Well anyone who knows me well, would definitely have a hard time believing that I actually wrote a title like this one.
For those of you who may not know me personally….I will let you in on a secret – I love getting a good deal and living simply. My mother (Pastor Farmer) is very good at this as was her mother, so I guess it is in my DNA. I love shopping sales and coming home with items that normally would have cost much more.
When I quit my full-time job as a landscape designer, we had to make some cuts to our household budget which was a challenge that I actually enjoyed, especially at the grocery store. My daughter Ruthie is always asking me how much I saved each week at our local grocery store. I think she is on her way to becoming a saver as well.
I am also a huge proponent on saving money in the garden as well and it is really not difficult to do while still having a beautiful garden. Now you would expect that the best way to save $ in the garden is by downsizing and you would be partly right. You can definitely save money by downsizing, but it does not always save you money.
I am going to share with you a great way to add beauty to your garden, decrease your maintenance and save money. It is really so simple that I hope you are inspired to try this in your own garden.
Okay, are you ready? All you need to do is to purchase shrubs that will grow to a large size. You may be asking, is that all? YES!
Many shrubs will grow to a large size, which takes up space in the garden. The more space covered equals fewer plants needed. Large shrubs also are great at covering up bare walls, hiding pool equipment / air-conditioning units while adding beauty, particularly if you select a flowering shrub.
Add beauty to your garden
My Arizona Yellow Bells (Tecoma stans stans) shrub easily grows to 7 ft tall and wide. Mine covers approximately 30 sq. ft. of area in my garden while providing beautiful flowers 9 months out of the year. It also helps to cover up my bare wall.
Want more examples?
Add beauty to your garden
This is a ‘Torch Glow’ Bougainvillea that I placed along my father-in-law’s back garden wall. Paired with two others, their unique branching habit along with their bright colors really provided a great focal point.
Now people either love or hate Oleanders (Nerium oleander). For the average garden, I do NOT recommend planting the large varieties. But, the dwarf forms of Oleanders do grow to a good size and can reach heights of 6 ft. Since Oleanders are so easy to grow, many people have them in their gardens.
Add beauty to your garden
So, if you would like to include some in your garden, I recommend trying a red flowered variety since most Dwarf Oleanders seen in landscapes are the pink and salmon colors. (Be aware that all parts of Oleanders are poisonous).
When you talk to newcomers to the desert southwest, they often ask about the beautiful large shrubs with orange/red flowers are planted along the freeways.
Red Bird-of-Paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) is beautiful in the summer landscape and as you can see, hides a bare wall very well. Maintenance in my zone 8b area is very simple – just prune back to 1 ft. in January and they will soon grow back to 6 ft. high in the summer months. **Another helpful tip to help prolong bloom – prune back lightly (by 1/4) in August to extend the bloom period throughout October and early November.
I just love the unique flowers of Baja Fairy Duster (Calliandra californica), so do hummingbirds. I love both the beauty and low maintenance of these shrubs. Please do not prune them into ‘balls’…..they are so beautiful in their natural form 🙂
If you prefer more green then flowers, then the following shrubs may be more to your taste….
Hopbush (Dodonaea viscosa)
You could easily put 5 small shrubs along with 3 groundcovers in this area….where just 2 Photinia (Photinia fraseri) fit very well in the area above.
Many of you may be surprised to find out that many of the shrubs you already have in your own garden can grow quite a bit larger then you let them. The solution to the problem is quite easy…..stop over pruning them and let them grow. The alternative is to plant multiple shrubs in a given space and as they grow, you are forced to keep pruning them back to keep them from crowding each other.
Well how about buying a single 1-gallon shrub (you don’t need to spend extra for a 5-gallon) and give it space to grow? You will be rewarded with more $ in your pocket, a large beautiful shrub and fewer plants to prune and maintain.
Yes, your new 1-gallon Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens) will look scrawny – but not for long….
Other suggestions for shrubs that will grow large:
You may be wondering where my next post on our trip to the east coast will come. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if they were becoming somewhat boring – especially for those who read my blog for gardening topics. So, I thought that I had better write a gardening post. I promise that I will write more about our trip – our visit to Amish country was just fabulous.
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Well, we have been home and it is still taking a little while to get settled. This also extends to my blogging….I am running a little behind.
I have enjoyed putting together posts about our recent trip to the east coast and one of my favorite destinations was the colonial town of Williamsburg, Virginia.
Colonial town of Williamsburg, Virginia.
I had visited Williamsburg when I was 12 years old and couldn’t wait to experience it again as an adult and through my children’s eyes. The weather was perfect and I could hardly wait to see my kids experience a living history or our country.
Before we even made it into the town, the kids and I visited the fabulous gift shop to get some ideas of what type of souvenirs we would want to purchase on our way out. Gracie and Kai loved the hats.
It makes me happy to see how well the kids get along with each other.
Kai was walking with his arm around Gracie.
The kids were eager to get started and our first stop was to a special orientation that they had especially for kids.
The boys had to line up across from the girls and learn how to bow….
The girls had to learn how to curtsy….my curtsy was a little rusty 😉
One destination that I was very excited to see was the colonial garden and nursery.
My mother, Pastor Farmer, also loves to garden and my husband knew we would be exploring the colonial gardens for a while 😉
Bell jars to protect plants from the cold and a reproduction of an old bird feeder were on display.
I was happy to find some plants that I recognized at the entrance…..Bush Lantana.
Plants such as Beauty Berry above are not familiar to my southwestern eyes, but I did recognize it because I had seen it in my fellow bloggers gardens in more temperate areas.
It was so cool to see the gardener in colonial garb. They had a myriad of different vegetables, herbs and flowers growing, using old fashioned methods.
Now there were some plastic markers used for the vegetables and I did see some California varieties of broccoli being grown, so I’d see this garden was a blend of both the old and the new.
As my mother and I got ready to drag ourselves away from the gardens, we discovered two surprises that my mother hastened to point out to the kids….
Two caterpillars that will turn into beautiful Swallowtail butterflies.
We went on to the local church and the kids got to sit in George Washington’s reserved pew. He attended the church back when he was a General, before he became president.
I think the best part of the day for the kids was getting to ring the old church bell…
Ruthie and Kai loved to stop and pet the horses. But I think that Kai’s favorite part was seeing all of the guns stored in the town’s magazine.
We stopped by the courthouse and then had fun showing the kids where people were punished once they were sentenced….
Afterwards, the kids had a new respect for ‘time out’ 😉
Colonial town of Williamsburg, Virginia.
We had a fabulous day and took one last picture before we loaded up into the minivan on our way to Washington DC.
Now we were off to Washington DC……a great place to visit, but I literally walked my feet off there ….more later 🙂
I appreciate you letting me share my trip with you!
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The leaves are beginning to turn and air is finally becoming cool and crisp. I always look forward to fall as it is my favorite time of year, full of holidays.
My entry for this month’s Monthly Garden Bouquet (MGB) consists of a simple, but beautiful bouquet of some of my favorite flowers.
Now, as I ventured out into my garden to cut the blooms, the rain that had been falling had stopped. But wouldn’t you know it…..after I made the trek to my side garden, the heavens opened up and I was caught in a torrential downpour.
I didn’t want to be a ‘sissy’ and decided to cut the blooms as quickly as I could and then run inside. Well you guessed it….I was completely soaked when I came inside. But, I was successful and had a bunch of blooms from my single plant.
After drying my hair, I placed the blooms in my vase….
I realize that I could have put maybe one or two more flowers, but I was NOT going out to venture out into the rain again because first, my hair was finally dry and second, there was lightning and I am paranoid about getting struck by lightning.
I got out my trusty SLR camera and started clicking away. When I went to download them onto my computer….my camera started to have issues and my photos were lost. So I had to resort to my small Sony Cybershot camera. Under the circumstances, I think it did a pretty good job.
