Well, there I was….in my new job, working only as a landscape designer for a large home builder. My surroundings had definitely changed since I left my small and sometimes dirty maintenance office and traded it in for a beautiful office on the 14th floor in downtown Phoenix (you can read more in my “Part 1” post if you like).
Now you would think that with as a horticulturist, I was more then ready to get started……well not exactly. Before I was allowed to meet with home buyers by myself, I had to learn how to design a whole host of custom structures. And so, I spent 4 weeks learning how to design built-in BBQs, firepits, seatwalls, arbors, fountains, raised patios, etc.
Landscape designer, Built-in firepit
It was harder then you may think because I had to design these structures from the ground up, which I found challenging. Trying to factor in gas lines, how many bricks, did it need to be reinforced, how much material was needed, water lines, paint, stucco finishes, etc. was exhausting. I soon learned that visualizing these structures, much less drawing them out, was quite hard for me. My brain just does not work well that way. But, I did learn how….but I cannot honestly say that I enjoyed the process.
Landscape designer
With my new knowledge, I was soon ready to meet with clients in my fancy new office. I had traded in my work gloves and boots for manicured fingernails and a business professional wardrobe. Did I already mention my black granite desk in my previous post?I know I did….but it was just so beautiful 😉
In addition to the fancy trappings of my office, I had a variety of samples to show new home buyers. Pieces of flagstone in all sorts of colors, pavers, cultured stone, colored concrete and I even had a clear glass box with fake grass inside.
Landscape designer, I still have a couple of flagstone samples…..I’m not sure why I kept them.
I think my favorite prop was my ‘rock box’. Doesn’t that sound exciting? I still have it and so I dug it out of my stuff in the garage just to show you how cool it is….
Okay, maybe it isn’t the most exciting thing you have seen, but wait until I open it up….
Still not too interesting, is it?
Personally, I found the subject of landscape rock selection quite boring, but clients needed to see samples of what type of landscape rock (gravel) they could chose to use in their landscape. (It was surprising how many people get hung up on choosing landscape rock. Throw in a couple who have differing opinions, and it would take forever.)
So I was finally trained and ready – after all I had my rock box ;-). But, I was so nervous. Did I mention that I had to actually draw out the landscape design in front of the client, price the entire landscape and get a signed contract within a period of 1 hour?
Believe it or not, I gradually got used to designing on the spot. I enjoyed meeting so many different people and most of them were very nice to work with.
Over the course of my two years working with the home builder, I met with many wonderful people. I also met with some unusual people as well. Here is just a small sampling of some client meetings that stick out in my mind…..
CLIENT #1:
This particular client did not want any trees or plants in his front yard. NONE! Now for the horticulturist and plant lover in me – I just couldn’t fathom someone not wanting plants in their yard.
I did my best trying to describe the benefits of having trees and plants in his front yard. I told him that I could design his landscape using low-maintenance plants. But, he was not swayed in the least….not even when I whipped out my photos of beautifully landscaped areas.
Landscape designer
Well, who do you think got their way…..me or him?
I did!
I wish I could say that I persuaded him by showing him examples of my landscape designing expertise….but that would be a lie.
I got my way because the community where his new home was to be built, required trees and plants in the front yard. Actually, 2 trees, 10 large shrubs and 12 smaller groundcovers.
The expression on his face was just priceless because he just couldn’t believe that he had to have plants.
CLIENT #2:
I had a wonderful time meeting with this client. She was moving into a beautiful community located in the upper desert surrounding Phoenix AND she loved plants.
All except for this one…..
Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora)
I’m not sure why she did not like this plant. It is quite beautiful, low-maintenance as well as being drought-tolerant, all of which are good things.
Now the fact that a client did not like a particular plant was not unusual and did not usually present a problem; I would create a design using other plants.
However, the community she was moving into had some strict guidelines in regards to what types of plants could be planted. Every home had to have one particular plant in the front yard.
Guess what plant she absolutely had to have planted in her front yard?
Yep…..you guessed it, Red Yucca.
