Working as a horticulturist on golf courses may not sound like the most exciting job. But, I loved spending time outdoors, managing the landscape areas with their trees and plants.
It was wonderful being right on the edge of the desert and witnessing its beauty up close.
Of course, there were some thorny encounters with prickly cactus, (which does hurt by the way). I also faced some encounters with wildlife.
I used to be scared of bugs as a child. In fact, I would get my younger brother to come into my room to kill any little spiders that I would sometimes see.
Fast forward 20 years later, I was working as a horticulturist, which almost guaranteed that I would have to deal with bugs.
I got used to most types of bugs….even scorpions. However, there was and is one bug that is still quite scary to me….
Encounters with wildlife
This is a Palo Verde beetle. And believe me, they are huge….about 7 – 8 inches long.
Their larvae feed upon the roots of trees, especially Palo Verdes.
As much as I like to think that I am now brave when it comes to bugs, I still can’t quite surpress a shiver when I see a Palo Verde beetle. Thankfully, the last one I saw was over 12 years ago.
However, as the only female working in a department with 38 men, I was the victim of some of the crew trying to tease from time to time with bugs and snakes.
One incident involved my landscape crew. I was driving along the golf course, to see how they were progressing in removing an old, rotten tree. As I drove nearer, one of the guys said,
“Noellia, come here.”
(That was what they called me)
Well, he had a grin on his face as did the men standing behind him. So, I was immediately on my guard. As I walked toward him, he held out his hand to show me a huge Palo Verde grub (larvae). It was white, fat and at least 4 inches long.
Well, I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of letting him know that I was “scared” of it as he expected, so I tried to “fake” bravery. I smiled and asked him to put it in my gloved hand.
Then I told him what it was and explained what they did to tree roots. Of course, this was all part of my trying not to let them know that I was scared of this huge, white, grub that was wriggling in the middle of my gloved palm.
I could tell that my crew were disappointed that I did not react differently, but I like to think that maybe I earned some additional respect.
Of course, as I drove away, I did kind of shiver a bit afterward in reaction.
************
A frequent encounter that often occurred was with snakes.
Now, I do NOT like snakes and it’s my brother’s fault.
You see, he had a California King snake when he was a young boy. Well, this snake would often escape his enclosure and get lost around our house.
So, I would walk around scared that the snake was lurking around the next corner. Of course, we always found him, but eventually we had to get rid of him since my brother could not keep him in his cage.
Well, living in the desert means that you will see snakes. And on a golf course, many types of animals are attracted to the water and snakes are attracted to many of those animals. So, I would see many snakes, usually in the grass.
As long as I saw them first, I was okay.
Occasionally though, some snakes would make their way into the maintenance area where we worked. The crew liked to play with the non-venomous snakes, such as the Sonoran Gopher Snake…
Encounters with wildlife. Photo Courtesy of Dawson
Of course, if they had a snake and saw me nearby, I would hear them call out….
“Noellia, come here…..”
And so, I would suck up my courage, try acting brave, smile and touch the snake before backing off.
************
My last encounter occurred without any other people around and no crew members trying to tease me with ‘scary’ animals.
I was working along a large landscaped area along a roadway and I was manually turning some irrigation valves.
I was always careful opening up a valve box because you never knew what could be lurking inside. Normally, crickets, a roach or two, lizard and sometimes scorpions.
As a result, I used a screwdriver to pull off the valve box lid and I always had gloves on.
Well, this particular day, I needed to turn on the water for some very thirsty plants, so I knelt down beside the valve box, pulled up the lid and saw my valve
AND….
Encounters with wildlife, Courtesy Wikipedia
There he was, Mr. Tarantula, just sitting a few inches away from my valve. I am certain he was enjoying the dark, quiet space.
So, I faced a dilemma. Do I let the thirsty plants suffer without water all weekend long?
Do I ask one of my crew to come out and turn the valve on for me?
Well, I decided to handle the situation myself by “talking” to the tarantula.
I said, “I’m going to put my hand in very carefully and turn on this valve. I’m not going to hurt you, so please don’t jump at me.”
Well guess what? He must have understood what I was saying because I put my gloved hand in, turned on the valve and the tarantula never moved.