The beautiful flowers of the Red Bird-of-Paradise also known as Royal Poinciana (Caesalpinia pulcherrima), do not need any other types of flowers or fillers. They are so striking on their own.
Newcomers to our area often comment on the beautiful shrubs and their bright summer flowers. I have two by my kitchen window and I love viewing their blooms close up and the hummingbirds who come to drink their nectar.
If you would like to participate in this month’s Monthly Garden Bouquet (and I hope you do), here are the guidelines.
1. MGB begins on the 21st of each month and runs until the end of each month. Bouquets can be submitted during this time (or even later 🙂
2. Create your own garden bouquet as fancy or simple as you like. **You can also create an autumn bouquet with fall colored foliage.**
3. I would appreciate it if you would provide a link back to my post inside of your MGB post, but it is not required 🙂
4. Add your link to Mr. Linky below and that’s it!
I must admit, that I particularly enjoyed creating this month’s Monthly Garden Bouquet. In fact, it is the simplest one that I have put together. It mirrors how I feel today……the bright colors of the flowers just make me want to celebrate.
Patriot Lantana ‘Desert Sunset’
Without a doubt, one of my favorite shrubs is my Patriot Lantana ‘Desert Sunset’. What I love most, is the variety of colors that are produced in a single cluster of flowers. The second reason that I enjoy this plant so much, is that it is extremely low-maintenance……I just prune it back to about 2 feet in early March, make sure it is connected to our irrigation system and that is it. No fertilizer, no deadheading…..nothing else is needed. Don’t you wish more plants could be like this one?
Patriot Lantana ‘Desert Sunset’
Right now, butterflies are hovering above the brightly colored flowers in my garden. I have three of these Lantana in my front garden. About 7 years ago, I planted them around golf courses inside of planters. At the time, I was able to obtain them in 4″ pots, which made them inexpensive and easy to transplant into the larger containers. After the summer was over, it was time to remove the Lantana and replace them with winter flowering annuals. Although the Lantana would easily survive outdoors in our winters, they would suffer frost damage and everything around the golf courses had to look perfect year-round.
I could not throw away these beautiful plants, so I planted them in protected landscape areas around the golf courses, gave some away to the landscape crew and came home with 3. Free plants and 7 years of low-maintenance beauty…..life in the garden cannot get much better, can it?
When I look closely, I love seeing the little buds begin to open…..
Now this is really cool…….look at the mature flower in the center and you will notice the yellow florets are in the middle. The new flower on the right has new yellow florets on the outside. Guess what happens? As the first yellow florets on the outside of the flower age, they turn orange and then pink. How cool is that?
Now, I do not have to go far to find a reason to celebrate today. You may remember my mentioning my brother and sister-in-law were expecting……well on our way home from church yesterday, I received a text from my brother….they were at the hospital and the babies were on their way. She had been scheduled for a c-section this Thursday, so we were a little thrown off….we could hardly get to the hospital fast enough.
You know that look that new fathers get? Well, I was thrilled to see that expression on my brother’s face as he announced the birth of his twin boys. They are absolutely adorable and I was in heaven holding the youngest one.
Okay, thank you for bearing with me and listening to my wonderful news. I am getting ready to go to the hospital to visit. But before I go, I would love to have you submit your Monthly Garden Bouquet.
If you would like to participate in this month’s Monthly Garden Bouquet (and I hope you do), here are the guidelines.
1. MGB begins on the 21st of each month and runs until the end of each month. Bouquets can be submitted during this time (or even later 🙂
2. Create your own garden bouquet as fancy or simple as you like.
3. I would appreciate it if you would provide a link back to my post inside of your MGB post, but it is not required 🙂
4. Add your link to Mr. Linky below and that’s it!
It can be as simple or fancy as you like. Each month, I cannot wait to see what you all come up with.
******I promise to post Part 2 of Curing the Garden Blahs in a couple of days.******
This past spring, I was pleasantly surprised to find some previously lost plants growing again in my front garden. How did I lose them in the first place? Well, when I first designed and planted our garden, over 10 years ago, I included quite a few different flowering perennials. Like many flowering perennials, they were short-lived and I did not replace all of them. I don’t really have a good reason for not replacing them, but at the time, I was busy managing other gardens and landscapes and did not have the energy to focus on my own….sad wasn’t it?
Well, here is how I found my plants……last winter and spring, we received much more rainfall then usual. In late March, I was checking around the garden for weeds when I saw some tiny leaves starting to poke their way through. I looked closely at them before ripping them out and discovered that they were the offspring from my original plants.
Lost Plants, Paperflower (Psilostrophe cooperi)
Paperflower was the first of my lost perennials to return. The seeds from my original plants had laid dormant for 8 years until the copious rainfall caused them to germinate. I love this little plant with its gray-green leaves but the coolest thing is that as the flowers die, they become papery in texture. You can see the spent flowers above towards the right lower corner.
This plant makes a great groundcover and has bloomed for me spring through fall.
Goodding’s Verbena (Glandularia gooddingii)
Although I have grown many different types of Verbena, this one is my favorite. I love the delicate, tiny purple flowers and the way the plant spreads out on the ground. Definitely not a fussy plant, it will flower like crazy throughout the spring and off and on during the rest of the year.
Like many flowering perennials, it is rather short-lived but does self-seed. It looks fantastic when placed next to boulders.
Desert Marigold (Baileya multiradiata)
The last plant that has made it’s reappearance in my garden was my Desert Marigold. This flowering perennial grows very well in the southwest and can be seen lining the roadways during the spring, especially when we have had sufficient rain. It does very well in the residential landscape as well and is sometimes treated as an annual wildflower.
The sunny, yellow flowers can be seen off and on, year round. They are very easy to grow from seed, but can be purchased in 1-gallon containers. However, it has been my experience that my Desert Marigolds last longer when I grow them from seed, rather then transplant them from containers.
I am so happy to have all of these plants back in my garden 🙂
Don’t you just love the feeling you get when you find something that you thought you had lost?
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I mentioned earlier this week about our beautiful Palo Verde tree that fell victim to the high winds of a monsoon storm. As sad as I was for the loss of my tree, I began to realize that I would now have to choose a replacement. Now I don’t know about you, but I just love it when I get to buy a new tree or plant. My husband is not usually as excited as I am because he is usually the one digging the holes 😉
Faced with the wonderful dilemma of having to choosing what type of tree to plant, I have began to go through the list of candidates – listing their positives and sometimes the negatives. In my last post, we looked at 12 different trees and today I would like to finish the list of prospective tree choices.
Texas Mountain Laurel (Sophora secundiflora)
I think it is the purple flowers that show up in the springtime that make this one of my favorite small trees. The flowers are not only beautiful, but they perfume the air with the fragrance of grape bubblegum.
When not blooming, Texas Mountain Laurel makes an extremely attractive evergreen tree or large shrub, depending on how you prune (train) it. At maturity, it can reach heights of 15 – 25 ft. high and up to 15 ft. wide. I like how it grows in full sun as well as light shade. The fact that it is thornless is a bonus.
Most people I have spoken to are not generally fans of seedpods and try to stay away from trees that produce them. However, most do not mind the seedpods of the Texas Mountain Laurel, because they add an attractive element to the tree. The seedpods contain bright red seeds that are poisonous, but are extremely hard. As a result, experts say that the seeds would likely pass through the digestive tract, undigested.
*Caterpillars can become a problem during warm weather, but you can just ignore them and/or pick them off. If you see loose webbing on the leaves, that is a sign that it is infected by caterpillars. The damage caused from the caterpillars does not usually hurt the tree. It helps if you detect the eggs before they hatch and remove them. Since caterpillars usually infect the new growth, I just prune off the affected areas.
As much as I love this small tree, I will probably look for something that will grow a little taller.