The client couldn’t believe it, but she was quite nice about it. Together, we figured out where we could have it planted in her front yard where she would not have to see it. We put it on the side of her house where only her neighbor would be seeing it.
CLIENT #3:
This client was building a home in a gorgeous part of the desert, called Gold Canyon. It is located by beautiful mountains and the views from her new home were going to be stunning.
This particular community required a quite a few plants in the front yard – I love plants so designing for this community was always a treat.
We spent our time creating her landscape design together. I suggested plants and their placement and I could see that she was getting excited about how beautiful her landscape would look.
I loved working with clients who could ‘see’ what the finished landscape would look like. They were very easy to work with.
I remember her discussing her plans for inside her new house and she couldn’t wait to move in.
Because it was a corner lot, there was a 1 ft. wide strip of land between the block wall of her backyard and the sidewalk.
As we were getting ready to wrap things up, I mentioned that little strip of land was hers and that she was responsible for maintaining it. Now, maintenance for that area was easy. There were no plants there, just landscape rock.
Well, she was not happy about owning that little strip of land. In fact, she was so upset that she walked up to the front desk and canceled her house purchase. She wouldn’t even want to consider building her house on a typical lot.
You know, I soon learned to expect the unexpected. Each person is unique as are their preferences. Who would have ever guessed that someone would back out of a house purchase over a little 1 ft. wide strip of land……
**********************
I hope my stories are not too boring. I have had fun recalling some of the more memorable moments.
If you are not completely bored to death……come back for Part 3 in a few days 🙂
Breaking Out My Pruners…….In 22 Days
AZ Plant LadyEvery year about this time, I get tired of seeing this in my garden……
My brown shrubs
Pretty ugly, isn’t it?
Just looking at my frozen Lantana, causes me to feel the pull of my pruners calling out to me.
Even though I know all the reasons that I should NOT prune them now, it would be so easy to prune them back early.
And so, to keep myself from venturing into the garage where my loppers and hand pruners are stored, I will keep repeating the following reasons to stay away……
1. If I prune early, I may prune off branches that are actually alive on the inside.
2. I can cause irreparable damage by pruning early since that stimulates plants to produce new growth, which is especially susceptible to frost damage and may even kill my plants.
3. The brown and crispy stuff actually protects the interior and sometimes the lower leaves of my plants from the cold.
I will go out prune to my hearts content once the danger of frost is over, which is about the first week of March in my zone 9a garden.
Okay, I feel much better now about leaving my brown shrubs alone…..for the next 22 days and counting down 😉
*****************************
I have some special news to share with you all in about a week.
It is something that I have been working on for a while now and it is getting ready to debut soon.
More later 🙂
An Artic Freeze in the Desert?
desertI bet you never thought you would hear about an ‘Arctic Freeze’ in a blog about desert gardening, did you?
Well, like most of the country, we have been suffering from extreme cold. Our cold weather is a result of Arctic air which has settled over much of the US.
Now I realize that we are not as cold as much of the country, but this morning, it was 21 degrees in my garden. My dogs looked up at me quizzically when the encountered their frozen water bucket. Believe it or not, their water bucket was still frozen last night from the night before.
Bone chilling temperatures
Many people who live in the desert are transplants from the midwest and are no strangers to cold weather. But, I cannot say the same. I grew up in Southern California, where the winter temperatures do not get as cold as a normal desert winter.
The ocean’s influence on much of the California weather keeps it from becoming as cold as it does inland.
I know for many of you who live elsewhere in the US, that you have had to deal with bone-chilling temperatures and snow.
Luckily we escaped the snow, although my kids would have loved getting a snow day, which has never happened here. But for my son, Kai, hope springs eternal. He keeps hoping.
I must admit that it has been quite different having to put on my super heavy coat (the one I save when I travel to colder climates), my hand-knit scarf and gloves, just to go outside.
As I drive down the street, I see many front gardens with brown shrubs and trees. Although homeowners are not too happy with the state of many of their plants, the horticulturist in me is interested in seeing how our more frost-sensitive plants recover from our record cold.