I must admit that I was so proud of myself for doing that, but there was no one around to witness my bravery 😉
******************************
Well, those are my favorite stories of unexpected encounters with wildlife.
How about you?
Have you ever had an unexpected encounter with bugs, snakes, etc?
How did you handle it?
Horticulturists Don’t Wear Nailpolish….Do They??
A ‘Bed’ of Flowers and a ‘Tub’ of Plants
AZ Plant LadyI am always looking for creative ways to display plants in my garden.
On two recent trips, one to North Carolina and the other to Amish country in Indiana, I saw some ‘beds’ of flowers that I thought were not only beautiful, but also very creative.
This first one I saw along the main street in Shipshewana, Indiana, which is a quaint town in Amish country.
beds of flowers
I love how they painted the bed headboard and footboard of this old bed, don’t you?
Although this next one is not painted, I like the old rusted look of this head and footboard.
This ‘bed’ of flowers was located in the old section of Asheville, North Carolina.
In the same area, I came upon a ‘tub’ of plants…
This tub was filled with kale, white violas and pansies.
I would love a ‘tub’ full of plants in my own garden. Even an old washtub with drainage holes would work well, don’t you think?
Have you seen any creative planting containers like these?
I’d love to hear about them.
***********************
I apologize for being a bit late in posting this week. Life has been awfully busy. After giving a presentation on citrus care to a garden club Tuesday morning, I then headed to our local children’s hospital where my 13-month old nephew, Dean, had major surgery and one lobe of his right lung was removed. He is at our local children’s hospital and is doing well and they are doing their best to manage his pain.
We all went to visit him today and it was nice to see that he recognized us even though he was pretty ‘loopy’ on all of his pain meds. We are hopeful that he will be able to go home by Monday.
Today, I am going up to one of my favorite places – Rio Verde, where I have 3 consults scheduled.
After this week, I am thankful that I have nothing more scheduled this weekend besides church 🙂
I hope you are all having a great week!
Adventures in Amish Country and a Farmhouse Visit
Tired of Buying Lettuce? Plant a Salad Bowl
Vegetable GardeningI don’t know about you, but I hate having to buy lettuce to make salad with.
Usually, I purchase the bagged lettuce because it is convenient and already cut up. What I really don’t like is the price for buying it this way. So, I have started buying lettuce and tearing it up myself.
Last fall, winter and spring, I got very spoiled by being able to just step outside into the back garden and cutting some lettuce from my own garden.
I had grown a mixture of all kinds of leaf lettuce and spinach.
Fresh Lettuce
It was absolutely delicious too.
It was very hard when the warm temperatures came and lettuce would not grow anymore.
I have planted a lot of leaf lettuce and spinach in my vegetable garden and have lots of little seedlings coming up.
So, can you do if you want fresh lettuce and don’t have a vegetable garden?
What can you do?
How about planting a salad bowl?
I found these salad bowls for sale at a farmer’s market in North Carolina last year.
It is really easy to make your own.
Here’s how:
1. Choose a planter that is at least 8 inches deep (12 inches is best) with holes for drainage.
2. Fill with potting soil and wet the soil thoroughly.
3. Plant with lettuce seeds. I like leaf lettuce, but you can arugula, escarole and water cress. If you prefer, you can simply plant lettuce transplants, available at your local nursery.
4. Put your container by a window that gets at least 6 – 8 hours of sun, but avoid the hot, afternoon sun.
5. Keep the soil moist by using a spray bottle filled with water. You will usually have to spray once a day.
6. Once the seeds germinate, back off on the watering, but don’t let the soil dry out.
7. Thin the seedlings to the recommended distance that your seed packet recommends and fertilize every 2 weeks using fertilizer at half strength.
8. Begin harvesting your leaf lettuce by simply snipping off the outer leaves. Your lettuce will continue to produce new leaves to replace those lost.
Once your lettuce starts to ‘bolt’ (grow tall), it is time to pull it out and start over again.
So forget about paying a lot for lettuce at the grocery store and plant your own bowl 🙂
*****************
I hope you are all of to a good start this week.
Today is my daughter’s 25th birthday and she is 3 weeks away from her due date. I am very excited about being a grandma 🙂
Start Your Own Lettuce Seedlings in Recycled Plastic Containers
A Little Helper and a Place to Rest My Gourds
DIYDo you remember my post about my runaway gourd vine?