Willow Acacia (Acacia salicina)
Another of my favorite imports from Australia, Willow Acacia offers beauty in narrower spaces. I planted over 100 of these trees in golf courses. Their relative low maintenance, lack of thorns, and graceful willow-like growth habit makes this tree an asset in many areas. I also love that fact that they are evergreen. You can see them growing in common areas, entry and patio gardens as well as golf courses.
Their mature size of approximately 40 ft high and 20 ft. wide make this a great selection to use in a narrow space such as a side yard.
In late summer and fall, cream colored, puffball flowers appear which have a pleasing, light fragrance.
I may have to seriously consider planting a Willow Acacia….
Ironwood (Olneya tesota)
A somewhat iconic desert tree is the Ironwood. Native to the southwestern deserts, this tree is characterized by gray-green foliage, and extremely hard wood. A slow growing tree, it can reach 30 ft. high and 25 ft. wide, although I have seen some specimens that are larger. Almost evergreen, it loses it’s leaves just before flowering in late winter, although severe drought can also cause it to lose it’s leaves.
This beautiful tree does best in full sun and should be kept away from close proximity to pedestrian areas as the thorns can be troublesome. In late winter, their flowers begin to appear. The trees appear covered in a lavender mist. The flowers are small but are incredibly breathtaking up close…. but you can easily miss them, so pay attention.
Ironwood trees are often found growing on golf courses in our area. Usually, the golf course was built around certain specimen trees that were already present. Ironwood trees do not fare very well over time when planted in grassy areas. I have seen my share of stately Ironwood trees decline over time on golf courses until they had to be removed.
I do love this tree, but would like to keep away from having thorny trees in my back garden where my children play and would also like a tree that is somewhat faster growing. **I am normally a proponent of purchasing trees in smaller containers such as a 15- gallon tree instead of a 24″ box tree because once in the ground, the 15-gallon tree will rapidly catch up in size to the planted 24″ box tree. BUT when shopping for a tree that is known to be a slow-grower, then I do recommend buying the largest size you can afford.
Evergreen Elm (Ulmus parvifolia)
Contrary to the common name, Evergreen Elm, this beautiful shade tree is NOT evergreen. *I would really love to talk to the people who come up with these common names 😉 If you want a large shade tree, then this is a great selection. Bright, light green leaves, smooth bark that chips off in the shape of puzzle pieces, thornless…..there is little not to love. It does drop it’s leaves in winter and they do not change into pretty autumn colors before falling off.
When deciding where to plant, make sure to allow plenty of room for the roots of this 35 ft. x 35 ft. tree. The dense shade it produces is a welcome respite from a hot, summer day. But the shade makes it difficult for summer grass to grow underneath as well as many plants.
Personally, I would like to try to find an evergreen tree for my garden that does not produce dense shade because I do like to plant underneath my trees.
Jacaranda(Jacaranda mimosifilia)
Growing up in Southern California, Jacaranda trees are quite familiar to me. I love their tropical foliage and the flowers are just beautiful. Many transplanted Californians now make their home in Arizona and as a result, like to plant many plants that remind them of home.
Jacaranda trees are actually native to Brazil, but are grown in tropical and semi-tropical regions around the world. In their native, tropical climate, they can exceed heights of 50 ft. x 30 ft. wide. In our semi-tropical, arid climate, they do not grow quite as large as those grown in areas with warmer winters, such as California.
The flowers are just lovely and when they fall, they create a carpet of purple underneath the tree….so don’t rush to rake up the fallen flowers.
In areas with cooler winters, they do lose their leaves. They can also be damaged by hard frosts which sometimes occur in our area, so I would recommend planting in an area that receives some protection from frost.
Tired of struggling in the desert garden? Sign up for my online course, DESERT GARDENING 101.
My parents had a Jacaranda tree in their San Pedro, CA garden and so did my father-in-law in his Scottsdale, AZ garden. As a result, I was able to enjoy their beauty up close. But, I would rather plant a tree that is more tolerant of the occasional hard frosts that my zone 8b garden receives.
Shoestring Acacia (Acacia stenophylla)
Another import from Australia, Shoestring Acacia makes a wonderful addition to the residential landscape. They are also found growing in parking lots, common areas and golf courses.
This is also a great tree for narrow areas. Evergreen, thornless and long leaves that remind you of shoestrings, hence the common name. At maturity, they can reach heights of 30 ft. high while only reaching 20 ft. wide.
Even if you aren’t a fan of seedpods, these pods look very cool, I think….
These seedpods make great Christmas decorations for the tree….they look like beads strung together. One Christmas, I had a tree solely covered with seedpods from different trees. My mother makes fantastic wreaths out of seedpods. I will probably do a seedpod post soon.
There really nothing negative about Shoestring Acacias, except that they can look somewhat scrawny when they are young. I remember planting them in groups of three around golf courses when the superintendent (my boss) asked me if they would always look so scrawny. I promised him that in 2 years, he would be thanking me for planting them….and he did 😉 Just be patient and you will be rewarded.
Shoestring Acacia is a tree that I may need to consider my garden.
Mesquite (Prosopis species)
Besides Palo Verde trees, Mesquites are probably the second most iconic tree of the desert southwest. You may be surprised to find out that the Mesquite trees found in most landscapes are not the same ones found growing out in the desert, but rather imports from South America.
Mesquite trees are known for growing quickly and providing filtered shade. There are many good reasons to include one in your garden as well as some negatives to be mindful of. The most important consideration for most homeowners is whether the Mesquite they have chosen is a thornless species or not.
First the positives…..beautiful shade tree, moderate to fast growing, thornless varieties available, edible seedpods, flowers attract bees which serve to pollinate other areas of the garden.
Now the negatives…..susceptible to damage from the wind, needs to be staked longer then some other types of trees, thorns (depending on variety), seedpod litter, invasive roots, susceptible to mistletoe infestation, pruning is often required more than once a year.
Here is a list of the most popular Mesquite species and their characteristics:
Argentine Mesquite (Prosopis alba)
20 – 40 ft. high and wide
Thorns
Mostly evergreen
Native to South America
Chilean Mesquite (Prosopis chilensis)
30 ft. high and wide
Some types are thornless
Semi-deciduous (Loses most leaves in winter)
Native to South America
Honey Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa)
15 – 30 ft. high / 20 – 40 ft. wide
Thorns
Deciduous (loses leaves in winter)
Native to southwestern North America
Velvet Mesquite (Prosopis velutina)
30 ft. high and wide
Thorns
Semi-evergreen
Native to southwestern North America
I love the beauty of Mesquite trees and have grown many both professionally and in my own garden at one time. But for me personally, the maintenance that they require is more than I want to do in my own garden.
Brazilian Pepper Tree (Schinus teribinthifolius)
This attractive tree has a multitude of uses in the landscape. Brazilian Pepper trees can be found in parks, golf courses, along roadside plantings and residential landscapes. It’s mature size of 15 – 30 ft. high and wide makes it suitable to be used as a patio tree.
In winter, it is evergreen and the female trees produce pretty red clusters of small berries. The fact that it is also thornless makes it a welcome addition to the garden.
Although it is somewhat invasive in humid climates, that is not a problem in arid regions.
I’m not sure about this one for my garden….maybe?
Leatherleaf Acacia (Acacia craspedocarpa)
This small tree can create great contrast in the landscape with it’s gray-green leaves. I find it looks most attractive when planted in groups of 3 or 5, although it would make a great patio tree if planted alone.
Native to Australia, it’s relative small size of 10 – 15 ft. high and wide make it perfect for small areas.
Evergreen, thornless, extremely low-maintenance and interestingly shaped leaves make this tree an asset in the landscape. The leaves are thick and somewhat leathery in texture, hence it’s common name.
I have not personally grown this tree, but would not hesitate too. But in this case, I am looking for a larger tree.
Weeping Acacia (Acacia pendula)
I love the botanical name for this Australian native as it so aptly describes the pendulous branches. I really have a thing for trees that have a weeping type of growth. I’m not sure why.