In regards to my own plants, I did protect my Lantana, but had to deal with how to keep my towels on my plants without them flying away in our windy weather. I like to think that I am pretty good at improvising when needed and I came up with a solution……
My pantry has been temporarily emptied of my canned food as well as some of my husband’s treasured peanut butter. Hopefully, his peanut butter did not freeze 😉
You know the human tendency to desire what you don’t have? Well, this week, I must admit that I yearned for a hot summer day and the opportunity to soak up some warm sun into my bones.
But the reality is, is that when summer arrives, I will wish for a cold winter’s day.
I do hope you all are keeping warm and safe from all of the ice and snow.
**For those of you in the low deserts, please do not start pruning, yet. More later…..
Here are some great posts from my fellow desert bloggers showing what the cold has done to their gardens:
Thoughts From a Daughter of a King
Las Adventuras
Adventures of a Landscape Designer – The End of a Chapter
Landscape DesignFirst of all, I would like to thank you all for bearing with me as I have taken a trip down memory lane recalling my adventures as a landscape designer. Your comments have been so much fun to read.
Some of you may be wondering if I am still a landscape designer. Well the answer is both yes and no. I no longer work only as a landscape designer. But, my work as a horticulturist does involve some design work from time to time which I love.
Why am I no longer working only as a landscape designer? Well, there are a few different reasons.
First of all, I did enjoy parts of my job, including meeting with so many different people and helping them to realize their goals for their landscapes.
I loved seeing the successful completion of a job.
And lastly, my fancy office with the black granite desk.
I know, you are tired of hearing about my fancy desk by now 😉
Now there were some aspects of the job that I really did not enjoy.
The first part was the emphasis on selling. Now I have nothing against the sales industry. But I found out that sales is not my strong point. Ironically I did sell quite a lot, but that was largely because of my passion of beautiful gardens. But, I do not like it when a salesperson tries to do a hard sell with me and I definitely did not like the emphasis placed on that in the company. Besides, I was not good at it, so I rarely attempted it.
Secondly, hardscapes were highly prized by the company. Now hardscapes are those items such as patios, built-in BBQ’s, seatwalls, firepits and fireplaces, just to name a few. Sometimes, trees and plants never entered the equation. I have nothing against hardscape, but I preferred gardens full of plants with just a few hardscape elements.
Thirdly, I would spend a lot of time working with a client, producing a landscape design, only to have them cancel later and have nothing to show for my effort.
Lastly, the recession hit and the home builder I worked for declared bankruptcy and eventually went out of business. And so in one year, I had created over 200 designs and only 50 would ever be completed and so hours of work was wasted and I would not see any money from them.
So, by this point in my career, I was at a crossroads. I was very burned out by the amount of time and effort my job required and I had very little to show for it at the end.
So, I took off a year from working. I am embarrassed to admit that even my passion for plants was affected. I did the minimum in my garden, but did not receive any joy from it.
About one year afterward, I began to feel my interest in my garden begin to return. And so, I started my blog, which I have enjoyed so much.
At that time, I began working as a horticulturist again, but with myself as the boss. Now, I work quite a bit as a garden writer, speaker as well as a landscape consultant.
I do still create landscape designs from time to time. It works out perfectly for me because I can control how busy I am while ensuring that I have enough time for my family.
Do I regret my working as a landscape designer for a home builder?
No. I learned so much from that experience. It not only made sharpened my landscape designing skills, it helped me to learn me more about myself and what I really wanted.
So, one important thing I learned is that life is about the simple pleasures – like taking time to stop and take a roll in the grass…..
Thank you again for following my short-lived career as a landscape designer.
**********************************
I do plan on sharing stories of my early career as a horticulturist, working on golf courses.
Adventures with coyotes, snakes, destructive storms, monster grubs and being the only woman working in an all-male environment are just part of what is to come 🙂
The Continuing Adventures of a Landscape Designer….
