Betwixt and Between

The weather is changing just in time for the August pick of favorites from the garden.  This is bringing some plants into focus that had been half-asleep through most of summer.  Especially Gaura.

My noID pink Gaura was sold simply as the species (now Oenothera lindheimeri).

Of course, it has produced the occasional spindly bloom, much stem to little flower, throughout the season; but with an increase in humidity, lower temperatures, and ongoing short bursts of rain, it is exploding into life again.

It is planted next to a much more reliable mid-summer bloomer, Lagerstroemia indica "Dynamite", a Crape Myrtle with brilliant crimson bloom.  Eventually the latter should overarch the former, but at present the Lagerstroemia is still the smaller plant.  Which is not saying much - I had no idea the Gaura would grow to five feet tall and wide, least of all under desert conditions!  It is crowding everything around it now.  I'm wondering whether I should have cut the bloom stems back at the end of spring, or would that completely sacrifice autumn bloom...?  Any information welcome!

This part of the garden is looking more than a little ragged as August draws to a close, but it saw a high plant survival rate over summer - very gratifying to the gardener!

Here is a close-up of the Lagerstroemia flowers.  I don't want to let August pass without a tip of the hat to this magnificent plant, which has bloomed faithfully and luxuriantly through all the worst parts of a long desert summer.

Although I will have to deal with the crowding at some point, I love the combination of the two plants, especially during this period of overlapping bloom.  I look forward to perhaps a month of having them blooming together, after which there will be autumn leaf color from the Lagerstroemia.

It's worth noting that, in one sense, they make excellent neighbors here.  Although drought-tolerant, the Crape Myrtle receives a bit of extra irrigation to keep the splendid bloom going, and the Gaura survives mostly just on that.  (Desert gardeners please note: I say mostly, not entirely!)  Perhaps it would have bloomed a little earlier if it had gotten more water for itself, though I think it was the intense heat that kept it quiet.

In the meantime, these are the August choices from my garden.  September should see everything waking up even more.  Thanks to Loree for hosting the Friday Favs at The Danger Garden!

Weather Diary: Fair with occasional rain showers; High: 96 F (36 C)/Low: 79 F (26 C); Humidity: 26%-65%

Tuesday View

Is it just my imagination, or do the plants look happier?  We've had an honest cooldown over the last few days, coupled with something like an honest thunderstorm last night.  At any rate the gardener is feeling better!

With the cooler weather and a little additional moisture, the Perovskia has been looking a bit better...

...much to the approval of the bees.

And maybe a little touch of pink is returning to centers of the cream-colored miniature rose, along with that rare thing here: rain spotting.

The Perovskia is just visible behind the now-rampant Pennisetum in the South Border.  Muhlenbergia capillaris "Regal Mist" is getting ready for its autumn explosion of bloom.  I hope it will give a good showing, but I've kept it quite dry this summer while trying to make sure other, more vulnerable plants survived.  Here's hoping anyway!

Thanks to Cathy for hosting the Tuesday Border meme at Words and Herbs!  I missed last week as we were in the midst of a mini family reunion, which overlapped with a serious illness of one of our dogs.  This time last week I was rushing to the nearest known 24/7 pharmacy -- a 40 minute drive one way.   Next morning we were sitting in front of the vet's office, waiting his arrival.  All is well now, I am happy to say, with a very sweet mini Schnauzer in full recovery.  This week looks to be a bit more sane... or did till a few moments ago, when our stovetop just decided to act up!

Despite having its own ups and downs, the garden is still a wonderful antidote to many woes -- one of the best places to remember that "God's in his heaven; All's right with the world."

Weather Diary: Fair; High: 94 F (34 C)/Low: 73 F (23 C); Humidity: 28%-78%

In a Vase: Simplicity

After Cathy's challenge, some weeks ago, to create an ikebana-style vase, I have been hoping to try my hand at it again eventually.  This week seemed a good time to do something a bit different, as the weather is changing and the garden is shifting seasons along with it.  Much of the best bloom at the moment is from flowers that do not last well when cut.  So I thought about possible material for a second unauthentic ikebana, and that was the starting point for today's vase.

One side is primarily stems of Senna nemophila.  These appear as a haze of leafless green branches, but the thread-like "leaves" (technically phyllodes) are plentiful.

Then there are stems of native wildflower Eriogonum deflexum.  These stems truly are leafless, and they are in flower now.

With its network of wiry, leafless stems, this plant takes the common name "Skeleton Weed", among others.  The blooms are quite small and sparse this year, and at present they are still white.  They normally turn a delicate pink as weather cools.  These stems were cut from a plant that seeded itself into a crack between patio and house -- a place likely to retain any available bits of precious moisture.

I also cut some stems of Gaura (now Oenothera lindheimeri) though it does not have a history of cutting well for me.  I wanted it mostly for the long, slender stems, anyway.