This tree grows up to 40 ft. high and 25 ft. wide. The light gray-green color also contrasts nicely with darker green foliage in the landscape. The rate of growth is rather slow, so I think I will not add this one to my list.
Well, I wish that I could say that I know exactly what type of tree I am going to plant, but I am honestly not sure. I wrote these posts to help myself as well as those who may be considering some of these trees as well in order to help them with their choice.
I will probably hold off until October or November to make my final decision as they are the best months for planting in our area.
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Right now, my vegetable garden is calling to me to come out and plant some seeds.
I am faced with a wonderful dilemma of selecting a desert tree…
My last post dealt with the loss of one of our beautiful ‘Desert Museum’ palo verde trees. So now we are faced with the question of which type of tree should we choose to replace the one that I lost? We worked hard the past couple of days to remove the fallen tree and now have a bare space to fill.
I have lived in my home (and garden) for over ten years. As our house was being built, we designed the surrounding garden. I enjoyed deciding which trees I would choose to grace our desert garden with not only beauty but shade in the summer months. I honestly do not understand people who don’t plant trees in the garden – especially in desert climates. They not only provide wonderful shade in the summer months but also add a lot of value to your property.
*This blog contains affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission with no additional cost to you.
Considering Options for Selecting a Desert Tree
I loved my palo verde tree that fell…..I have two others just like it, including the one pictured above. There is much to like about these trees beside the beautiful green trunks – they are fast growing, thornless, evergreen and yellow flowers in the spring. The only drawbacks are that there is litter from the fallen flowers in spring, which means that it should not be planted by a pool. The fallen flowers do not bother me at all – I rather enjoy the carpet of yellow.
But, even with all of the wonderful attributes of this tree, I have decided to select another type of tree as it’s the replacement. Why may you ask? Well, because they grow quickly, I do have to prune them quite a bit. I do not mind pruning, but pruning three of these trees each year was becoming much more of a chore.
Another reason is that in addition to being a horticulturist, I am also a certified arborist and I do love trees and have grown many different kinds in the landscapes that I managed. Right now, I have 14 trees (8 different types) growing in my front, back and side gardens. I would enjoy adding another kind of tree to my plant palette.
So, here comes the fun part…which one to choose?
Selecting a Desert Tree Variety:
Desert Fern (Lysiloma thornberi)
Desert Fern (Lysiloma thornberi, Lysiloma watsonii var. thornberi, Lysiloma microphylla var. thornberi)
One of my favorite things about the desert fern is the beautiful, fern-like leaves – hence its common name.
Another plus is that is a native, desert tree and is thornless. The leaves turn a slight maroon color in the winter in our zone 8b climate. In colder winters the leaves may drop altogether. Although what I would call a medium sized tree, it typically grows from 15 – 45 feet high and wide.
One drawback is that it does produce brown seed pods, which some people do not like, but I have no problem with them at all.
*I do have a desert fern tree already, and although another one would look great in my newly bare area, I think I will try to choose a different type of tree.
Sweet Acacia (Acacia farnesiana, Acacia smallii)
Sweet Acacia(Acacia farnesiana, Acacia smallii)
In the springtime, air is perfumed with the fragrance of the bright yellow puffball flowers of the sweet acacia. When not in flower, the tiny, dark green leaves are easier to see.
Although found in other areas of the United States, it is also native to the southwest. The mature size is approximately 25 feet high and wide. In areas with mild winters, the leaves will remain on the tree. Dark brown seedpods are produced once flowering has finished.
Some drawbacks to consider are the thorns having to be careful when pruning is necessary (requiring gloves and long sleeves). Now, I am more of a “Do as I say” person rather than a “Do as I do” person. I always wear gloves when I prune, but I rarely wear long sleeves in the summer months. As a result, I have some small scratch scars on my forearms from pruning sweet acacia in the past.
Although I love the beauty, size and the springtime fragrance of this tree, I don’t think I want to accrue any more scars on my arms 😉
Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana)
Southern Live Oak (Quercus virginiana)
Believe it or not, oak trees do very well in our desert climate. Southern live oak, cork oak, and holly oak are all found in the suburban landscape. Southern live oak is the most prevalent, however.
There is little not to love about these trees – they are thornless, have evergreen foliage, are tolerant of full and reflected sun making this tree very low-maintenance. In non-desert climates, they can reach heights of up to 40 – 60 ft., but will not grow that large in the desert. In the landscape areas that I managed, they were a favorite because there was so little maintenance required.
Tired of struggling in the desert garden? Sign up for my online course, DESERT GARDENING 101.
I may be crazy, but this tree seems a little boring to me. Not sure exactly what it is. I spent my teenage years growing up in the town of Thousand Oaks, California and the hillsides are dotted with large, specimen oak trees. The oak trees that I see growing in our area do not resemble the ones from my childhood, so maybe that is the reason that I do not have any in my garden. But, I would wholeheartedly recommend this tree to anyone who wants a lovely, low-maintenance tree.
Bottle Tree (Brachychiton populneus)
Bottle Tree (Brachychiton populneus)
Some of you may be surprised to know that many of our trees and shrubs are grown in our arid climate are native to Australia. The bottle tree is one of them. First of all, I love the shape of the leaves and how the sun reflects off of them in a gentle breeze. I also like the slightly pendulous way that the branches hang down. Evergreen in areas with mild winters and a smooth trunk make it an asset in the garden. Its mature size of 30 – 45 feet high and 30 feet wide, makes it suitable for narrower spaces.
As a child, growing up in Los Angeles, we had one in our front garden. My sister and I used to pretend that the little flowers were ‘fairy caps’ and the flowers were soon followed by large, brown seedpods.
The pods themselves are quite cool looking, and my mother would use them in making wreaths out of seedpods. But what I most remember about the seedpods is getting some of the ‘fuzz’ from the inside stuck on my bare feet, and it hurt. I think that is maybe why I do not have this tree in my garden. But, many people I know who have a bottle tree love them.
**One note of caution, this tree is quite susceptible to Texas (Cotton) root rot (a fungal disease that infects the roots). So if you know of cases of Texas root rot in your neighborhood, I would advise growing another type of tree.
Palo Blanco (Acacia willardiana)
Palo Blanco (Acacia willardiana)
If you have not already noticed already, I am somewhat biased about certain types of trees. This one is one of my favorite smaller trees. The word ‘palo blanco; means “white stick” in Spanish and refers to the white trunk of this tree – considered to be one of its most attractive assets.
The bark peels off in papery sheets. Palo blanco trees look great when planted near each other in groups of 3 or 5 where their distinctive tree trunks can be shown off.
I also like the bright green foliage of the trees and their tiny leaflets. In winter, the leaves do fall from the desert native, but they are so small and do not create much litter.
When mature, it reaches a height of 15 – 20 feet and spreads to 10 feet wide which makes it suitable for a patio tree or other small area. Maintenance is minimal, only requiring a small amount of pruning.
Tiny flowers grace the tree in spring, followed by decorative seed pods.
I like these trees so much that I have three of them. They are growing against my west-facing garden wall and do great in the reflected sun. But, I will probably choose something else for my bare area since I would like a tree that is a little larger for that area.
Indian Rosewood / Sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo)
Indian Rosewood / Sissoo (Dalbergia sissoo)
It’s hard to beat the sissoo tree for fast growth and shade. However, they ARE NOT recommended for average size residential landscapes. The photo of the tree above was taken four years after it was planted from a 15-gallon container and it rapidly grew even larger – soon, it had to be removed due to its invasive roots. This tree made its debut in the Phoenix area about 15 years ago and rapidly became quite popular for its lush green beauty.
As sissoo trees have been grown in the southwest landscape for several years, problems have begun to crop up. They have invasive root systems that cause problems with sidewalks, patio decks, pools, and block walls. Also, their mature size is so big that they dwarf the landscapes they have been planted in. Shallow watering often causes the roots to grow along the surface.