Landscape DesignWell, there I was….in my new job, working only as a landscape designer for a large home builder. My surroundings had definitely changed since I left my small and sometimes dirty maintenance office and traded it in for a beautiful office on the 14th floor in downtown Phoenix (you can read more in my “Part 1” post if you like).
Now you would think that with as a horticulturist, I was more then ready to get started……well not exactly. Before I was allowed to meet with home buyers by myself, I had to learn how to design a whole host of custom structures. And so, I spent 4 weeks learning how to design built-in BBQs, firepits, seatwalls, arbors, fountains, raised patios, etc.
Landscape designer, Built-in firepit
It was harder then you may think because I had to design these structures from the ground up, which I found challenging. Trying to factor in gas lines, how many bricks, did it need to be reinforced, how much material was needed, water lines, paint, stucco finishes, etc. was exhausting. I soon learned that visualizing these structures, much less drawing them out, was quite hard for me. My brain just does not work well that way. But, I did learn how….but I cannot honestly say that I enjoyed the process.
Landscape designer
With my new knowledge, I was soon ready to meet with clients in my fancy new office. I had traded in my work gloves and boots for manicured fingernails and a business professional wardrobe. Did I already mention my black granite desk in my previous post?I know I did….but it was just so beautiful 😉
In addition to the fancy trappings of my office, I had a variety of samples to show new home buyers. Pieces of flagstone in all sorts of colors, pavers, cultured stone, colored concrete and I even had a clear glass box with fake grass inside.
Landscape designer, I still have a couple of flagstone samples…..I’m not sure why I kept them.
I think my favorite prop was my ‘rock box’. Doesn’t that sound exciting? I still have it and so I dug it out of my stuff in the garage just to show you how cool it is….
Okay, maybe it isn’t the most exciting thing you have seen, but wait until I open it up….
Still not too interesting, is it?
Personally, I found the subject of landscape rock selection quite boring, but clients needed to see samples of what type of landscape rock (gravel) they could chose to use in their landscape. (It was surprising how many people get hung up on choosing landscape rock. Throw in a couple who have differing opinions, and it would take forever.)
So I was finally trained and ready – after all I had my rock box ;-). But, I was so nervous. Did I mention that I had to actually draw out the landscape design in front of the client, price the entire landscape and get a signed contract within a period of 1 hour?
Believe it or not, I gradually got used to designing on the spot. I enjoyed meeting so many different people and most of them were very nice to work with.
Over the course of my two years working with the home builder, I met with many wonderful people. I also met with some unusual people as well. Here is just a small sampling of some client meetings that stick out in my mind…..
CLIENT #1:
This particular client did not want any trees or plants in his front yard. NONE! Now for the horticulturist and plant lover in me – I just couldn’t fathom someone not wanting plants in their yard.
I did my best trying to describe the benefits of having trees and plants in his front yard. I told him that I could design his landscape using low-maintenance plants. But, he was not swayed in the least….not even when I whipped out my photos of beautifully landscaped areas.
Landscape designer
Well, who do you think got their way…..me or him?
I did!
I wish I could say that I persuaded him by showing him examples of my landscape designing expertise….but that would be a lie.
I got my way because the community where his new home was to be built, required trees and plants in the front yard. Actually, 2 trees, 10 large shrubs and 12 smaller groundcovers.
The expression on his face was just priceless because he just couldn’t believe that he had to have plants.
CLIENT #2:
I had a wonderful time meeting with this client. She was moving into a beautiful community located in the upper desert surrounding Phoenix AND she loved plants.
All except for this one…..
Red Yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora)
I’m not sure why she did not like this plant. It is quite beautiful, low-maintenance as well as being drought-tolerant, all of which are good things.
Now the fact that a client did not like a particular plant was not unusual and did not usually present a problem; I would create a design using other plants.
However, the community she was moving into had some strict guidelines in regards to what types of plants could be planted. Every home had to have one particular plant in the front yard.
Guess what plant she absolutely had to have planted in her front yard?
Yep…..you guessed it, Red Yucca.