And lastly there is a bloom from rose "Wollerton Old Hall", a bit summer-weary but still lovely.

I put all into a stoneware vase which I threw on the potter's wheel last year.  It is covered in a traditional dark brown glaze whose sobriety seemed appropriate to the simple plant material.

Although I usually make my bouquets to be viewed from any angle, the back view of this one is just that -- the back.

I'm sure this won't be the last time I play with the ikebana idea...  Perhaps next time the results will look a little more like the real thing!

Thank you to Cathy for hosting this meme!  It's wonderful to follow along at Rambling in the Garden and see what others have put in vases this week!

Weather Diary: Partly cloudy; High: 98 F (37 C)/Low: 78 F (17 C); Humidity: 26%-62%

Is It Four o'Clock Yet?

Though quite a few new plants have been unable to survive the extended heat this summer, Mirabilis jalapa has been a wonderful exception, establishing successfully and going on to bloom abundantly.  Started from seed indoors last winter, it is one plant that I had been half-sure should be a good addition to the tropicals-able-to-take-the-heat element in the garden.   Though my first trial a year ago failed, due probably to bad timing, this year's attempt is finally proving itself!

A native of Peru (also known as Marvel of Peru), one of the most fascinating things about Four o'Clocks is their ability to grow different colored flowers on the same plant.  This particular variety ('Stars and Stripes') also boasts stripes and splashes as well as parti-colored blooms.

And solid pink and simple white.

My one disappointment has been lack of scent, which I remember as being quite strong.  This variety was, besides, advertised as fragrant, so I'm not sure what has happened to that fragrance!  Perhaps next year?

I do expect them to go on well to next year.  They are known as tender perennials, but I once had a plant that sailed through several sub-freezing Midwest winters, so I am not sure what the actual cold hardiness might be!  In any case, I expect them to last at least a few years here, where winter lows rarely drop much below freezing.

As the plants receive a fair amount of shade in the afternoon, I am getting to see the open flowers for longer periods -- especially now that the days are getting a bit shorter!  They may actually be opening by four o'clock these days!

Weather Diary: Fair (though we had rain last night!); High: 99 F (37 C)/Low: 75 F (24 C); Humidity: 26%-78%

In a Vase: Rapidly

Just a very fast post this week!  We are enjoying a visit from family; and though I could wish the garden were not in the doldrums, still I did have some flowers to cut.  In  particular there were blooms from my recumbant sunflower "Solar Eclipse", the one that was partially blown over several weeks ago but has continued to bloom.  It is proving a very good source for cut flowers!  In addition, higher humidity has given an explosion of bloom from Leucophyllum frutescens, and the Catharanthus are still putting on a very respectable display.  A hefty tuft of Artemesia x Powis Castle supplied some additional structure for the vase.

Please pardon the brevity of this post, not to mention the quickly taken photos!  I didn't want to miss altogether this week!  Thanks, as ever, to Cathy for hosting this wonderful meme!

Tuesday View

Once again it's time for the Tuesday View with Cathy at Words and Herbs.  Here is the South Border, early August.

The weather has been tough on the garden this past week.  After a heavy dust storm, followed by a light rainfall, temperatures soared and everything dried out rather quickly.  In fact, I think I depended too much on that rainfall and failed to get water to some plants when they needed it.  The result of it all has been another round of plant losses, most importantly including Alyogyne huegelii, a structural plant in the South Border.

I'm a bit surprised at this one since the Alyogyne seems a sufficiently sturdy plant.  But it was planted last winter; and although it has looked fairly good overall, I don't think it had fully settled in, and this summer has been particularly difficult for new plants.  I do intend to replace it with another as I think it should be a good choice here in the long run.

Nearby, Perovskia atriplicifolia is holding its own, though not able to bloom much.

Sparsely flowered Perovskia with browned leaves of Alyogyne huegelii in front

On the other hand, Iris "Clarence" is set to try blooming again.

Notice the buds on Leucophyllum frutescens also; hopefully it will soon be in bloom as well!

The rest of the border looks fairly good.  The rosemary hedge has perked back up.  And Lagerstroemia indica "Rhapsody in Pink" is in its summer glory, despite its small size.

One of the most noticeable changes as the year wears on is the lengthening stems on both the grasses.  Pennisetum setaceum rubrum is now tumbling over the Catharanthus in front of it.

And finally, despite the weather, I decided to go ahead and plant one new addition: a very small one.

 Melocactus azureus will be protected by the nearby miniature rose so I thought I could afford to slip it into the ground.  As it had been blown clean out of its pot by last week's dust storm, I thought it was just as well to protect it from further indignities of that sort.  I gave it a week without water according to the advice of desert gardening author Mary Irish (though I believe her recommendation applied chiefly to bare root cacti), and then gave it a little nook at the front of the border.  It can just be seen under the rose bush.