Sissoo trees are best used in large outdoor areas such as parks.
Olive (Olea europaea)
Olive (Olea europaea)
As an option, olive trees work well. Most are multi-trunk with beautiful olive green leaves. They are evergreen and thornless. Regular fruiting olives are no longer sold in many cities due to their highly allergenic pollen. Thankfully, there is a non-fruiting cultivar called ‘Swan Hill Olives’® which is available.
Reaching a mature size of 20 – 30 feet high and wide, olive trees make excellent shade trees and are slow-growing. Some olive trees have fallen prey to some creative pruning (see photo below).
Definitely memorable, but not quite my taste. I would like a tree that will not take too long to grow, so let’s press on to other trees.
An excellent choice is Texas ebony. Particularly for those who like a dense, dark green canopy of leaves. Native to both Texas and Mexico, this tree does very well in the Arizona desert. Everything about this tree is dark – the green leaves the dark brown trunk.
This evergreen tree, has thorns and large brown seedpods. Texas ebony grows slowly to about 15 – 30 feet high and 15 – 20 feet wide.
This is a favorite tree with my clients, but again, I am looking for a tree that grows more quickly.
Chinese Pistache (Pistacia chinensis)
Chinese Pistache (Pistacia chinensis)
An excellent tree for those who like lush, green trees that lose their leaves in winter. Chinese pistache grows to 25 – 25 feet high and wide and has some welcome surprises. It is a deciduous tree known for its stunning fall foliage. Native to China, this tree has become popular in various regions due to its vibrant red, orange, and yellow leaves during autumn. Its small, round fruits are enjoyed by birds.
Chinese Pistache trees are also valued for their drought tolerance and adaptability to different soil types, making them a favored choice for landscaping and urban environments.
It is one of the few trees in our area that produces a rich fall color. Female trees produce clusters of little berries in the fall.
I like this tree, but I want to see more trees before I decide…..
Cascalote (Caesalpinia cacalaco)
Cascalote (Caesalpinia cacalaco)
Another tree that also provides beautiful color in fall and winter is the cascalote. Plumes of yellow flowers start to appear in November and stay through December. At maturity, they reach approximately 15 feet tall and wide.
I love the clusters of small round leaves that are evergreen.
Now I am not a fan of thorns, but the thorns on this tree are almost pretty. You need to plant this tree away from pedestrian areas due to the thorns. You can remove the thorns if you like, which is what I have done in the past. However, there is now a thornless variety, called ‘Smoothie.’
The first flowers of the season begin to open. I bought my first one on a field trip with my Plant Identification college class to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum. I brought it home and planted it in a container because we were renting a house at the time, waiting for our new home to be built. Later, I planted it in our front garden, and I look forward to the beautiful yellow flowers in the fall.
Aleppo Pine (Pinus halepensis)
Aleppo Pine (Pinus halepensis)
Believe it or not, some pine trees also do well in the desert. I love the sound of the wind as it blows through pine trees. Aleppo, Canary Island (Pinus canariensis) and mondel pines (Pinus eldarica) are all found in suburban areas of the lower desert areas of the southwest.
Depending on the species, they grow anywhere from 30 – 60 feet tall and most should not be planted in a residential landscape unless there is ample room for growth. They can suffer from soils and water with high amounts of salts.
Pine trees offer heavy shade that will prevent most grasses from growing underneath. Pine needles litter the ground as well. But did you know that pine needles make an excellent mulch? As they break down, they help to acidify our alkaline soils. And so, if you have a neighbor with pine trees, offer to rake some pine needles up to put in your garden. Your neighbor will be so happy 🙂
I am pretty sure that I will not plant a pine tree because I have memories of many hours spent nursing along many pine trees growing on golf courses that were irrigated with reclaimed water. Most of the pine trees did not do well with the high level of salts in the effluent water.
Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis)
Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis)
A summer favorite is the desert willow tree. Beautiful, willow-shaped leaves and flowers brighten up the summer garden. It can grow anywhere from 8 – 30 feet high and wide. Available in both single and multi-trunk, I prefer the beauty of the multi-trunk shape.
You will find this tree growing in parks, roadside plantings as well as in residential landscapes. Its small-medium size makes it suitable for smaller areas. It does lose its leaves in winter and forms narrow seed capsules. While not the prettiest tree in winter, the flowers produced spring through fall make it more than worth it and there are new (almost seedless) varieties such as ‘Bubba’ and ‘Timeless Beauty’ that produce little to no seedpods.
That is why I have four currently growing in my garden. They are simply lovely.
I would still like to find something different, that I do not currently have growing in my garden.
I need to continue looking at possible tree choices. (You can check out my second post of possible tree selections, here 🙂
P.S. Do you have more questions about choosing a tree for your landscape? I share my experience as a horticulturist and certified arborist and profile my top 20 along with all of their characteristics in my mini-course “How to Select the Right Tree for Your Desert Garden”.
https://www.azplantlady.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/PV-8.jpg640424arizonaplantlady@gmail.comhttp://www.azplantlady.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/favicon.pngarizonaplantlady@gmail.com2010-09-02 23:52:002024-03-01 11:55:16How to Select A Desert Tree
It is hard to believe that it has now been 7 years since Gracie walked into our lives. I cannot imagine life without her.
Now for the most part, this is a blog about my adventures living and gardening in the desert southwest, but I occasionally share about my family. I have been sharing Gracie’s story and have been so appreciative of your wonderful responses. You can read the previous entries by following this link.
Okay, back to the story where we left it. We were waiting patiently (impatiently) to get through immigration at the airport. I kept thinking of all the family that had gathered just outside waiting to meet Gracie for the first time. I was also dying to see my two oldest daughters….I had missed them terribly. Finally, the immigration officer stamped Gracie’s paperwork and she was now officially an American citizen. And so, we started to make our way out to the arrivals corridor to meet our family.
*The following photos are not the best quality, but I think they capture the emotions we experienced that special day….
My adventures living
My family, who resided in the Los Angeles area were all there along with my in-laws who had made the trip to LA from Phoenix. It was so wonderful to see everyone so excited to meet Gracie.
My adventures living
I couldn’t wait to hug my daughters and Gracie was definitely interested in her new sisters.
My adventures living
It was so great to see my mom (now Pastor Farmer of Double S Farms) and introduce her to Gracie.
She brought red, white & blue balloons to welcome Gracie to the United States.
We spent some time with family at my parent’s house, but we were soon ready to go to a hotel and sleep. Gracie spent some time at the hotel getting acquainted with her new sisters.
The next day we returned to my parent’s home to enjoy a baby shower for Gracie. I come from a close knit extended family and so family from all over Southern California and Arizona made the drive to the party. Great aunts & uncles, 1st & 2nd cousins, grandparents, her great-grandmother…it was a full house 🙂 Everyone was so eager to welcome Gracie into the family.
I could hardly wait for people to arrive to the shower and meet Gracie…
Gracie found the ribbon and Cheerios much more interesting then the gifts she received.
Picking up Cheerios continued to be challenging for her.
It was such a wonderful day and Gracie was embraced by the entire family. Later, she took a walk outside with her dad in her new dress and hat.
My adventures living
After a few days in Los Angeles, we loaded up our minivan and left for home. Once we returned home, and got Gracie settled in, we took her to the pediatrician who pronounced her healthy.
Gracie made herself at home…..
Watching ‘Barney’ for the first time….
Learning how to feed herself.
Soon we met with her orthopedist who would correct her clubfoot.
Normally, clubfeet are corrected right after birth, but since Gracie was almost 2 years old, her case was unusual. For the next 10 weeks, Gracie had a new cast put on her foot/leg. Each time the doctor would adjust the cast slightly in order to straighten her foot.
Gracie adjusted to her cast very well and did not let it slow her down. Meanwhile, she was experiencing the joys of belonging to a family.