Well, I planted two birdhouse gourd seeds and a few months later, it was escaping my vegetable garden and was making a good attempt at taking over the lawn.
In fact, every time my husband mowed our lawn, he had to cut back the gourd vines.
Every few days, I would peek around to see if there were any new gourds…
By the time we harvested all of the gourds, we had a total of 17.
Now the vine is gone and I am having to let my gourds ‘cure’ in a cool, dry place.
The experts say that putting them on a wooden pallet is a good place because it allows for air flow.
The problem is, is that I don’t have a pallet and it is against the law to ‘borrow’ one from the back of the store – people even get arrested for that according to a police officer friend of mine.
So, being the law-abiding citizen that I am, I asked my husband if he could make me a pallet.
You see, my husband enjoys woodworking and the entire third-car bay of our garage is his workshop. So, my husband thought it would be a good project for my son, Kai, to work on.
So they got to work…
First, they laid out the wood from some scraps we had.
Then marked where to cut the wood.
Then it was time for Kai to learn how the band saw worked and how to operate it safely.
Now the fun part….cutting the wood – with dad’s help.
Now it was time to nail the boards in place.
And then my new pallet was finished….
Here are a few of my gourds. The rest I am using as a centerpiece on my dining room table and I also gave some to my mother.
I don’t who was prouder, me or my son….
Wildflowers in Spring? Time to Get Ready…..
AZ Plant LadyWhat comes to mind when you think of wildflowers? Maybe beautiful splashes of colorful flowers throughout the desert? Well, how about growing them yourself instead of driving somewhere to view wildflowers in the spring? Wildflowers are easy to grow and you have the added benefit of being able to view their beautiful blooms outside your window throughout the spring. Butterflies and hummingbirds will be drawn to your wildflower garden as well.
Wildflower demonstration garden on a golf course
The wildflower garden above was planted by me about 9 years ago on a golf course. It was one of three demonstration gardens that I designed. My goal was to inspire people to grow wildflowers at home. I planted Red Flax and Arroyo Lupine which are blooming in the photo above. California Bluebells as well as California Poppies were also planted, but had not bloomed yet.
Brittlebush is blooming in the background. (I learned from this experience, that wildflowers should be thinned once they germinate, obviously I did not do that – one of many gardening mistakes that I have learned from over the years).
One of my favorite wildflower combinations are California Bluebells (Phacelia campanularia) along with California Poppies (Eschscholzia californica or mexicana) and Desert Marigold (Baileya multiradiata).
I also like this combination – Arroyo Lupine (Lupinus succulentus) with California Poppies and Red Flax (Linum grandiflorum ‘Rubrum’). The possibilities are absolutely endless….
Scarlet Flax
The ideal time to sow most types of wildflower seed is October through December, so it is time to plan your wildflower garden now. The Desert Botanical Garden has excellent information on how to grow wildflowers which can be found at Desert Botanical Garden Growing Wildflowers.
*The source that I have used for wildflower seed is a small company called Wild Seed. They can be reached at 602-276-3536. They will mail you a catalog of the wildflower seed that they have available.
Evening on the Farm….
Double S FarmsI always look forward to Tuesday evenings.
Why, you may ask?
Well, every Tuesday we all get into the car and make the 5 minute drive over to Double S Farms, which is where my mother, my sister and her family live.
In addition to hanging out with everyone, including my very cute nephews, Finley and Oliver, we also get to enjoy a delicious dinner that my mother prepares. I just love not having to cook dinner one night a week 🙂
While we were there, I decided to take a look at my mother’s vegetable garden.
The last time I saw it a few weeks ago, it looked like this….
Did you know that unused vegetable gardens are a great place to play with trucks and tractors?
Well, the trucks have now left the garden and it is now newly planted with transplants from our local nursery.
Leaf lettuce, dill, cauliflower, basil and other vegetables are already growing.
Interspersed in between the rows of vegetables are two flowering plants that my nephews picked out for the garden…
Petunia Plants
Finley and Oliver’s petunia plants make great companion plants for vegetables – especially leaf lettuce broccoli, potatoes and squash.
Did you know that petunias repel aphids and beetles?
