it outside, no.

Alocasia Amazonica.  "Wait!!", you say.  "I thought you said that alocasia point to the sky?"  If you just thought that, give yourself a pat on the back.  This is a hybrid and not a species.

What is Colocasia?  Colcasia is a fun and wonderful bulb/tuber to grow in pots.  See previous post for more information.  Here is where the difference comes in between these two plants.  They like water, but too much water will kill them and their leaves will start turning yellow. However some varieties can also be submerged into full water. Again, just make sure you check your labels.   They love nutrient rich soil. They love some filtered bright light.  They should be in pots.  They can also grow to be large plants, but they will stay a certain size if you don't move them around a lot.  The bigger the tuber; the bigger the plant.  The leaves look like simple large elephant ears. If they start to burn or crisp on the edges, move the potted plant to a less sunnier spot.  If leaf totally droops, it needs water.  If leaf is yellow, it needs some fertilizing.  Here's the minute difference.  Alocasia points upwards and Colocasia generally points downwards.  These are better plants to have in the garden when compared to Alocasia.  However, everyone has their own microclimate and some things will thrive.  It all depends on your landscape/garden setup.  For beginning gardeners, I say start with Colocasia and once you've got a feel with these plants, try the Alocasia.....especially the Alocasia Amazonica. You'll have better success with this plant. This is one of the popular varieties at our gardening centers. While shopping now for bulbs etc through catalogues or online, be aware that pictures can make you spend more money.....especially for our snowy friends back East:) I do occassionally experiment with bulbs from  a company called Brent and Becky's Bulbs.  They are great and have excellent reviews online.  I've called them several times and I've always gotten a friendly voice. If you experiment with plants, like I do in the desert, you can call 1-877-661-2852 to order a catalogue.  Finally I'll leave you with another image from a popular online bulb/tropical plant source.  I laughed so hard seeing this.  Leave it the creative minds to put sex and a plant together.   I present you their version of the California Alocasia.  However, this Alocasia(or part of it) seems to break its' rules about pointing upwards toward the sky..... plus I'm not so sure how they'd send this package nor do I think I'd want it:)  Until next time in the garden, stay warm and dream about spring. And for everyone else around the world, stay cool:)  Chris
                                                                Alocasia "California"