Fall, Flowering Tree and Thanksgiving Plans…
Every year, without fail, my thoughts tend to stray away from the garden and begin to focus on the upcoming holidays.
I start to think about out how many people we will be hosting for our annual Thanksgiving feast along with a host of other things…
Will I be roasting a whole turkey or try to get away with just cooking turkey breasts like we did last year?
Can I ask my oldest daughter into making the trip to Costco and braving the line for their famous pumpkin pie?
Is my mother-in-law up to making her famous stuffing this year or will my sister-in-law be able to help her?
Of course, there are quite a few other Thanksgiving matters on my mind, but I will spare you any further details 😉
Every year when these questions are foremost in my mind and rather far away from my garden, is when my Cascalote tree begins to undergo a beautiful transformation. Although it is a nice-looking tree throughout the entire year – it gets all dressed up for fall and winter when yellow flowers cover the entire tree canopy.
I bought my Cascalote tree when I was a horticulture student in college. We took a field trip to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum where they were having a plant sale.
I came back with a 5-gallon Cascalote that I first planted in a large container because we were still in the process of building our house.
Once we moved in, I planted it in our front yard.
That was over 14 years ago and it has grown into a beautiful tree.
You can read more about this uniquely Southwestern tree and why you may want to plant one in your own garden in my latest article for Houzz…
I hope your week is off to a great start!
Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."
What a beautiful tree!
Have a wonderful time preparing for Thanksgiving and have a wonderful day with family.
FlowerLady
I remember my friend's Cascalote at his house in Litchfield Park…he hated the mess, but I would not have minded.
So far, it's mild enough to have other Caesalpinia in bloom here for Thanksgiving. Unless the arctic airmass this weekend has other plans…