Supergirl
Soon, it was time for the 10th cast to come off and although her foot was now straight, she needed surgery on her achilles tendon to fully repair her club foot. Unfortunately, her surgery was scheduled on her birthday. So, we had a fun-filled birthday celebration a few days ahead of time.
My adventures living
You can tell her hair is starting to grow out a little.
Her first birthday present….ever.
All to soon, came her surgery day….
My adventures living
The surgery went very well and we were so thankful. The nurse came into the surgery waiting room to get us and kept looking for an Asian couple. She finally called out our names and we could see that she was a little surprised to see that we weren’t Asian at all 😉
Even though the surgery was a success, Gracie still had to wear a cast for another month.
Now it was time to work on celebrating her first Christmas. It had been years since I had taken my older daughters to Santa, but we had to start up our Santa tradition with Gracie. Now, Gracie’s hair was starting to grow longer, but despite how often I dressed her in pink, some people would compliment me on my cute son.
I did my best to ignore this, thinking that eventually she would have enough hair that people wouldn’t mistake her for a boy. Well, this Santa photo was the breaking point for me….
Once the photo had been taken, Santa’s elf handed me the photo and said, “Here is the photo of your son.” That was it….I was tired of people mistaking her for a boy so we walked to the earring store a few feet away and got her ears pierced.
As well as Gracie was fitting into our family, there were still signs of her earlier life spent in an orphanage. She did have some delayed development, which is not unusual in children raised in orphanages in China and we had been prepared for that. She was catching up and had periods of accelerated learning as she was catching up to where she should be for her age.
One thing that she did and still does each night, is rock herself side to side in bed as she falls asleep. She would do this in the orphanage to comfort herself because there was probably a number of times that there was not an available person to rock her or provide comfort. As a result, she would have a large tangled mass of hair when she would wake up, so we started putting her hair in ponytails before bed, which solved the problem.
First Easter and tangled hair.
Gracie’s foot was doing very well, but for the months that followed, she had to wear special shoes fastened onto a bar at night. We called them “Night, Night Shoes”. At first, she hated them….I would have too.
The shoes helped to keep her repaired clubfoot pointed outwards. Gracie adapted pretty quickly and later did not complain when we had to put them on her.
During the day, she would have to wear a plastic brace on her lower leg.
Helping her dad in the garden. You can see the brace on her right leg.
Thankfully, she no longer has to wear a brace or special shoes any longer.
When Gracie was three years old, another major change occurred in our family…..
We went back to China in order to adopt a little boy, Kai. You can read about Kai’s story here if you like. Gracie accepted her brother right away and since they were only 6 months apart, they played together all the time.
While we were in China during this time, we arranged a visit to Gracie’s orphanage. We wanted to see where she had spent almost two years of her life. The trip took 2 1/2 hours by car and when we arrived, we were warmly greeted by the orphanage director and staff.
Here we are posing with some of the nannies, the director and the co-director.
One of the nannies is holding our new son, Kai.
At the orphanage, we were treated as honored guests and given a tour. They were thrilled to see Gracie and see how her club foot had been repaired. Gracie was happy to be there and let the orphanage director carry her all over…something she did not normally let strangers do. So, maybe she still had some faint memories of where she came from. One of the nannies picked up our newly adopted son, Kai and carried him around as well.
As nice as all the staff was, I cannot say the same of the orphanage itself. The orphanage was a dark, rather dismal place. We were not allowed to take pictures inside, but I do remember seeing the room she grew up in with its dark walls, lack of toys, and rows of cribs filled with babies. Each crib contained two babies…probably so that they could warm each other during the cold winter. Although it was obvious that the nannies cared for the kids, It was also painfully obvious that there were not near enough nannies to take care of all the emotional needs of the kids. It broke my heart to think of Gracie growing up in this place for the first 20 months of her life.
The director wanted to take us out to lunch and asked us if we preferred Chinese food or KFC. I am not an adventurous eater and I was not sure what kind of food an authentic Chinese restaurant in a rural area would offer, so we played it safe and went to KFC.
Gracie with her favorite nanny.
Gracie’s favorite nanny was not at the orphanage that day since it was her day off. But, she did meet us at KFC and promptly took over taking care of Gracie. It was so sweet to see….she took her on the little playground at the restaurant and helped her with her food. She said a tearful goodbye to Gracie when we left.
That day was so special to all of us because we were able to meet the people who raised Gracie when she was a baby. But, I was so thankful that she was ours now.
Gracie when she was 4 years old.
Many people tell us how lucky Gracie is because we adopted her and that we have made such a difference in her life. But, I don’t see it that way. Gracie has blessed us immeasurably and enriched our lives. I am sometimes surprised when I see us together in a mirror because we look so different from each other. The reason I feel surprise is that Gracie is my daughter and I am as much her mother as I am to my two biological daughters who do look like me. There is no difference in the love I feel for her in my heart.
That was the subject line in the email that we sent to family and friends after we received our daughter, Gracie. I wrote about our adoption journey up the point of seeing Gracie for the first time in person and you can read Part Oneif you like.
Well, I believe I left the story at the point of the elevator opening and seeing the orphanage officials walking out with Gracie in their arms. Although I recognized her instantly, there was something different in her appearance….she had no hair. Well to be honest, she had very little hair…..it was obvious that her head had recently been shaved. It really didn’t matter, I was just so happy to see her finally in person.
The nanny from the orphanage walked over and handed Gracie to me….
Gracie was wearing the outfit that we had sent her a month ago. She was obviously not sure what was going on. She had spent over 3 hours in a car in order to get to the hotel we were staying at and it very well may have been the first time she had ever been in a car.
We each spent a little time checking each other out. Gracie had never seen anyone who wasn’t Asian before. She did not try to get away from me and she did not cry. She was just taking it all in.
Her dad and I were just so thrilled to finally have her in our arms. But, Gracie probably thought I was the strangest person she had ever seen….blond hair, blue eyes, white skin and a big nose (more about that later in the story).
We spent some time there with the orphanage director and her nanny asking questions through a translator. It was obvious that they were happy she was being adopted. Her nanny was eager to show us how Gracie could walk a couple of steps, which she did, but she fell down after taking 3 steps….her club foot made it difficult for her to walk normally.
I was eager to take Gracie back with us to our hotel room and as we said our goodbyes to the orphanage officials, her nanny shed a few tears. Back in our room, I took off her clothes which were much too hot for the month of August. She was in good condition and only had a little heat rash behind her neck. Up until this point, I had been the one to hold her, but now it was her new dad’s turn.
As happy as we were, I could only imagine the turmoil of feelings that Gracie must have been experiencing. She had just been dropped off by the only caretakers she had ever known and left in the care of complete strangers who looked so different from anyone she had ever seen.
As I held her that first night and fed her a bottle, Gracie reached up and grabbed my nose and held onto it for a few minutes. I was surprised at first…I had never thought of my nose as abnormally big. But then when I thought about it, she had probably never seen a nose that sticks out – most Asian noses are somewhat flat. Soon after she let go of my nose she went right to sleep.
After waiting 15 months of waiting, we just wanted to keep holding her that night, but we finally put her in the crib. Guess what? She slept for 11 hours 🙂
We had to spend a few days in Hangzhou, which is the provincial capital, in order to finalize the adoption in China and get her Chinese passport so that she could travel to the US.
The next morning, Gracie woke up a little disoriented, but was otherwise happy to get her bottle of rice cereal. We were rather shocked to discover that at 20 months of age, she had only eaten milk and rice cereal.
We gave her a bath and I finally got to put on one of the dresses that I had bought for her. We spent the morning filling out paperwork and finalizing her adoption. Then a trip to get her passport photo as well as our first family photo was the extent of what we did this day. It was important to spend a lot of one on one time with her to help with the bonding process. At this stage, she was more likely to want to be with an Asian person because they looked more familiar and so our guide took care to stay in the background for all of us in the group. She spent much of the day working on our paperwork.