The client couldn’t believe it, but she was quite nice about it. Together, we figured out where we could have it planted in her front yard where she would not have to see it. We put it on the side of her house where only her neighbor would be seeing it.
CLIENT #3:
This client was building a home in a gorgeous part of the desert, called Gold Canyon. It is located by beautiful mountains and the views from her new home were going to be stunning.
This particular community required a quite a few plants in the front yard – I love plants so designing for this community was always a treat.
We spent our time creating her landscape design together. I suggested plants and their placement and I could see that she was getting excited about how beautiful her landscape would look.
I loved working with clients who could ‘see’ what the finished landscape would look like. They were very easy to work with.
I remember her discussing her plans for inside her new house and she couldn’t wait to move in.
Because it was a corner lot, there was a 1 ft. wide strip of land between the block wall of her backyard and the sidewalk.
As we were getting ready to wrap things up, I mentioned that little strip of land was hers and that she was responsible for maintaining it. Now, maintenance for that area was easy. There were no plants there, just landscape rock.
Well, she was not happy about owning that little strip of land. In fact, she was so upset that she walked up to the front desk and canceled her house purchase. She wouldn’t even want to consider building her house on a typical lot.
You know, I soon learned to expect the unexpected. Each person is unique as are their preferences. Who would have ever guessed that someone would back out of a house purchase over a little 1 ft. wide strip of land……
**********************
I hope my stories are not too boring. I have had fun recalling some of the more memorable moments.
If you are not completely bored to death……come back for Part 3 in a few days 🙂
Adventures of a Landscape Designer….Part 1
Landscape DesignOkay, some of you may be asking – when did you work as a landscape designer? I thought you were a horticulturist?
Well the answer is, is that part of a horticulturist’s job involves landscape design. Actually, that was my favorite part of being a horticulturist and I was able to design everything from annual flower combinations to large landscape areas and everything in between.
There was a point in my career where I wanted to concentrate solely on landscape design, so I took a job with a major design and landscape company.
As a horticulturist, my time used to be split between my small, cramped office in the golf course maintenance facility as well as around the beautiful outdoors, driving around golf courses and desert landscapes.
I was the only woman in a department made up of 39 men. Work boots, shorts and polo shirts were my normal wardrobe along with my floppy hat. My mode of transportation was my little green golf cart.
A typical day was spent outdoors during the morning hours, driving around the landscape areas, fertilizing, pruning and assigning jobs to my landscape crew.
Afternoons were typically spent in the office catching up on paperwork and working on new designs and estimates.
Well that all changed dramatically once I decided to work solely as a landscape designer. Why did I leave my previous job? Well, after 5 years, they were running out of new areas for me to design and I did not only want to manage landscape areas…..I wanted to keep on creating new ones.
My new job involved more then a new job title. It came with many drastic changes.
I was assigned to work with a major home-builder, working with new home buyers and designing their new landscapes.
The first major change was my office space. I no longer had a cramped and sometimes dirty office…..
My new office was located on the 14th floor of a beautiful office building in downtown Phoenix.
No longer did I work from an old formica desk. I now had a desk made of black granite.
Instead of a windowless office, I had a beautiful view of the city from up high.
The dress code had changed as well. No more boots and polo shirts…..professional business clothing was now required.
I must admit that at first, I was a bit dazzled by the trappings of my new position. I mean, I even had a coveted parking pass and free reign over a fully stocked refrigerator.
Well, my adventures in my new position were just beginning and then reality started to set in.
I met with many interesting clients who had some interesting views on what they wanted in their gardens. I will share some of my stories in my next post.
The Continuing Adventures of a Landscape Designer….
Adventures With Saguaros….
AZ Plant LadyWhen many people think of the Desert Southwest, the iconic Saguaro cactus comes to mind. I remember seeing my first saguaro, crossing over the California Arizona border. When I first saw them, it was hard to believe that they were real. They were so strange looking to my eyes.
Throughout my career as a horticulturist, I have had many interactions with these beautiful cacti. Most of them were quite wonderful really, but there were some that were not so much fun…..
