tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36364454087208052162024-03-15T16:28:42.399-07:00ROCK ROSELots of rocks and a few rosesRock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.comBlogger1230125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-14538233861666886582024-02-25T15:28:00.000-08:002024-02-25T15:28:26.421-08:00SURPRISE, SURPRISE I might have expected David to find something special for our 56th Wedding Anniversary, and he did. I walked into the guest bedroom and immediately spotted something new on the wall. A photograph, on canvas, that I had taken last summer while hiking in Idaho. It is the elephant head, little red elephant, Pedicuaris groenlandica.This sub-alpine plant blooms in mid summer and our timingRock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-4198667153794846892023-11-18T14:20:00.000-08:002023-11-18T14:20:00.603-08:00MY GREY WORLDIn 2021 we moved into a grey house. The previous owners loved grey both inside and out. Somehow I had to try to make it work with the things we brought with us taking the emphasis off the grey. Inside was one thing outside another. It would have been a huge undertaking to change the color of the house not to mention getting permission from the HOA review board! All the terracotta pots of Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-13061053125677079362023-10-27T13:59:00.002-07:002023-10-28T09:25:10.904-07:00Ah!! BREATHE. THE GOOD TIMES ARE HERE The weather has been a horrible tease this past few weeks. Those of us who live in the desert are anxious for those cool, clear desert mornings and warm afternoons to follow one of the hottest summers on record. We were blessed with a few cool mornings and high temperatures in the 80s and then right back into summer again. Thankfully those 100° days were short-lived and fall is here. I knowRock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-64208065604247404942023-10-20T15:08:00.001-07:002023-10-20T15:08:08.941-07:00THE GARDENS OF LE MANOIR D'EYRIGNACThis summer we spent a week in the village of Sarlat-la-Canéda, in the Perigord district of France. It was garden friend Helen Battersby who posted on Facebook of her brief visit to the village. Sarlat is a thriving medieval village and while it might be a little touristy it is still charming and close to the caves at Lascaux. A place I had longed to visit. Further research turned up a Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-36468063148000291392023-09-26T15:37:00.000-07:002023-09-26T15:37:45.391-07:00WAR I'm about to head into a full out and out war with the javelina. And to say I have few weapons would be an understatement. Javelinas or peccaries as they are sometimes known are not pigs or wild boar although they may have had a common ancestor, but they have common behaviors. They roam the desert fearing only the shotgun. Their only predators are the mountain lion or coyote who would Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-13241359774836655652023-09-10T11:31:00.001-07:002023-09-10T11:31:17.473-07:00THE GARDENS AT D' ÉTRETAT, NORMANDYIn May we found ourselves, once again, sailing into the port of Le Havre, France. On previous occasions we had toured the D Day beaches, and rented a car to visit Claude Monet's garden at Giverny and the town of Honfleur. This time our plan was to go to the gardens at D'Étretat just a few miles up the coast. Years ago it was easy to pick up a car in the port but Covid disrupted cruise travel and Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-15568789526053670842023-08-27T10:20:00.003-07:002023-08-27T10:20:35.391-07:00HOME FROM THE HILLSAfter 6 weeks away you can imagine I was a little nervous about how my garden would look. The summer monsoon had not materialized and temperatures had been unseasonably hot. Tales from the DBG in Phoenix told us of the saguaro suffocating in the unusually high night-time temperatures. We are a little higher in Oro Valley (3000') which makes us cooler by about 8° More than my fingers were crossed Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-36623205292325581882023-08-04T15:44:00.003-07:002023-08-04T15:44:57.592-07:00A STUNNING DISPLAY OF YELLOW LUPINSSixteen miles north of Ketchum, Idaho, we turned onto Baker Rd. The road is a dirt road which travels about 10 miles up the valley, climbing 1000' to the trail heads for Baker Lake and Osberg Ridgeline Trail. We have hiked Baker many times but this time we were to take the Osberg Trail. The hillsides here were changed dramatically 10 years ago when a major forest fire swept though here Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-37336723778010115112023-07-06T14:32:00.000-07:002023-07-06T14:32:02.580-07:00WAITING FOR THE MONSOON Every gardener in this part of the Sonoran desert is waiting for the monsoon to arrive. The summer monsoon is one reason why this part of the Sonoran desert is an arborescent desert. A desert with many small trees and larger cactus who benefit from both the summer and winter rains. These plants too are waiting. When the rains come the saguaro will take up huge amounts of water Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-50786998338644142402023-06-30T12:28:00.003-07:002023-06-30T12:28:41.687-07:00A DESERT BUFFET We are very fortunate to have right off our patio a beautiful saguaro. Because she has such well-placed arms and very few flaws we have called her Belle. She tells me when to get up as her shape appears through my bedroom window, as daylight arrives. &Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-9305800178990273782023-04-29T06:37:00.002-07:002023-04-29T06:37:27.466-07:00THE TEXAS OLIVEWhen we first moved into the house I was chatting with the neighbor and asked him if he knew what the large bushes were between our property. He didn't know the name but he did say they were filled with lovely white blooms during the summer. Little did I know that I was looking at Texas Olive trees. The only other Texas olive I had seen was at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-65612388879331884932023-04-10T12:37:00.000-07:002023-04-10T12:37:04.152-07:00FROM CLAY TO GREYThe stucco on our house is grey. The previous owner chose everything grey, inside and out. It would never have been my choice but the expense of changing it is not on the cards. Furthermore the house is very angular with large square pillars which support the patio. My clay pots no longer worked. We purchased several square pots which work well. They were 50% off which made them affordable.  Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-30043299273905357742023-03-29T15:46:00.005-07:002023-03-29T15:46:37.759-07:00FROM THE DESERT TO THE DESERT Part 1 An upcoming tour from Tohono Chul Garden to Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, to view spring wildflowers at the end of February, caught my attention. It has been a wet winter in the desert and a good wildflower season was expected. It seemed like the perfect time for a visit. It was a good time for a quick getaway with the trailer so I booked 6 nights at the campsite at the park for the Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-84683122653602557092023-03-18T17:22:00.000-07:002023-03-18T17:22:06.246-07:00HOME IS WHERE THE GARDEN ISWe recently returned home from a wonderful trip to Organ Pipe Cactus NP. It is only 3 hours away and we towed our trailer there, spending 6 nights. When it came time to leave I was wishing we could stay longer but then arriving back at our house I felt, for the first time, that this was coming home. There were many things I had been missing over the year but one of them was enthusiasm for writingRock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-46343178657983829292023-01-17T15:38:00.000-08:002023-01-17T15:38:03.347-08:00DAY 2 OF WET AND WILD IN THE DESERT I am remembering some stretches of wet and cold days in Austin when David would grumble about getting away. I asked him this morning how he was feeling about day 2 of wet and cold in the desert. He surprised me by not seeming to be bothered at all. The fact is that these days don't come along too often in winter and when they do our thoughts are filled with the increasing chances of having Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-24737710754075486102023-01-09T11:32:00.005-08:002023-01-09T11:32:53.586-08:00ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY AND BEYOND!What started out as a story at 9 months then 10 and 11 and finally...... we are here in the New Year and a month past the anniversary of the day we moved into the house in Oro Valley, Arizona. I think I may have asked David whether he wanted to carry me over the threshold. He declined.I was about to get a few hard lessons on desert gardening. But, they have not deterred me from trying to Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-47915766593615270292022-06-12T17:15:00.004-07:002022-06-12T17:15:43.804-07:00SHADE NATURAL OR OTHERWISEWhen we moved to the Sonoran Desert in December I had one thing on my mind. Now I can grow all those wonderful cactus and succulents in the ground. Not so fast. We live on the edge of the desert and when I walk out there I notice that there are a limited