It may not last very long here; apparently it is fairly cold-sensitive, which I didn't realize when I bought it.  But I wanted to give it a try in the border as that was why I purchased it to begin with.  I think it is pleased to be there for now after its adventures rolling around in the storm!

There is another chance for rain tonight...!

Weather Diary: Partly cloudy; High: 100 F (38 C)/Low: 84 F (29 C); Humidity: 29%-52%

In a Vase: Largely Lantana

As August continues, the lantana comes into its own as one plant that continues to thrive and bloom even in this very dry summer.  I have used heads from three different plants: an unnamed white which I planted last spring, the deep-hued "Denver Red", and a classic noID orange/yellow that was growing behind the back patio when we moved in.

All three colors went into today's vase...

...along with a couple of sunflowers.

Please pardon the dark, grainy photos; these were taken outdoors as the sun set.

I am happy to be able to pick sunflowers again this week.  The larger one was cut from a stalk whose roots were partially heaved out of the soil during our wind/dust storm a week and a half ago.  Unable to stake it back up, I piled compost over the roots and have tried to keep it watered.  The stalk is still partially horizontal, but the buds are opening and turning up toward the sunlight.  Definitely these are sturdy plants!  The variety in this case is "Solar Eclipse".

As always, I am linking with Cathy's lovely meme at Rambling in the Garden.

Weather Diary: Fair: High: 109 F (43 C)/Low: 84 F (29 C); Humidity: 9%-31%

A Walk in the Desert

On Friday morning I took a small hike in the empty desert around our home.  It began as part of my annual quest to view wild cactus in bloom.  We've had a few rainy days and the wild fishhook cacti (Ferocactus sp.; I'm not very confident about identifying wild species and have given this one various names even here on the blog) usually begin to bloom as the monsoon rains provide a bit of moisture.  So I headed out, equipped with boots and camera, to check our nearest wild cactus.

So far, one bud has colored up but not opened.

Perhaps I have missed some earlier blooms?  This is quite a bit later than they have bloomed the last couple of summers.  This year has been very dry with little intermission from high heat, and even our recent rains have been scant.  Humidity has risen, but the soil is still quite dry.  The cactus is biding its time.

After seeing the cactus, I began paying more attention to what the other wild plants were doing in response to the weather.  Here is a look around.

When one thinks of desert plants, the succulents usually come to mind.  Cactus and agave plants store water in modified stems and leaves, respectively.  But our area is a lowland populated largely by small trees and shrubs (there is not much to distinguish the two as all are bushy and size is mostly a question of available water).   With these plants one of the most dramatic ways of coping with intense drought is leaf drop, which reduces moisture loss from leaf surfaces.  This year many of the drought-deciduous species are nearly or entirely without leaves.

Wild Palo Verde growing alongside our street

 This mechanism is sometimes offset by an ability to conduct photosynthesis through something other than leaves.  Here is a branch of Blue Palo Verde (Parkinsonia floridum), whose soft green bark carries on the task through the dry summer months.

Not so with the wolfberry below.   Yes, trust me, this plant is alive.  It looked like this last summer too!  Eventually it will leaf out again and bear its scruffy white flowers and red berries.  Again, I don't know what species of Lycium this is; there are at least three or four common in the Sonoran Desert, and I certainly don't know enough to ID it in this condition!

The very image of "drought-deciduous": Lycium and wild grasses...

With so few leaves around, the very thorny nature of the desert becomes more evident.

I have no idea what this shrub is, but here one can again see the pale green of the younger branches - and the nasty thorns, protecting a few miniscule leaves.

Other desert plants are much gentler.  This is Larrea tridentata (Creosote bush) in its spare, striped, summer elegance.

A few seedpods can be seen dangling from its branches.  The rain may yet bring out a light flush of yellow flowers, but I don't see any so far.

The leafiest plants are probably the mesquites (Prosopis velutina).  Though they can make sizeable trees, this one grows low and spreading.

It too, has dropped most of its canopy.

Two years ago, in response to record rainfall, the arroyo just beyond was lush, full of grasses and wildflowers.  This year the ground is bare, much like the higher ground all around.    Here is the view looking back toward our lot.

Most of our rainfall is expected during the winter months.  Native plants are well-adapted to dry summers.  But monsoon rains are normal, as I keep mentioning to the clouds as they sail over, leaving their precious moisture elsewhere.

Meantime, life in the dry lands goes on.

Bird's nest in cholla cactus

For more shots of the very well-protected bird's nest we found down in the arroyo, see my other blog at Journal of a Thousand Things.

Larrea tridentata (Creosote bush)

Weather Diary: Fair; High: 106 F (41 C); Low: 83 F (28 C); Humidity: 20%-56%