As the sky began to darken, we made our way inside to see the newest additions to the Double S Farms family….
They have four new chicks that are growing very rapidly and are almost ready to be moved into their new coop outside.
My sister, Chicken Farmer, likes people to hold them often so that they learn to be friendly with people.
I don’t mind holding them….they are awfully cute. Especially, the ‘Naked Neck’ chicken, Francie.
My son, Kai, got to hold the friendliest chick, Lottie, who is a ‘Buff Orpington’.
Well, the chicks were getting tired, so the kids decided to hang out with grandma and see some fun Halloween games on her computer…
***************
I hope your week is going well so far. As I am writing this, we are experiencing wind, thunder, lightning and delightfully cool temperatures.
Which reminds me that I need to buy a pumpkin…..
**You can read more about my sister’s new chicks here.
Unexpected Encounters….
AZ Plant LadyWorking as a horticulturist on golf courses may not sound like the most exciting job. But, I loved spending time outdoors, managing the landscape areas with their trees and plants.
It was wonderful being right on the edge of the desert and witnessing its beauty up close.
Of course, there were some thorny encounters with prickly cactus, (which does hurt by the way). I also faced some encounters with wildlife.
I used to be scared of bugs as a child. In fact, I would get my younger brother to come into my room to kill any little spiders that I would sometimes see.
Fast forward 20 years later, I was working as a horticulturist, which almost guaranteed that I would have to deal with bugs.
I got used to most types of bugs….even scorpions. However, there was and is one bug that is still quite scary to me….
Encounters with wildlife
This is a Palo Verde beetle. And believe me, they are huge….about 7 – 8 inches long.
Their larvae feed upon the roots of trees, especially Palo Verdes.
As much as I like to think that I am now brave when it comes to bugs, I still can’t quite surpress a shiver when I see a Palo Verde beetle. Thankfully, the last one I saw was over 12 years ago.
However, as the only female working in a department with 38 men, I was the victim of some of the crew trying to tease from time to time with bugs and snakes.
One incident involved my landscape crew. I was driving along the golf course, to see how they were progressing in removing an old, rotten tree. As I drove nearer, one of the guys said,
“Noellia, come here.”
(That was what they called me)
Well, he had a grin on his face as did the men standing behind him. So, I was immediately on my guard. As I walked toward him, he held out his hand to show me a huge Palo Verde grub (larvae). It was white, fat and at least 4 inches long.
Well, I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of letting him know that I was “scared” of it as he expected, so I tried to “fake” bravery. I smiled and asked him to put it in my gloved hand.
Then I told him what it was and explained what they did to tree roots. Of course, this was all part of my trying not to let them know that I was scared of this huge, white, grub that was wriggling in the middle of my gloved palm.
I could tell that my crew were disappointed that I did not react differently, but I like to think that maybe I earned some additional respect.
Of course, as I drove away, I did kind of shiver a bit afterward in reaction.
************
A frequent encounter that often occurred was with snakes.
Now, I do NOT like snakes and it’s my brother’s fault.
You see, he had a California King snake when he was a young boy. Well, this snake would often escape his enclosure and get lost around our house.
So, I would walk around scared that the snake was lurking around the next corner. Of course, we always found him, but eventually we had to get rid of him since my brother could not keep him in his cage.
Well, living in the desert means that you will see snakes. And on a golf course, many types of animals are attracted to the water and snakes are attracted to many of those animals. So, I would see many snakes, usually in the grass.
As long as I saw them first, I was okay.
Occasionally though, some snakes would make their way into the maintenance area where we worked. The crew liked to play with the non-venomous snakes, such as the Sonoran Gopher Snake…
Encounters with wildlife. Photo Courtesy of Dawson
Of course, if they had a snake and saw me nearby, I would hear them call out….
“Noellia, come here…..”
And so, I would suck up my courage, try acting brave, smile and touch the snake before backing off.
************
My last encounter occurred without any other people around and no crew members trying to tease me with ‘scary’ animals.
I was working along a large landscaped area along a roadway and I was manually turning some irrigation valves.
I was always careful opening up a valve box because you never knew what could be lurking inside. Normally, crickets, a roach or two, lizard and sometimes scorpions.
As a result, I used a screwdriver to pull off the valve box lid and I always had gloves on.