One incident was quite painful. I remember a time when we were creating pathways for a potential botanical walk when I spotted a small saguaro (8 inches tall) that was directly in the path, so I had it dug up in order to place it elsewhere. Well, I pricked my thumb on one of the spines, but I didn’t think anything of it because I frequently stuck myself with other types of cacti and agave.
Well my thumb began to swell….and swell. It got to the point 3 days later that I could not use my hand, so I had to go to the doctor for some antibiotics, which took care of the problem. Spines oftentimes have bacteria on the tips which can cause problems if you get stuck.
Another incident was quite painful as well, but not physically. This involved one of my favorite saguaros that was located in a large feature area alongside the golf course where I worked. I had transformed this landscape area into a hummingbird garden. The saguaro was huge and had many arms growing from it.
This photo was taken when we had just finished adding the plants in our hummingbird garden.
A few years later, as I was driving to work on a gorgeous summer morning, little did I know that my beautiful saguaro had fallen victim to the torrential rain and high winds we had experienced the night before.
As soon as I had arrived at work, my crew told me what had happened and I drove my little golf cart out there as fast as possible.
It was such a sad sight. I literally felt sick to my stomach. To get a sense of how large it was, my co-worker who is pictured above is about 6′ 4″ tall.
As I got up close to examine it, I saw something else that was also quite sad….
A tiny baby Cactus Wren had also fallen victim. The force of the falling saguaro dislodged him from his nesting hole. His mother was close by and had also died.
The last incident that I would like to share with you also happened around the time of the fallen saguaro.
I was driving around the golf courses, checking on landscape areas and the many trees that we had growing on the courses. This was part of my daily routine.
There were beautiful homes and landscapes that backed up to the golf courses. As I was passing one of the homes, I noticed something up in the top reaches of their stately saguaro that was not a welcome sight.
Did you know that saguaros can get sick?
Okay, it may not be obvious, but look closely towards the top. Do you see two brown/black spots with liquid seeping out?
Here was a classic example of bacterial necrosis (Erwinia carnegieana).
The ‘black goo’ that is excreted smells absolutely awful. You may be wondering how it spreads. Well, insects and small animals are the primary way that it is spread. They visit an infected cactus and then fly to your cacti, spreading the bacteria.
So, can you leave it alone and hope it will go away? Well, there is a chance that the saguaro itself can seal off the infection by forming a special kind of tissue known as ‘callus’.
But this is not always successful and if the bacterial necrosis spreads, it will lead to the death of your saguaro, causing it to fall, which can also cause damage to those things that are in its path.
So what can you do?
Well, if the infection is where you can reach it, you can cut out the infected area. Using a sharp knife, begin cutting out all black, gooey areas, taking care to sterilize your knife after each cut using rubbing alcohol.
You need to remove all diseased cactus flesh and cut into at least a 1/2″ of healthy saguaro tissue. To make sure that water cannot accumulate in the area, use a spoon to gently slope the bottom of the hole. Make sure that the walls of the now enlarged hole are smooth with no puncture marks.
The last step involves spraying the entire, excavated area with a 10% bleach mixture (9 parts water to 1 part chlorine bleach). This should kill any remaining bacterial.
Another option is that you can call a cactus professional and have them treat the infection.
For more information you can click here. About halfway down the page, you will find excellent information on bacterial necrosis.
I am happy to say that there is a happy ending to this last saguaro incident…..the homeowners had it treated and it is still alive and thriving 8 years later 🙂
Two Giving Trees…..
Fruit Trees, TreesI am almost ashamed to admit it, but I sometimes have trouble remembering what gifts I received a year ago for Christmas. Does that happen to you too? It’s not that I am not happy with the gifts……I am frequently amazed at the creativity and thoughtfulness of the giver. But sometimes all I can handle is just trying to keep up with my 5 kids and my husband so many other things get pushed onto a back shelf inside my brain.
There have been extra special Christmas gifts that I have received that stick out in my mind. Not because they were particularly expensive but because they were long lasting. Each time I would use or look upon the gift, I would remember the thoughtfulness of the giver.
