New Clothes for a New Garden

4/22/12

new gloves and hat

     I have bought a new hat and gloves as a way to celebrate gardening in a new place.  As my husband's work here is done, we are moving back to Virginia, and I am thrilled.  I've been waiting for this move for a long time.  I won't be doing extensive gardening at first, because we are renting for a while, but I will be able to plant some annuals in the yard and do some some container  gardening.  And, strangely enough, we ended up renting about six blocks from where we used to live.  I've been packing for the last two weeks, and I have had my fill of boxes, tape, bubble wrap and packing paper.  The movers are coming the end of this week, so this will be my last post for a few weeks.

     Here are a few things I learned about gardening and living in Arizona.

dried grass clippings as mulch

     Nothing decays here, it only dessicates.  I have put grass clippings on my flower garden, and after a year the clippings are still sitting on top of the soil, all brown and dry and crisp.  Since we get very little rain ( four inches last year), and the garden is watered by drip irrigation at each plant, most of the garden gets very little water on top of it.

vinca and celosia

     Solar radiation is much stronger here in the desert southwest (more than twice the solar radiation received by humid regions) because there is no humidity, little living ground cover, and no clouds.  We have gone for months without seeing a cloud.  So the skies can transmit maximal solar energy to the ground where much of it is absorbed, raising the temperature dramatically.  Because of the heat, not much flowers here June to mid-September.  The only flowers in my garden during that time are vinca and celosia.

chard

     It is tricky growing vegetables here.  The last freeze date is around March 1, and the first 100 F day usually occurs in April.  In the fall, the temperature drops to  85 to 90 F by October, but the first freeze date can be mid-November.

     Although I am not a desert-loving person, the desert has its beauty.

Palo Verde tree

My favorite of all natives here is the Palo Verde tree, so golden and graceful.

     Red Yucca with its skyward red spikes.

     Prickly but nicely rounded Golden Barrel cactus.

     I'll be posting in a few weeks from the more humid and much greener climate of northern Virginia.  Hooray! 

The Succulent Garden

10/24/11

Gate into the courtyard succulent garden

     Yesterday the temperature finally went below 100 F (38 C) for the first time in 10 days.  It has been abnormally hot here for October.  It was 99 F (37 C) yesterday, and it is forecasted to be 95 (35 C) today.  The average temperature for this time of the year is 89 F (32 C).  I think we are finally done with the triple-digit temperatures.

    
     In the cooler weather in the fall and spring I can sit outside and enjoy my succulent garden.  The succulent garden is located in the front courtyard entrance to my home.  Succulent plants are water-retaining plants that store water in their leaves, stems and roots.  Most are indigenous to arid or semi-arid regions, and their succulence (swollen or fleshy appearance) is an adaptation to the extreme heat and dryness of their environment.

Courtyard succulent garden

     The best known succulents are cacti (family: Cactaceae).  Virtually all cacti are succulents.  I have two different cacti in my succulent garden.  Two of my cacti are San Pedro  (Trichocereus pachanoi) variety.

San Pedro cactus

I knew almost nothing about cacti until I moved to the desert.  According to my research, San Pedro cacti have been used for healing and religious divination for over 3,000 years and contain mescaline that can be extracted from the plants.  They are columnar with six to eight ribs and can grow over 15 feet high.  They are native to the Andes Mountains of Peru.  This cactus flowers at night and will produce red fruit.  I have seen neither from my two San Pedro cacti.







     The other cactus I have is a Golden Barrel (Echinocactus grusonii).  It has a globe shape and can reach three feet in height.  It is native to central Mexico.  Small, yellow flowers appear in summer around the crown, but only after 20 years.  It is easy to grow and is widely cultivated for use in gardens.  But I have read that it is endangered in the wild.

Golden Barrel cactus

  
     The other succulent plant on the courtyard is a Red Apple Ice Plant (Aptenia cordifolia).  It is a perennial with fleshy leaves that develops tiny red flowers.  It is prized for its drought tolerance and fire retardant ability. It is used in many places as a groundcover that can prevent soil erosion.




Red Apple Ice Plant

      I have discovered that classifying plants as succulent or non succulent can be a problem.  Many  publications or books ignore succulent plants such as orchids.  Some plant physiologists tend to be noncommittal on bulbs.  Some authors use the term semi-succulents for plants with less obvious succulent characteristics.  I'll leave that discussion to others much more versed in classifying plants than I am, and just enjoy my succulents.