Well, this particular day, I needed to turn on the water for some very thirsty plants, so I knelt down beside the valve box, pulled up the lid and saw my valve
AND….
Encounters with wildlife, Courtesy Wikipedia
There he was, Mr. Tarantula, just sitting a few inches away from my valve. I am certain he was enjoying the dark, quiet space.
So, I faced a dilemma. Do I let the thirsty plants suffer without water all weekend long?
Do I ask one of my crew to come out and turn the valve on for me?
Well, I decided to handle the situation myself by “talking” to the tarantula.
I said, “I’m going to put my hand in very carefully and turn on this valve. I’m not going to hurt you, so please don’t jump at me.”
Well guess what? He must have understood what I was saying because I put my gloved hand in, turned on the valve and the tarantula never moved.
I must admit that I was so proud of myself for doing that, but there was no one around to witness my bravery 😉
******************************
Well, those are my favorite stories of unexpected encounters with wildlife.
How about you?
Have you ever had an unexpected encounter with bugs, snakes, etc?
How did you handle it?
Horticulturists Don’t Wear Nailpolish….Do They??
Day Trip, Mexican Village and Great Container Ideas
Road TripLast July, we had some guests visiting us from Missouri. There visit was to be only 48 hours and so we planned a day trip, packed with activities in order to show them parts of our beautiful state.
So, we took them up to Sedona, which is a stunningly beautiful area, less then 2 hours from our home. As we started the drive north of Phoenix, our friends were amazed at the beauty of the desert and marveled at all of the Saguaro cacti that dotted the landscape.
Soon, the cacti disappeared and pinyon pine started to appear and we soon saw the red mountains of Sedona in the distance.
Sedona Arizona
Sedona is one of my favorite places to visit and we make it up there at least once a year.
Sedona Arizona
Our primary destination in Sedona was a place called ‘Tlaquapaque’, which is a recreation of a Mexican village. This recreated village is actually full of shops – mostly full of creations from local artists. Although, I must admit that my favorite store is the Christmas store 🙂
There is just something so inviting about an archway that says “Shops” over it, isn’t there?
Tlaquepaque is a very beautiful place with many specimen trees, shrubs and plants.
Sedona Arizona
As we walked around, our guests headed straight for the shops, while I spent most of my time looking at the gardens.
I was especially interested in the beautiful container plantings that they had.
Here are a few of my favorites….
Coreopsis, Zinnias and Toadflax
Coleus and Impatiens
An entire walkway was lined with containers full of annuals.
Potted Geraniums and Variegated Ivy
Did you know that Bougainvillea make great container plants? Look how beautiful they look when trained upward against a wall, below.
Bougainvillea don’t like wet soil and like to be watered deeply and then allowed to dry out in between, which makes them suitable for containers.
Indian Fig Prickly Pear
I thought this was an interesting potted plant. Now most Prickly Pear species are NOT suitable for being planted in pots because of their thorns and ‘glochids’, which are the tiny, brown hairs that get stuck in your fingers.
But, Indian Fig Prickly Pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) is a thornless species of Prickly Pear, which makes it okay for use in a container.
Petunias and Purple Coneflower
As I walked around taking photos, I noticed that I was close to my favorite Christmas store, so I ducked inside….
This store (I forgot the name) features beautiful, handmade Christmas ornaments. I have bought some of my favorite decorations here.
The display above features a dried agave stalk that they have hung ornaments from.
I resisted the urge to buy more ornaments for myself, but I did purchase an ornament for our guests to take home to remember their trip to Arizona. It was a dried, red chili with a Santa face and beard painted on it.
As I stepped out of the store, I heard Indian song and drums….
Imagine my surprise to see an Indian hoop dancer, performing.
My family and our guests enjoyed the performance very much.
Especially my daughter, Gracie (far right), who in the past was scared of Indians because of their painted faces (from the movies, I think).
She loved the performance and afterward….
Sedona Arizona
Posed for this picture and shared it with her school.
We had a fabulous day with our friends and on our way home, decided to treat them to another regional treat….
In-n-Out Burger 🙂
A Beautiful Garden in the Middle of a Ghost Town
Goodbyes, A Double Celebration and Upcoming Arrival….
az plant lady familyI must admit that this month has been very eventful.