One of my favorite Christmas memories involve my dad and mother. Each year my dad would give my mother something special for Christmas. He would usually ask one of his daughters to wrap it for him and I can remember the happiness on his face when he would give my mother her gift.
After my father passed away a few years ago, my siblings and I started a new tradition – in addition to our individual gifts to our mother, we also joined together to give her a gift from all of us on behalf of my father, who is no longer here.
We have had a lot of fun thinking of ideas of what to give her each year. This year we decided to give her two Apricot trees. You see, my mother loves to can fruit. Double S Farms, where she lives, has apple, peach, plum, kumquat, lemon, grapefruit, almond and pecan trees.
This past summer, my mother taught me how to make peach and plum jam as well as applesauce. I am still using peach jam on my morning toast 🙂
As many different kinds of fruit trees that my mother has, she does not have any apricot trees. That was kind of sad really because apricots were among her favorite fruit. So our decision was really quite easy.
We bought her two apricot trees and tied big red bows on each one and placed them on the side of the house.
We placed the apricot trees in the same area that already had peach trees growing. Little Farmer and Littlest Farmer were happy to help 😉
Now it was time for her surprise…..I think she was very happy with her gift.
Many people find it surprising that we can grow many different kinds of fruit trees. Trees with low chill hour requirements do very well in our area. (Chill hours occur when temperatures below 45 degrees F. Fruit trees require a minimum number of chill hours to produce fruit.). We selected two different varieties of apricot trees – ‘Katy’ and ‘Gold Kist’.
Apricot trees are self-pollinating (which means that they doesn’t need pollen from another apricot tree to produce fruit), so we really only needed one, but since we planted two, that means more apricot jam in our future.
The apricot trees will be ready for harvesting in late May / early June.
When planting fruit trees, it is important not to dig the hole deeper then the depth of the root ball. What is a good thing to do is to dig the hole at least 3 times the width of the root ball, which helps the roots to grow out into the surrounding soil. January is the month to plant your bare-root fruit trees in the Arizona deserts.
No fertilizer should be added to newly planted trees for the first year. The reason is because fertilizer will trigger the growth of the upper part of the tree – you may be asking what is wrong with that?
Well, all trees need a good root system that can support the branches, leaves and fruit and that takes at least a year. So please don’t add fertilizer unless you live in an area with sandy soils, which may require the addition of phosphorus and potassium when planted.
My mother was very happy with her gift, which will continue giving year after year.
I can almost taste the apricot jam……but it will take a few years for the new trees to produce enough fruit 🙂
For information on fruit varieties for the desert southwest, click here.
Here is a link for general fruit tree growing information for Arizona.
A Hospital for Plants?
AZ Plant LadyBecause I love plants and blogging, I am constantly taking pictures. As a result, I have quite a lot of photos to go through and it can be a week or two (okay sometimes a few months), before I get to them.
Well, since it has been rather cold outside and I haven’t had to do much of anything in my garden, I decided to be productive and go through some of my photos that I had taken in the fall.
I was contacted by a former co-worker who asked me to do a consult of his mother’s garden. When he gave me her address, I was thrilled that she lived only 5 minutes away from my house.
His mother was quite a delightful person and was a native of France. Her garden reflected her European roots. She had many different types of plants focusing mainly on plants native to Europe.
As I was leaving, I passed by a large Willow tree and underneath it’s canopy, I spotted a glimpse of an assortment of potted plants.
As I looked more closely, I could see that many of these plants had seen better days. In fact, it was a very motley group of plants.
Hospital for Plants
Her son, seeing my questioning glance, explained that his mother had a huge soft spot for struggling and sometimes dying plants.
She would often peruse the discount sections of nurseries (including some big box stores) where sickly plants would be for sale. She would then take them home where she worked hard to nurse them back to health.
The filtered shade from the willow tree provided protection from the sun and the wind, which was the perfect micro-climate for these plants to try to recuperate.
Although she had some failures, she did have quite a few successes.
The basil plant above did so well that it’s roots had grown into the grass underneath.
