The Burrow

Some consideration was given to creating a Mothers Day post. Then, this happened: The amaryllis which had languished in the potting shed was springing to life before my very eyes. After several months of sporadic attention in the Pot Before You Are Finished For Good, the Christmas-time flower is going to be just a little late for Mothers Day. I could not ignore its valiant efforts to please, so I moved the PBYAFFG to the courtyard,  where, I saw these: Overnight, these big, fleshy leaves had produced the perfect shade of lavender on straight and sturdy stalks.  Again, I couldn't ignore the magnificence; off to the garden center I went. I transplanted unhappy osteospermum and added some gonfreda and deadheaded and amended and left some fun for tomorrow.  This gladiola began peeking out on Saturday; this was as far as she got by Sunday evening.  I'm going to entice the rest of her friends out tomorrow,  as I end my planting for the seas...

I am tired of reading my friends' complaints. There is snow where there should be crocus blossoms. The bunnies are hopping through drifts, seeking sustenance. We have no such problems here in the desert Southwest. This volunteer desert marigold ( Baileya multiradiata ) is nestled comfortable beside these rocks. The bunnies sniff but don't seem to be that interested. The ground squirrels are clambering up the barrel cacti, pulling out the tuna and sucking the juices. They often leave their trash behind; do you see the empty tuna on the top of his brothers? This golden barrel cactus provided protection for the bluebells.  Old friends are returning, too. These clusters were planted the first year we arrived. For the next five summers, I watched and waited and nothing happened. Suddenly, this year, these appeared. I'll post pictures if they turn out to be more than these green leaves. The prickly pear cacti (Opuntia) are getting ready to ...

The most surprising answer on the pre-test during my first Master Gardener class here in Arizona was this: The most frequent cause of plant distress in the desert is overwatering. Yes, denizens, there is such a thing as too much of a good thing... and I have the photos to prove it. Apparently, too much perlite... old perlite... improperly stored perlite... leads to situations like this as the extraneous pellets flee the saturated soil in the shallow pot, and this  as the soil clumps together in impenetrable clods making it impossible for the roots to pick up any nutrients at all. They are waterlogged, drowned, soggy, sodden, sorry things. They're not much good as decorative plants. And so, I was back at it yesterday. I rescued what seemed salvageable and repotted it with brand new soil. I tried to ignore the fact that the two containers I had not improved  were doing just fine as was the succulent I transplanted into the dirt on ...

The trucks were here before 8am. Mountain laurel and texas ebony and fringe flower and ocotillo. It hurt when the ocotillo and the texas ebony became entwined.  There were many tools and few fingers involved in separating them from one another. The big boss came out to help me place the plants.  that's him wheeling the dolly. It wasn't long til we called the bigger boss. She came out and told us all what to do. I liked having her around. Some specimens come in black plastic buckets. The bigger ones arrive in wooden containers.   The metal bands are handy for toting and turning. This mountain laurel will keep people from staring into the library as I type to you. At least, that's the plan. It still has some growing to do. There were power tools. There were hand tools. First they cleared the area of debris and ground cover and stones. Neatness counts. Then the power shovel c...