Tuesday View

I've decided to try joining in with the new Tuesday View theme with Cathy at Words and Herbs.  In my garden it is a big step forward to have one or two spots sufficiently grown for a regular look at the border itself.

So for now I am showing the South Border, looking down from the patio.  This border is planted in a blue, lavender, pink scheme, and I'm very happy with the way the colors are developing.  Grasses, lavenders, two species of eremophila, and miniature roses dominate the border.  Eventually Lagerstroemia indica "Rhapsody in Pink", now so small it is invisible in the above photo, will be central.

As it is, there's not much to see of it yet.  In fact, it's considerably shorter than the Muhlenbergia beside it!

The central mess visible in the top photo is from Oenothera pallida "Innocence", which I am discontinuing in this bed.  It is a bit too rambunctious for the area and not really in keeping with the other elements.  I have left the drying stems partly to make sure I have seedlings available for the White and Silver Garden, and partly to provide any little bit of additional shade to nearby plants!

Currently the lavenders are not in bloom, but they form a nice structural element, particularly Lavendula stoechas "Madrid", considerably larger and denser than L. s. "Blueberry Ruffles".

I've been pleased with the grasses in this border.  In addition to Muhlenbergia capillaris "Regal Mist", there is Pennisetum setaceum "rubrum", currently growing out over this summer's Catharanthus roseus.

There are several plants that will take some time to reach their ultimate size (both the Lagerstroemia and Alyogyne huegelii are still small).

Alyogyne huegelii

But there are also a few honest gaps.  One at the top of the border is being held open for rose "Sterling Silver".  I meant to transfer it into this border last winter, but I was timid.  With many growers opting for more recently developed, generally hardier, lavender roses, I am not sure how easy Sterling Silver will be to replace should my transplanting job go awry.  But I want very much to shift it over here, where its colors will be a perfect addition.  And I have no other full-size roses in this border.

There are miniature roses, however!  The lavender one...

...and the cream with pink are both at the front of the border and account for a good deal of the bloom right now.

One of the truly special plants here is blue-flowered Eremophila hygrophana, a wispy shrub with leaves of felted silver.  It needed a good watering when I took this picture of it growing behind more Catharanthus.  Both got a long soaking several hours later!  

Its flowers are a delectable blue with lavender tones.  It seems to have some flowers nearly year-round.  

So there is a first look at the South Border on this last Tuesday (now Wednesday) in June.  With some very seasonal flowers alongside many long-blooming plants, it will be interesting to see how much this border changes over the weeks!

Weather Diary: Partly cloudy and hot; High: 110 F (43 C)/Low: 86 F (30 C); Humidity: 14%-44%

In a Vase: Small but Elegant

Yesterday was a very busy day, and to be honest I did not even think about putting together my vase until it was completely too late -- until I was trying to hurry out the door.  But there are compensations!

My final destination was the grocery store, where miniature roses once more tempted me to buy one neither as decor nor as gift, but as an addition to the East Border.  As I was unfamiliar with the varieties, I took a few minutes to google "Parade Roses".  Developed by Poulsen of Denmark, they are apparently among the most widely available potted minis, quite lovely with their comparatively large, ruffled blooms.  As I wrote in my last post, I have been very impressed with the way miniature roses grow in this climate, so I brought home the bronze-toned "Apollo" with the intention of planting it out as soon as weather gives it a reasonable chance of survival.  My one concern with apricot colored roses is the tendency to go pink in very hot weather, which will be a real problem in a yellow to orange themed border; but I decided to to take the chance with this one.  I can always cut the blooms and bring them inside!

Having brought my little treasure home, it occured to me that I could still put together a Monday Vase.

Sprigs of Pennisetum setaceum "rubrum"...

 ...completed the arrangement in a dark-glazed stoneware bottle.  The bottle is another recently fired piece, so this week I get to use both a new flower and and a new vase.

I could make nothing with the light by that time, though, so had to wait till this morning to photograph and post!

I look forward to planting it out.  Buying it now, I am presuming on the arrival of monsoon weather with its increased humidity and (hopefully) occasional rains.  But the change in season (see also "Beginning of the Rains") was palpable yesterday though we have had hardly a drop of rain yet.

Linking with Cathy's IaVoM at Rambling in the Garden, where no doubt there are many lush summer vases today!

Weather Diary: Fair with a slight chance of thunderstorms; High: 108 F (42 C)/Low: 86 F (30 C); Humidity: 17%-40%

Little Jewels

I don't know how they do it!

The miniature roses are in full bloom despite the weather.  It's not as if they receive special treatment in terms of water, though most have more or less half a day's shade.  They have proven not only vigorous, but floriferous as well through summer's heat.