The next morning, something special happened. The kids were on the floor playing while us mothers were talking as a group nearby. Gracie’s almost bald head was popular with the other newly adopted kids in our group because they liked rubbing her head.
Well, Gracie stood up on her own and walked a few steps towards me and then crawled the rest of the way over and stretched out her arms to me so that I could hold her. It was the first sign that she was beginning to bond with me…it made me want to cry with happiness.
Our remaining days in Hangzhou were spent applying for an expedited passport and then sight-seeing while waiting for the passport to be ready.
We were very fortunate to be staying in Hangzhou as the area is so beautiful. We toured West Lake.
Yes, that is a golden water buffalo in the lake.
Guess what we found next to the lake….
Gracie sleeping in my arms at Starbucks.
Starbucks!
We were having a wonderful time touring around West Lake, but Gracie evidently wasn’t too interested as she promptly fell asleep…
Our adoption agency organized a tour of a local orphanage (not Gracie’s) that they ran. I had been looking forward to visiting an orphanage since Gracie’s was too far away for us to visit. This orphanage was the role model of what China wanted other orphanages to follow and so they often sent employees there to be trained. My husband stayed back at the hotel with Gracie because we were afraid that she would be alarmed at finding herself in another orphanage.
Fun with dad playing on the computer in our hotel room.
This was a very special visit and I saw many precious children. You can click on the photos below to enlarge if you like.
This little albino boy was adopted 2 years later.
The babies in cribs were lying on bamboo mats to help keep them cool.
Precious little girl.
Have you ever seen so much hair?
The orphanage doctor showing our guide a little girl who was failing to thrive.
Playroom (we had to wear booties over our shoes to keep the floor clean.
**Unbeknown to me, my future son is in the yellow/green/red jumper.
I met a little friend…Chen Bo who wanted me to stop taking pictures so that he could crawl into my lap.
Saying goodbye….
I had a wonderful time visiting the orphanage and my heart ached for all of the children who had no parents. But, I couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel and be with Gracie again.
Gracie quickly began to bond with us and became more extroverted. She began walking more and was able to stay on her feet longer. She loved it when her dad would ‘chase’ her down the hotel hallway. *You can see that she walked on the ankle of her right foot. It was amazing to me that she could walk at all.
We were enjoying our time in China very much. We did seem to attract attention wherever we went because foreign tourists did not travel to this area often, so we encountered stares almost everywhere we went. The Chinese people were not being rude….it is not considered rude to stare in China. Also, the culture is more of a inter-dependent culture, where our western culture focuses more on individualism. As a result, it was normal for Chinese women to come up and make sure that our children were dressed appropriately for the weather (they are affectionately known as the ‘clothing police’ in the adoptive community).
I had a great time shopping.
I tried to ignore the stares though.
The Chinese people we met were extremely curious about why we had Chinese children with us. The fact that Europeans and Americans adopt from China was not well know inside of China. They were courteous and wished us well when we explained that we were adopting Gracie. Because of their inter-dependent culture, sometimes strangers would come up to Gracie and hold her club foot in their hands in order to figure out what was wrong with it. Now, in America, I would have politely told them not to touch my daughter. But, it is different in China where they were genuinely concerned and it was not considered rude to take matters into their own hands to find out what was wrong with her.
One older woman scolded me when we were walking with a sleeping Gracie in her stroller. You see, Gracie’s head had rolled forward and the stroller did not adjust back, so there was nothing that I could do. Well, while this well-intentioned woman was scolding me, I just picked up Gracie’s head and put it back up and then it promptly rolled forward again and I just shrugged my shoulders and walked on 😉
I must admit at this point, that I am not an adventurous eater. But, I did find many foods that I enjoyed in China. Not this one though….my husband is the adventurous eater in our family and enjoyed eating a little bit of everything.
Our group ate a wonderful dinner at restaurant and we were so excited to have Gracie try some of the different food (she had been limited to rice cereal up to this point). She seemed to love the peas and kept eating them. We were so happy to see her eating other foods. Later that night as my husband was leaning over to put her into the crib, a pea dropped out of her mouth. Further exploration found over 17 peas stuck inside of her cheeks.
Because Gracie had spent her life in an orphanage to this point, she was delayed in many areas which we had expected. One of the problems we discovered was that she did not know how to swallow solid foods.
Our travel group ready to leave from the Hangzhou airport.
Our time in Hangzhou was coming to a close and the next part of our trip was upcoming. I was a little nervous about how Gracie would do on an airplane, but she did very well. We said goodbye to our guide and flew with the rest of our group to Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton) in Southern China.
Some of you may remember me mentioning that I am a wimp about hot weather when it is coupled with high humidity. Well, when we landed in Guangzhou, it was even more hot and humid then where we had come from. But, it was so beautiful! * It smelled like the ride “Pirates of the Caribbean” at Disneyland.
We stayed on a small island in Guangzhou known as Shamian Island. Filled with European Colonial architecture and beautiful, formal gardens, I couldn’t wait to explore more.
The United States Consulate was located on the island at the time and this portion of the trip was focused on completing our immigration paperwork and securing a visa for Gracie so that we could travel to the States.
Our hotel was a 5-star hotel and the primary place that adoptive parents stayed while waiting for their child’s visa. It was beautiful inside….
I remember walking into our hotel room and telling my husband that we had better enjoy this stay because we were highly unlikely to ever stay in another place as nice. *The foreign exchange rate at the time made it very affordable to stay there ($1 = 8 yuan).
In our new hotel, Gracie played for hours with the plastic spoon and cover of my airplane lunch – she was absolutely fascinated. We were coming to see what her delays where. She would spend time in front of the mirror and would tap it with her fingers. It was obvious that she had never seen herself in a mirror before. She also liked to eat Cheerios, but she could not pick them up with her thumb and forefinger. **A few years later a visit to her orphanage showed us how deprived she had been of sensory input. I will write more about that at a later time.
We enjoyed our time on Shamian Island with walks, shopping and hanging out with the wonderful people in our group.
One afternoon when we returned to our room in the hotel, we saw that Gracie had received a surprise gift….
Yes, that is a Barbie doll. Notice she has a Chinese baby she is adopting. All adoptive families receive a complimentary “Going Home Barbie” and each year there is a new version.
Our hotel had new hallways for Gracie to explore with her dad.
And to be chased again….
All to soon, our time in China was coming to an end. Our group gathered in the lobby to take a picture of all of our adopted girls.
Gracie is on the left.
Two of the girls had been adopted a few years before.
It is amazing how strongly you bond with other families when you share an experience like this. Most of us are still in contact with each other 7 years later.
I was so excited to be going home to my other daughters and couldn’t wait to introduce the entire family to Gracie. The flight was a long one and Gracie did well for the most part. We landed in Los Angeles and went through immigration in the airport. Once we handed them her visa – she was an American citizen.
Just outside of immigration was a bunch of people just waiting to see Gracie for the first time and welcome her to our family.
All of a sudden this little girl who had been abandoned as a baby, not only had a mom and dad, but two sets of grandparents, aunts and uncles waiting outside the gates to welcome her to the family.
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If you would like to read more of what happened after we adopted Gracie, you can read Part 3 if you like. This post is already so long and although many of you mentioned that you didn’t mind the length of my previous post, you probably would like a little break from reading 🙂
I would like to thank you all for your kind comments. Gracie has enjoyed having me read your comments to her. She has been such a miracle in our lives and I enjoy sharing her story whenever I can.
For many of you, the term “Gotcha Day” may be unfamiliar. It was to me a few years ago. But now, that term means a lot to me and reminds me of the joy that entered into my life on that day. For those of you who have read my blog for awhile, I mostly write about gardening subjects but occasionally I do share a bit about my personal life, especially when it concerns my kids.
