Spring in the Desert - Part 2

4/15/12



bush morning glory

      Last week I posted photos of what's been happening in the flower garden the last three weeks.  This week let's walk the backyard path, and we'll see what has been going on in the yard.

     The bush morning glory shrubs have been blooming for a month now and are coming to the end of their bloom period.

lime blossoms

     All the citrus trees (orange, grapefruit, lime) blossomed.  There were many more orange and lime blossoms this year.

nectarine blossoms

nectarine fruit

     The yellow nectarine tree is still blooming.  And I can see some fruits just starting to grow.

purple fountain grass

     After being pruned to 12 inches this winter, the purple fountain grass is growing nicely.

hopseed bush

hopseed bush

     Hundreds of seed pods cover the hopseed bushes.  Some of the seed pods are red, and some are mostly white with just a hint of pink around the edges.

yellow bells

     The yellow bells are blossoming, but somewhat sparsely this year.

deer grass

     The deer grass, which was getting kind of brown, was finally pruned this year and looks lush and green now.

lantana

     The lantana (purple, white, yellow, orange and red) have all finally decided it was warm enough to flower.

lizards

     Because of the walls around the back yard, we don't get wildlife visitors like javelina (peccaries) or coyotes, but we do have resident lizards.

A Hint of Fall

9/16/11

lantana

     Many fellow gardeners have mentioned that it is feeling like fall in their area.  I can finally say that we are having a hint of fall here in the desert southwest.  The night time temperature finally fell below 80 F (27C) this week.  And we had a few days below 100 F (38C).  We had the hottest August on record here, and now, relief.

     My yard and flower garden appreciate the lower temperatures.  The lantana are all starting to bloom again after not flowering for six weeks.  The ruellia plants are full of flowers again after weeks of producing an anemic bloom or two per week.  My palms are looking fresher, the yellow bell bushes are blossoming profusely, and my purple fountain grasses are growing purple seed heads again.  Hopefully the grass stalks on the plants will turn green again.

purple seed heads on fountain grass

     The citrus is looking good, with the oranges and grapefruits getting larger and starting to turn color.  The lime tree is shooting up its branches and getting taller suddenly this week.

grapefruit tree

 
     The one petunia in the garden I kept alive by watering generously is now flowering again as well as the roses which haven't bloomed much this August.

petunia

Honor rose

   
     It is like everything woke up from summer hibernation and realized it is not going to be blazing hot anymore.  I'm sure the amount and angle of the sunlight played a part.  We understand here in the desert southwest that it is not going to really cool off until October.  By then it won't go above 100 F (38 C) anymore.  By mid-November we are home free.  The hot weather will be gone until next May.

Garden Problems

9/6/11
    

zinnias

     While I was gone on vacation for a week, my zinnias developed a problem.  The leaves and stems have turned brown.  When I inspected them, I found small white insects.  I have been very lucky that I have had very few problems during all my gardening years, so I am not familiar with many pests.  I researched several pests on the internet, and my best guess is mealy bugs.  I used a hard water spray to dislodge them, and if that is not enough, I may use a rubbing alcohol and water spray, or a dish detergent and alcohol spray. 

mealy bugs?

     A second problem is that my purple fountain grasses are not looking their best.  They were planted last summer and did well.  I pruned them to 8 inches at the beginning of spring.  They grew nicely.  But sometime in July the seed heads turned completely white.  And then a few weeks later, half of them lost their seed heads and all of them lost their purple color and are now completely green.  So now I have these 4 foot clumps of green grass.  Help!  I have no idea what has happened.  What can I do to get their purple color back, and why did half of them lose their seed heads?

purple fountain grass last summer

seed heads turned white



lost seed heads and turned green



Graceful Grasses

Purple Fountain Grass

6/6/11
     In my backyard, my sanctuary here in the desert, I wanted some bushes with height.  I also wanted to introduce some color and distinct shapes that contrasted with the other bushes in the yard.  I finally settled on two ornamental grasses that have a flowing form and soft structure: Purple Fountain grass and Deer grass.  I have several of each.

     The burgundy-toned Purple Fountain grass is heat-tolerant, low maintenance, pest and disease free.  It is considered a perennial in zones 9 (my zone) and ten.  It turns brown in the fall.  My husband cut them down to about 8 inches last winter, and they have all grown back to about 4 feet tall.  The feathery seed heads at the end of the stalks are very showy spring through fall.

Purple Fountain Grass seed heads

The Deer grass forms a dense, green clump at the base out of which arise several white, spike-like flower stalks.  Most of these flower/seed stalks stand straight up, while the stalks of the fountain grass arch over.  Deer grass is a perennial bunch grass that is drought-tolerant and low maintenance.  The Deer grass is supposed to grow to about 4 feet tall.  Mine are a year old and have grown to about 31/2 feet tall.  The Deer grass did not turn brown in the fall, and I did not prune it.  I have done nothing to the Deer grass since it has been planted.  These two grasses are lovely and graceful when they sway in the breeze.  It is soothing to watch their movement.  They soften and temper the look of the hard rock covering on the yard.  They are my most favorite plants in the yard.



Deer Grass



Deer Grass seed stalks