In the South Border are a lavender from Kordes...

For scale, the background plant is Lavendula stoechas "Madrid", roughly 20 inches tall

... and an unknown cream and pink - mostly cream just now!

The former was purchased at a garden center; the latter was pulled off the gift plant rack at the grocery store.  The shape of the tiny blooms was perfect.

Both are proving very resilient.

I should have expected it, given the performance of the red mini "Daniela".

Having produced luscious clusters of perfect red roses earlier in the season, it is now blooming all over again.  Individual flowers are not as full as the spring batch, but there are plenty of them!  The color is rich and unfading, and the petals have plenty of substance.

The plant itself is nearly the size of a small floribunda.  Unlike the others, it has already survived one summer in the garden... in fine style, I might add!

And then there are the two potted minis on the patio.  Both of these nearly succumbed to powdery mildew last spring.  I had little hope for them but kept hosing them down thoroughly, and both are back in full feather.  I wish I had caught the yellow one when it first bloomed as the blossom was exquisite -- like a miniature antique rose.  Hopefully there will be another opportunity soon!

I expect I will slip one or both of these in the ground this autumn.

The miniature roses are certainly providing an unexpected dash of color in June, making them my pick for the monthly favorites round-up with Loree at the Danger Garden.

Weather Diary: Sunny; High: 111 F (44 C)/Low: 82 F (28 C); Humidity: 11%-35%

Garden Foliage in June

It is time for Garden Bloggers Foliage Day, and this month I am looking at a priority in my desert garden: shade.  Structure is good, very important aesthetically in itself; but one aspect of structure is shade, and shade can mean the difference between survival and failure for many plants.  A few hours less of direct sun, a slight lowering of the temperature, the effects of shelter and increased humidity under a taller plant, greatly extends the potential success of many perennials here.  Unfortunately, this garden is still at a stage where the shade plants themselves are not very tall: a fact most of them are rapidly trying to change!

As the garden is in close proximity to the house and covered patio, I have selected shade plants that remain fairly small. This also allows me to use more of them as their spread will also be proportionately smaller.  Most, in fact, could grow either as shrubs or trees; but in the interest of providing upper and lower levels to the garden, I will be training them in tree-form.

The first to go in was a small tree, Acacia salicina, the Willow Acacia of Australia.

Acacia salicina at one corner of the East Border.  The lemon tree behind is too distant to supply any shade to the garden.

I am proud to say it is now definitely taller than I am...  I can't say much more than that!  It grows naturally with a weeping form; and while it has filled out considerably, it has a tendency to add drape at the expense of height.  It is reputed to be a fast grower; as I say, this is more evident in diameter than height, but it does supply a good deal more shade to the East Border this summer than last.  I have always loved weeping trees, and I look forward to it reaching its anticipated 25 ft (7.5 m) or so, when it should become the dominant structural element and shade source in the garden.

Foliage of Acacia salicina is distinctly silvery and willow-like.  It is a friendly tree, thornless, unlike most Acacias native to the US.

Last summer I also added two varieties of Lagerstroemia indica.  As I have explained elsewhere, these are from a series of improved hybrids with superior disease-and-drought-resistance.  "Dynamite" is the larger of the two.  As you can see, it is in full bloom.

At present it is still quite shrubby, although the basic branching system is there for a small, multi-trunked tree form.

Despite the fact we are celebrating garden foliage with this meme, I can't resist adding this picture of bloom!

"Dynamite" is positioned to primarily shade the Central Bed.  I have some concerns that it may eventually infringe on the adjacent path, but we shall see.

A second Crape Myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica "Rhapsody in Pink", is planted halfway down the South Border.  It is still quite small, but now growing well after a setback late last summer and a slow start this year.   Clearly it has a lot of growing to do!

At the southeast corner of the garden I had planted a miniscule Desert Willow, Chilopsis linearis "Lucretia Hamilton".  It is the one loss among my shade plants so far, a victim not of heat or drought but of water.  It was growing at the intersection of two run-off patterns and so received more water than I realized.  As it is a true desert species, this was apparently too much!  It is native to waterways in the low desert, but obviously I exceeded its limits.  I intend to replace it with the simple species come autumn, as I can purchase a considerably larger plant for a reasonable sum; and, given the current color design in the South Border, its pale pink will do as well or better than the dark purple of "Lucretia Hamilton".

Moving on into the White and Silver Garden, there is another true native of Arizona deserts: Vaquelinia californica, the lovely Arizona rosewood.

