The Satsuma Plum Tree
The Caladium Garden inspired by the Amazon caladiums in Peru along the Tambobata River
Mulberry Tree pics above
The beginning of summer and the heat of over 100 degrees with burning sun can be challenging. However, with a bit of planning, anyone can take nothing and make it into something. My patience is being rewarded by some really beautiful plants growing around the property. I am slowly adding a plant here or there and filling in smaller areas(and the large ones). The problem is that it is hot and I need to dig holes. Quite simply....desert ground is difficult to dig...it is sun baked and has the ability to break shovels and other garden tools. This weekend promises to be a cool one for us and so I will make my trek outside and get several more holes into the ground. I don't have many more tree spaces available so I am being really picky about what goes in the last 4 or 5 spots as they will create my canopy around the property. I have several trees in mind...one being the mulberry tree. A difficult decision. This short lived tree(25 years)is illegal in the city of Tucson as an ornamental, but the berry providing tree is not illegal. The leaves are beautiful and the fruit delicious....but the fruit can also stain sidewalks. I am planning on putting it further back from the sidewalk so we won't have the mess. I didn't know at first if I should plant this tree, but like everything, it has a cycle and will be enjoyed for years.....so why not? I found this article on why the ornamental is banned.... ABSTRACT: U.S. JOURNAL: TUCSON, ARIZ. about efforts to ban further planting of the fruitless mulberry tree in Tucson. The problem is that the tree gives off pollen, which is what a lot of people move to Arizona to avoid. People with allergies make up a sizable minority in Tucson, but people who don't suffer from them tend to take a humorous view of the subject. Ted Craig, editorial-page editor of the Tucson Citizen, began an editorial called "Mulberry Silliness" with the word "Ah-choo!" and ended it with the word "Gesundheit!"The argument against making any changes in the desert such as introducing non-native greenery, Craig wrote, "is just great if you happen to be a horned toad...and you like to breathe dust." Craig made a lot of people angry with his editorial, but that is not a new experience for him. While talking to Craig writer realized that the mulberry controversy had some elements of a class issue. The expensive houses have lawns landscaped in "desert style" but the poorer people haven't the money, or the taste or the natural setting to make that kind of landscaping possible. Craig's answer to people who object to introducing non-native plants into the area is simple: Tell them they're "non-native" themselves. End of abstract.
The plant itself is a beautiful tree that attracts native butterflies and produces a delicious dark berry off the tree. Above are some pics of the tropical looking tree but xeriscape friendly to the desert.
The citrus trees are performing well. The kumquat, lime, and lemon are all growing. However, the orange tree is being attacked by catepillars. The plant seems to be doing alright for now.
I also put in another plant well on the 922 side of the building in the courtyard. It looks great and I can't wait to put in the last two wells for that section. It will look really nice. Work continues slowly but steadily. As one section is finished, another one begins and it is constantly like this. I will say that I am seeing the changes and it is encouraging. It is beginning to feel like a woodsy, yet sunny, retreat with birds, crickets, and butterflies all around. When the final product is finished, it should be quite the show for all involved. Until next week.....I have holes to dig during this unexpected beautiful sunny and in the 80's weekend.
Posts
Mt. Lemmon....one of Tucson's gems. One of the parts of this blog that others may find helpful are the places around and near to Tucson that make Tucson such a special place to live. During my course of blogging, I will also snap pics from local areas to give you an idea of what kind of area we have around here. Most people think we are desert and the answer is absolutely....we are the Sonoran Desert to be specific and it is one of the most beautiful desert climates to have around you. But we also have these "sky islands" such as Mt. Lemmon(a 45 minute ride from Tucson) that offers people a break from the hot summer weather. And if you're lucky like I am to have two friends who happen to own a cabin on top....well....instead of roughing it in a tent....you get to sleep on a cushy bed and hang out with some great people:) These past two days I took a break for some inspiration up on Mt. Lemmon. Sometimes when nothing seems to be working....the battle in the garden with plants and money spent on each of the "art pieces" you hope will make it and create a special space....well....sometimes you need to take a break and aborb in Mother Nature and how she did it all....in the Amazon, she is called Pacha Mama. So that is exactly what I did.....the thing that I took from Mt. Lemmon this time was the balance between pockets of trees and empty spaces. Back in 2005, we had a huge fire on top of the mountain that wiped out cabins and lots of trees.....and today, it is quite the view. Fire is a nature's way of cleaning house.....so while it is very sad that about half of our forest was lost....it was also good for the mountain. Today there is new growth all around and it will take time for all the trees and land to recover to what it was in the past. But it is recovering and that is good to see....slow by our human standards....but it is there. This year was the year of the wind and it knocked down a lot of those dead and tall standing trees....leaving hillsides naked.....which brings me to my observation..... Our gardens begin as empty spaces.....there is nothing there but ground...maybe a solitary tree....but we are left to visualize in our minds what that space should look like. On top of Mt. Lemmon in the village of Summerhaven, you can see full spaces(those not touched by fire) and those bare, naked spaces that have nothing....it is interesting to walk from section to section between forest and grassy hillside....once being all forest, now a broken line of landscape....in many ways representing our city block of backyards. It gave me some perspective on what it is to have shade, wildlife, wind blowing through leaves, etc.....and why it is important to fight for and create these spaces that we make special around us. It is worth every penny spent and...oh yeah...our time:) I also remember my friends buying their cabin with two baby apple trees on a steep hillside and thought....impossible....these trees aren't going to last.....and they did. 6 years later they are taller than I am....so things can work if we try it out....it was relaxing, but it also got me more excited about returning back to the garden and getting things going again....sometimes a break is good:)