I would like to share with you a special story of an event that happened in my life 7 years ago. I promise that I will include pictures of beautiful landscapes and gardens as they have a part in the story.
On a Friday morning, just over 7 years ago – my husband and I had just woken up and were looking forward to leaving for our trip to Ireland and the United Kingdom that evening. But, there was another reason that we woke up filled with anticipation….we were due to receive a phone call that would change our lives.
We were waiting for a call from our adoption agency telling us about our new daughter. Fifteen months earlier, we had made the decision, along with our two biological daughters, to adopt a little girl from China. And so we dove into the paperwork and necessary preparations in order to adopt a little girl. This phone call would put a face on the child that we had envisioned in our hearts for over a year.
I knew that she would have almond shaped eyes, light brown skin and dark hair, but I could hardly wait to hear about the little girl that China had matched us with. That morning, found us in our pajamas, nervously waiting for the phone to ring. It seemed like it would never ring, but then it did! It turns out it was a salesman….talk about a let down 😉 Thankfully, it soon rang again and we were hearing the wonderful details about our new daughter.
Her name, Chen Xia, meant ‘rosy clouds’. She was found in front of a government building when she was just 3 days old, with a bottle, a spare diaper and a note indicating when she had been born.
Each additional tidbit of information we received helped to make her seem more real to us. The adoption agency then told us that they were going to email us her photo. My husband and I hovered over the computer, waiting for our inbox to tell us that we had a new email. A couple of minutes later, “we got mail” and we clicked on the photo and waited impatiently as her photo slowly downloaded (7 years ago, we had dial-up internet connection so photos downloaded slowly).
Our first view of Gracie
I can hardly describe the feeling when you first see your child for the first time, but it felt the same as when the nurse placed my newly born babies in my arms. It is a life-changing experience. This felt exactly the same way. You know how you love your kids no matter whether they are handsome or pretty, but you are still hopeful that they will be? That is what we felt and were happy to see that she was pretty. Her name was going to be Grace ChenXia Johnson (Grace is both my mother and sister’s name).
After seeing her photo, I wanted to jump on a plane to China that day instead of traveling to Europe. But, there was paperwork to be completed – mostly us agreeing to accept her as our child and then China issuing travel documents….a process that would take a few weeks. We emailed our friends and family with her picture and information and then finished packing our suitcases, printed out pictures of our new daughter to take with us and left for the airport to board a plane to Europe. I must admit that I hardly slept on the plane and kept looking at her photo 🙂
Once we returned home, we set to work on getting everything ready for her. We painted her room, started packing and of course, went shopping for little girl clothes.
The photo we had of Gracie was taken when she was 16 months old and we were pleasantly surprised to receive an updated photo of her, a few weeks before we were due to leave for China. She was obviously wearing a dress that was too large for her, but we found out later that they saved this dress to put on the different girls whenever they had their picture taken.
You may notice that one of her feet is turned in. Gracie was born with a club foot. We knew about this and had indicated to China that we were open to adopt a child with certain special needs, including a club foot. *You can see that she is leaning against the wall because she could not stand up on her own without falling down.
After months of waiting to travel to China….actually it was only a few weeks, but it seemed like it took forever, we were ready to go. My husband and I flew from Phoenix to Los Angeles and spent the night with my parents who lived there at the time. The next day my dad drove us to the airport and we boarded a plane to San Francisco. There, we met up with 4 other families who we would be traveling with who were also adopting from the same area in China.
We went through a marathon series of flights. I used to think the 11 hours it took to fly to Europe was long, but not anymore. We flew from San Francisco to Seoul, Korea where we had a 4 hour layover.
Dawn in Seoul Korea as viewed from inside the airport.
We landed in Shanghai and met our Chinese guide who would guide us through the adoption process. We were all so happy to have finally landed and I was thrilled to see that our luggage made it too. We got ready to board the private bus waiting for us and I immediately noticed how humid and warm it was outside. It felt very ‘tropical’ for this desert dweller.
My husband and I along with our weary travel group, ready to board the bus.
Now, our journey was not over yet….we still had to travel 3 hours by bus to the city of Hangzhou. I really didn’t mind the upcoming ride because I was extremely curious about China and wanted to see more of the countryside and cities.
The countryside was very green and small farms and tall homes dotted the roadside. The homes were usually 3 stories tall as up to three generations of a single family would occupy one home.
Our guide told us many interesting things about China along the way but she also had additional information about our children and when we would get them. All of us were supposed to get our children the following day, but there had been a change in plans….two of the families were to receive their new daughters that evening – after traveling for over 24 hours! As excited as I was to get Gracie, I was relieved that I would be able to get a good night’s sleep first.
The city of Hangzhou
We arrived in Hangzhou late in the afternoon. As we drove through the city streets, I had so much fun seeing the things that were the same as back home….
Pizza Hut
Seriously, KFC is hugely popular in China.
Along with those that were a little different….
“Fire Fighter Bicycles”
Dangerous position for a workman leaning up against wires in the middle of an intersection….OSHA would be literally speechless.
There were many stores that I was anxious to explore later….
Our hotel was located by a beautiful lake (West Lake) which was quite famous in China and a tourist destination.
Part of the lake was covered in lotus.
Well, we got to our hotel and checked in. As we opened the door to our room, the reality that we would have a new daughter in less than 24 hours really hit me….there was a crib already set up for us. I spent some time unpacking and as I put away the little dresses, diapers and socks, I could hardly wait to meet Gracie the next day. After unpacking, we went to take pictures of the two families as they greeted their daughters for the first time. I was so excited for them and I had a hard time taking pictures because I kept crying. Their daughters were 3 & 4 years old and just darling.
The next morning we had a wonderful breakfast in the hotel with the other families and were eager to see the new little girls who were somewhat shy and withdrawn, which was normal. Since the rest of us were not to receive our children until 4:00 in the afternoon, we decided to walk to the local grocery store and stock up on some baby supplies and snacks.
Okay, at this point I have an admission to make….I thought I would have no problem with the summer heat – I mean I live in the Arizona desert, right? Wrong! I am absolutely a wimp when it comes to humidity and you know what? It makes the heat so much hotter and uncomfortable. As our group walked to the grocery store (we all got lost for a while so it took longer), it was in the 90’s, which when it is dry, is not that hot. But when you couple that with humidity of at least 80%…..well, I thought I would die. I have never felt so hot in my life….my husband and I got very light-headed and had to stop inside a jewelry store that had air-conditioning for a few minutes. I think the sales clerks were hoping that we would buy something since I kept looking at the jewelry so they wouldn’t think we were only taking advantage of their air-conditioning 😉 The other families in our group were from Ohio and Texas and did so much better with the heat & humidity then we did. It was kind of embarrassing 😉
*I must say that this about warm, humid climates….they are absolutely beautiful with all of the greenery. If I must be honest with myself, I would probably acclimate to the humidity if I lived in that type of climate and love it as much as I do living in the desert 🙂
Okay, back to my story…..as 4:00 got closer, I began to get nervous butterflies in my stomach. The clock seemed to move so slowly. Finally at about 3:45, we went to a meeting area at the hotel by the elevators with the other families and waited for the orphanage officials to bring us our children.
Just when I thought I would die of impatience (it was only 3:55), our guide received a call from the orphanage officials bringing Gracie to us stating that they would be late due to traffic. I was disappointed, but it meant that we could help take pictures of the two other families who were receiving their children at 4:00 (their children were from different orphanages).
It is such a privilege to be present at the birth of a child and it is the same when you are there when a family meets their new adopted child. I was so honored to be present when the other families in our group met their new children. I was busy taking pictures for the other families when I saw the elevator open and then I saw Gracie…..
I realize that this is an extremely long post and I will write the conclusion in my next post. *I do appreciate you taking the time to read about our adoption adventure. I will never get tired of sharing it with others 🙂
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