This is another plant that grows naturally with a shrubby form, but it is considered a good choice for training to a single-trunked small tree.  It is positioned to provide additional shade to both its own section of the garden and the adjacent North Border, as well as forming a visual accent along one of the paths.

Although it is listed with a medium growth rate, mine has put on plenty of height and foliage since planting last winter.

It is a quietly beautiful plant, with white flowers in spring: something I have not yet seen.

Finally, I have begun planting a short allee parallel to the rear of the patio and the Rose Border.  I selected Palo Verde "Desert Museum" (Parkinsonia x "Desert Museum") for this area.  It is one of the most beautiful trees commonly grown around here, very well adapted, with yellow bloom intermittently for months, and green bark that has a cooling effect in itself.

Foliage is quite small and fine...

I have a second waiting to be planted out in September.  Although these trees are very well adapted to heat, it seems wiser to wait till things cool off a little!  I look forward to giving the roses some relief from sun with the very gentle shade these trees provide.

With temperatures still quite high, it is easy to stay aware of the need for shade.  Already some shade is provided by larger perennials to their smaller neighbors.  But leaves and branches that one can walk beneath are still some years away!

Linking with Garden Bloggers Foliage Day at My Hesperides Garden for this progress report because, as Christina reminds us, it is always good to stop and think about structure in the garden.  And shade is certainly part of structure!

Weather Diary: Hot and sunny; High: 110 F (43 C)/Low: 86 F (30 C); Humidity: 11%-27%

In a Vase: Escaping the Inferno

In defense of the garden, there are some lovely flowers in bloom today.  Lagerstroemia, rose William Shakespeare 2000, miniature roses, lantana, Catharanthus roseus, even Dianthus, could each have supplied material for a vase.  However, I decided to use dried flowers for today's vase.  There are two reasons why.  One, I picked the material months ago and have been saving it back for midsummer, so why not go ahead and feature it?  Two, frankly I did not feel like merrily touring the garden, clippers in hand.

It's hard to feel like doing anything in the heat.

Yes, 118 F/48 C yesterday.  Last night we could just see the blaze of a 40 acre brush fire, fortunately extinguished during the night.  This morning the smell of smoke drifted over us on the hot wind.  Today is officially not so bad with a maximum so far of 115 F/46 C.  But I've spent my outdoors time caring for my horse, watering plants, and keeping water available for the wild birds.  It is not a day to just enjoy being out in the grand outdoors!

So I decided to make the most of having dried material already on hand for the Monday Vase.

If I had been more forward with picking earlier in the year, I could now have had a lot more; but as it is, here are Ozothamnus diosmifolius (the pink flowers were picked at an earlier stage than the white, which were fully bloomed out when cut)...

...seedpods of Nigella damascena "Persian Jewels Mixed"...

...lavender, and a single stem of Pennisetum setaceum rubrum.  I almost went out to pick more grass stems; but when I started to the door, I could see one of our Mourning Doves getting a drink on the patio.  Mourning Doves are much more timid than Rock Pigeons or Ring-neck Pigeons, both of which also reside around our home, so I was doubly hesitant to disturb her.  I decided to use just the single previously cut stem.

There is also a clump of Artemesia "Powis Castle" from a vase two weeks ago.  It has lasted very well, but in water.  We shall see what becomes of it dry, as I know it can wilt down badly.  So far, though, it is holding up well.

I used a vase I made specifically for Monday flowers, handthrown last year but only recently glazed with a very dark brown glaze and fired.

So here is hoping for some cooler weather!  Meantime, it will be good to see what everyone is doing for Monday Vases around the world.  Here is the link at Rambling in the Garden.

Weather Diary: Sunny and hot; High: 115 F/46 C; Low: 95 F/35 C; Humidity: 6%-16%

Unexpected in June

As I was going around taking photos for Bloom Day, I discovered an unexpected bud.

Hippeastrum "Naranja" outdid itself last Christmas with two enormous heads of bloom.  When it was finished flowering, I planted it out in the garden.  I certainly was surprised to see it ready to have another go at blooming.  In this weather, too...

By yesterday the first bud was breaking open.  This morning two blooms are open.

It makes an interesting match with its near neighbor, Penstemon pseudospectabilis.  I didn't expect P. p. to still have flowers this time of year either!

Quite a dash of color!

Weather Diary: Fair and hot; High: 103 F (39 C)/Low: 70 F (21 C); Humidity: 5%-29%

Garden Bloom in June

This is the second summer in this garden, and June's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day seems a good time to take a close look.