Seeing this plant hospital got me to thinking…..do any of you like to rescue plants? What type of ‘hospital’ do you have for them?
I would love to hear your stories 🙂
Steps Towards Curing the Garden Blahs….Where to Place Plants?
An Experiment…..
Vegetable GardeningThe vegetables in my garden made it through very well, except for my tomatoes. I know, I know…..some of you experienced vegetable growers may be asking why I had tomatoes growing in my garden during the winter. Well, I decided to do an experiment – all vegetable growing calendars recommend planting tomatoes in early spring and none of them say anything about planting them in the fall.
But, our local big box stores had tomato transplants for sale and I bought two and planted them in early October, just to see how they would do.
Tomato transplants, Tomato plants in the back right corner.
Well, they grew like crazy as you can see in the photo above and I even had to cut them back a bit to keep them from taking over the garden. Then when freezing temperatures were forecast, I covered them well, hoping that would be enough to protect them from the cold.
As you can see….my tomatoes did not fare too well.
Am I sorry I bought them and planted them in the fall? No I’m not. One thing that I think is fun about gardening, is experimenting. I love the excitement of seeing how a particular plant will do in my garden….especially if there is a question of whether it will fare well or not.
I believe people with green thumbs should not be afraid of experimenting in their garden. Sometimes that is the only way to learn what will flourish and what won’t in your garden. Since each garden is different and can play host to a variety of micro-climates, it is fun to experiment with different plants.
What lesson did I learn from my experiment?
Don’t plant tomatoes in the fall in my zone 9a garden.
WInter and Summer Vegetables….Oh My!
Brown and Crispy OR Nice and Green….Part 2
AZ Plant LadyWell, after the rather ugly photos of brown and crispy plants that I showed you in my previous post, I am excited to show you the plants that did very well during our severe cold spell when temperatures dipped into the 20’s for 4 nights in a row.
Some are getting ready for the springtime show of flowers like my Pink Globe Mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua ‘Pink’).
My Valentine shrubs (Eremophila maculata ‘Valentine’) are getting ready for their big show of flowers in February….
One of my favorite, underused perennials is my Paperflower (Psilotrophe cooperi).
You can see why it got it’s common name of Paperflower, because the spent flowers have a papery texture and appearance.
My Firecracker Penstemon (Penstemon eatonii) only has a single blooming stalk, but will soon be covered in flowers.
All of these plants did well and I am looking forward to more flowers soon.
There are many other plants that also fared quite well throughout the cold.
I love the purple and green foliage of my newly planted Purple Hopbush (Dodonaea viscosa ‘Purpurea’). I can’t wait for it to grow tall so that it covers a rather bare expanse of wall.
I drove through my neighborhood to see what other plants did well in our cold snap.
This ‘Green Cloud’ Texas Sage has not at all been affected by the cold. During the winter months, most Leucophyllum species lose some of their leaves, leading to a somewhat sparse appearance, but this is normal.
Okay, now don’t laugh at the next photo….
Believe it or not, styrofoam cups offer some frost protection to the tips of columnar cacti. This is important, because this is the growing point of many cacti species.
I call the house above, the ‘cactus house’ because they have so many different types of cacti in their front garden. Most cacti did very well during the cold snap.
Other ‘nice and green’ plants not pictured:
‘Summertime Blue’ and ‘Pink Beauty’ Eremophilas
Feathery Cassia (Senna artemisoides) & other Senna species
Roses
Queen, Pygmy, California and Mexican Fan Palms
Purple Lilac Vine (Hardenbergia violaceae)
Desert Spoon (Dasylirion wheeleri)
Juniper
and
Rosemary
……just to name a few that I observed.
It is important to note that there will be some exceptions, even in neighborhoods close to mine. Although I am less then an hour away from downtown Phoenix, my temperatures are lower and my garden receives more rainfall. Gardeners in Phoenix saw less frost damage then those in outlying areas.
So what should you do if your garden is full of ‘brown and crispy’ plants?
I will ‘talk’ about that in my next post 🙂