We said goodbye to my father-in-law….
Who waged a courageous battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease), which took his life 11 months after he was diagnosed.
A week later, it was time to celebrate a huge milestone in two lives…..
Dean loved his first taste of cake.
My twin nephews turned 1 year old.
Danny liked the frosting of his Cookie Monster cupcake the best.
We celebrated their birthday at my house and it was so fun to see the boys enjoy their cupcakes and play with their gifts.
The very next day, it was time to celebrate my daughter and son-in-law’s baby shower.
But beforehand, I needed to finish the baby sweater I had been working on.
This was my first sweater that I made. Overall, I think it turned out well, but I learned a very important lesson when knitting a pattern.
*Don’t knit when you are stressed or distracted.*
I had started the sweater in August and brought it with me to the hospital when my father-in-law was hospitalized. I also took it with me when he was transferred to hospice. As a result, I started the sweater 4 separate times due to simple mistakes.
So, I learned to work on it at home and got the buttons sewed on the night before the baby shower 🙂
Now that the sweater was finished, I was ready to enjoy the baby shower, which was being held at Double S Farms where my mother, sister and her family reside.
We all enjoyed a delicious brunch.
Just a few of the gifts waiting to be opened. (Notice my mother’s cheese grater collection?)
Some of the men spent time outdoors discussing who knows what? (From left to right, the future grandfather, my brother-in-law, my cousin and my husband-the other future grandfather.)
That’s me on the left with my daughter. It seems like yesterday, when I was expecting her 🙂
The best part…..opening gifts! My nephew, Finley is on hand to offer any help opening presents if they need him 😉
Such a cute quilt made by the grandmother (the other one 🙂
She loved the sweater! I must admit that I need a break from knitting for awhile 😉
I couldn’t resist taking this picture…. It may just pop up in the future when he is older and easily embarrassed 😉
Favors for guests. Guess what they are?
Thank you so much for letting me share with you our eventful September.
It is a bit overwhelming to suffer grief and joy in such a small period of time. But they are both part of life. I must admit that I prefer the joyful periods though 😉
“Cupcakes” In The Garden
AZ Plant LadyDo you like cupcakes?
Do you prefer a plain cupcake with no frosting?
Or maybe you like just a little bit of frosting….
Of course, many people like cupcakes with a thin layer of frosting on the top….
I don’t know about you, but I prefer an entire piece of cake (which is much bigger then a cupcake) with lots of frosting all over it….
How about you?
****************************
After I walked out into my back garden this weekend and seeing my Sage shrubs in full bloom, I just couldn’t resist another post about the unfortunate practice of formerly pruning flowering shrubs into ‘cupcake’ shapes.
Of course you can read more if you like:
Flowering Shrubs Aren’t Meant To Be Cupcakes
Got Garlic?
Vegetable GardeningGarlic has to be one of my favorite vegetables. I use it in almost everything and I almost always use more then the recipe asks for.
I love growing my own garlic and it’s very easy to do.
My Favorite Vegetables
Fall is the best time to plant garlic and it starts with a visit to your local grocery store.
Garlic is easily planted from cloves. Take the whole heads of garlic that you have purchased at your grocery store and separate out the individual cloves.
Chose a location in your vegetable garden that receives at least 6 hours of sunlight. If you do not have an existing vegetable garden, then amend your existing soil with compost and aged steer manure, mixed in well.
Space them approximately 6 inches apart.
Plant 2 inches deep, with the pointed side of each clove pointed upward and cover with soil.
Garlic like regular water, but do not let them become soggy.
They will soon send up green shoots. In cold climates, add a straw mulch over your garlic.
Freezing weather will cause the green shoots to turn brown, but they will grow back in spring.
Once the outer leaves begin to turn brown and droop, you can harvest your garlic.
Pull it up carefully and keep the green shoots attached. Remove any clumps of dirt, but do not clean the heads.
Put your newly harvested garlic in a warm, dry area out of sunlight to ‘cure’ for a few weeks. Then cut the shoots off.
Your garlic is now ready to cook with. Store your garlic out of sunlight. I keep mine in a bowl on a shelf in my laundry room.
So start growing your own garlic. You can spend the time they are growing selecting your favorite recipes that need garlic.