This time last month I was watching the very last of the spring flowers.  This time last year I was watching to see what would survive the first summer and, though hopeful, had no experience to rely on.   Some of my confidence was misplaced, as were some of my fears.

But one of the fruits of watching plants turn brown last June and July was a reconsideration of which plants to rely on for summer.  I nearly came to the conclusion that it would be a flowerless period, rather like January and February in colder climes.  But driving around town told me that would be silly.  There are lovely plants that bloom in the most impossible heat!  Many originate in the tropics; heat and, surprisingly, even the low humidity does not stop them.  So I laid my plans and put in some new plants.

And now I have the excitement of watching summer in the desert garden.  There will be casualties, just as there are during a cold winter.  But this year I get to see the summer blooms unfolding.

Hamelia patens, also known around here as Firebush, will hopefully grow into a strong shrub at the upper corner of the North Border.  It suffered during last winter's brief frosty periods, but it has a reputation for coming back strongly from the roots, and it certainly did so!

Further down the border is Ruellia brittoniana, which settled in quickly and well.

I decided to add more lantana as well.  At first I was perturbed by the scent of the leaves, but I decided that (especially as some people seem to love the smell) I had better get over my dislike in favor of having such a reliable summer-blooming plant for the garden.  Although still not my favorite fragrance, I have no problems with it now, and I do have some wonderful blooms!  This white variety was an addition for the White and Silver garden.  I did not know whether it would be as sturdy as the more common yellows and oranges, so I've been happy to find it blooming and growing just as strongly.  Here it is beneath Vaquelinia californica, my young Arizona rosewood, which will eventually have white blooms of its own in spring.

There is also Cuphea ignea "Vermillionaire", which came home blooming and has never stopped.

Perhaps the most exciting promise of summer comes from Caesalpinia pulcherrima.  The first flower opened just a few days ago.

This plant could hardly look more exotic.  It is a native of the tropics and is duly extravagant with its airborne flowers and lacy foliage.  Despite its provenance it is very widely used here in Arizona, where it is called Red, or Mexican, Bird of Paradise.  It is not, however, from Mexico, but most probably from the Caribbean; and perhaps the name used in Florida is more apt: Pride of Barbados.  It is exquisite and, more surprisingly, fairly drought-tolerant.  Like Hamelia patens, it can be cut down by winter cold but should grow back strongly in our climate.

Given its eventual size, it is placed as the main flowering focal point in the East Border though it is still too small to give any idea of the ultimate effect.  I will need something else for those months when it is not in bloom or full growth, given the probability that it will die back each winter.  A large shrub of such an ephemeral nature may take some adjusting to!  But I will deal with that as it comes...

Other summer-flowering plants just getting into their stride are the two crape myrtles.  Lagerstroemia indica "Rhapsody in Pink"...

...and R. i. "Dynamite"...

 are intended to provide some much-needed height and structure in the garden.  Their frothy blooms over dark red foliage is a wonderful accent.

Another idea that came out of last summer's garden was the use of more grasses.  While I've not taken it very far, at least Pennisetum setaceum "rubrum" is one lovely result.

And at present it has another summer flower at its feet.

I discovered that locals highly recommend Catharanthus roseus (annual vinca, Madagascar periwinkle) as one "annual" (it can be perennial through mild winters) that can take the heat.  Apparently so!  It is looking a bit wilted in the photo above but perked up after a nice drink immediately afterward.  It requires surprisingly little water, considering the amount of bloom.  I am wondering how to make the most of this plant in future.

Finally, a glimpse of roses.

Although the large shrub roses are mostly resting at present, Wollerton Old Hall is giving its best, having the advantage of shade from the patio roof.  It is superb.

I caught just one bloom from Sterling Silver as well.

But some of the best rose bloom right now comes from the miniatures.  My lavender mini was covered in blooms a couple of weeks ago, though not now; and the nearby pink and cream boasts this little beauty.

But it is Daniela that makes entire bouquets on the bush.  A dozen red roses anyone?

And there are, of course, the stalwarts: Russelia equisetiformis, Berlandiera lyrata, and even Chrysactinia mexicana still faithfully in bloom.   This is not a particularly good time for Salvia greggii, though all still have a few flowers.  Lavender "Goodwin's Creek Gray" is still a mass of bloomstalks as well.  One shrub worth special mention is Alyogyne huegelii, which can apparently bloom more or less year-round and is certainly providing an occasional swirl of blue petals in the South Border.

But wonderful as the truly everblooming plants are, it is exciting to find that I can look forward to seasonal summer bloom even here in the desert.

Weather Diary: Fair; High: 99 F (37 C)/Low: 70 F (21 C); Humidity: 7%-28%