number of cactus growing and no agave. Only saguaros, fishhook, mammillaria and cholla. There are, however, lots of small trees and bushes and Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-59319066072271580192022-05-06T15:35:00.001-07:002022-05-07T08:08:09.355-07:00THE THREE Rs OF DESERT GARDENING I have been reading Jeff Moore's book. Under the Spell of Succulents. It is a wonderful book, beautifully illustrated and loaded with information. There is only one problem. Many of the gardens are in California- In my eyes the perfect climate for growing, well____ just about everything. It seems I squandered my 6 years in Southern California growing the wrong thing! Sadly he devotes Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-2052353894949889862022-04-03T16:09:00.005-07:002022-04-18T06:50:19.104-07:00ADDING MORE ROCKS AND NEW PLANTSIt is characteristic of me to be working in more than one place at the same time. A few weeks ago I turned by attention to the front of the house, abandoning some of the others areas I had been working on. The whole front needs a revamp which includes removing plants that have grown too big for the area. A huge A. weberi and two baja ruellia, Ruellia peninsularis. Baja ruellia, is a great plant, Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-29681050286226251462022-03-13T11:25:00.002-07:002022-03-13T11:25:11.039-07:00FAKE IS FINE....SOMETIMES I have had a few fake flowers and plants in my time but these days I am very selective in my choices. Gone are the days when I had the fake ficus in that dark corner. And gone is the lovely azalea basket. A friend once told me he was surprised at me for having such a thing. Me a gardener. They have some very fine metal agave in our neighborhood and the club house has a beautiful art Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-48005065899641100072022-03-02T13:52:00.000-08:002022-03-02T13:52:15.110-08:00WAIT A YEAR, THEY SAY I'm sure you have heard this piece of advice given when you move into a new house. Take the time to understand the passage of the sun through the year, mark the various micro climates around the garden. When the garden is already planted watch through each of the seasons as plants come and go. Catalogue which plants you have, which will stay and which will go. All the while planning new Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-82657359155066202452022-02-13T14:41:00.003-08:002022-02-13T14:41:39.991-08:00YES, WE'VE GOT ROCKS BUT THEY ARE DIFFERENTOne of the things that attracted us to this area of Tucson was the rocks. How can you possibly go wrong when the desert scene is offset by rocks. You can't. The area is stunningly beautiful with tall graceful saguaros taking center stage and with smaller cactus and other desert dwellers interspersed among the towering piles of rocks. Although I can enjoy this scene from most Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-27593632867503409572022-01-26T14:00:00.003-08:002022-01-26T14:00:31.588-08:00NUTS AND BOLTS OF A NEW GARDEN We are trying to get an understanding of some very important aspects of our garden, which are essential to a successful desert garden. Namely the irrigation and drainage. Not a very exciting topic, I'm sure you will agree, and will probably be of little interest unless you too are facing a new old garden. I am writing it as a reminder for my future forgetfulness. In a desert garden, Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-47801756923084551632022-01-17T16:07:00.001-08:002022-01-17T16:07:39.706-08:00THE STOCKERS TAKE STOCK Moving to a new garden is no piece of cake. Unless maybe it is your first and comes already made. Such was the case when we bought our first house in 1972 in Beaconsfield, Quebec, Canada. It came with lawns, fruit trees, a Russian olive, a weeping willow, lilac, spring bulbs, iris and a rockery. What more could a newbie gardener wish for. I did tinker with it adding a veg. garden and fruit Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636445408720805216.post-2268677246240647182021-12-12T09:46:00.002-08:002021-12-12T09:47:51.590-08:00PART 2 THE PLANTS ARRIVE The drive took full 2 days as we could only travel at 55 mph. We also took a different route deciding to go via Carlsbad NM which is exactly half way. It meant that we did not have to travel on I10 which has become increasingly busy in recent months. Plus there is no halfway place with a good hotel.We're all loaded up and raring to go. Fortunately the morning was bright and clear and the Rock rose http://www.blogger.com/profile/00348711150803587369noreply@blogger.com9