WHAT WINTER!

 Talk to a snowbird and they will tell you " We can't believe the weather. It has been so wonderful" Talk to a gardener and he or she may have a different story. Yes! we have had endless sunny days with short bouts of rain.  But this is January, February and March. This is when we enjoy some cooler days in the 60s. Not this year. Early on in the month we had two spells in the 80s and last week 90. The promise of a fabulous wildflower season faded along with the delicate blooms. Here are my pretty California poppies which I cast along the driveway. They came from a small packet of wildflower seeds I picked up at our local library seedbank. I had no idea what was in the packet so was delighted when these poppies grew. Their blooms are more delicate than those in the packets of seeds you can buy and only flower for a few days.

What does no winter do to our desert plants? The Texas olive did not lose its leaves and is already in full flower. The flowering spoilt only by leaves that were shredded by the hail event. I keep going around pulling off the old leaves. The only positive here is the reduction of the clean-up required when they all fall. Why did someone not tell me rocks were a problem under Texas Olives. 

A familiar waft of fragrance on the air in early February was the Texas Mountain laurel. With such a mild fall and winter an influx of the Genista moth caterpillars, which resulted in all the new growth being decimated means very few flowers. The trees themselves look very ratty and I am pondering whether to remove one of the 4 trees I have. The problem is they form a screen from next doors driveway. It almost seems like sacrilege to pull out such a  large tree (I saw one in a large pot at the nursery and it was $385) but it wouldn't be the first. I believe the prior occupants grew them as bushes which their landscapers regularly pruned so they never saw any blooms.  

Just a waft of fragrance is a positive this year because it won't  be competing with the fragrance on the pink jasmine, Jasminum polyanthum , which I much prefer. Their petals fade very quickly when the temperatures are in the high 80s so I don't expect its bloom to last much longer. When I open the patio doors in the guest bedroom the fragrance fills the whole house. 

And what is going on with the Photinia fraseri x 'Red Robin' The rapid unchecked growth of the new stems is a sure sign that it is far too comfortable. I have 3 of these plants that remain in a clump in the front garden. While this plant is not suitable for all climates and soils it seems to do very well inthe desert. No bugs or diseases as yet. I do have to cut it back every year or it will reach over 8" without a trim. One in the back garden I have trained into multi tree-form. There wasn't one perfect trunk for this experiment so I have allowed 3 to grow. 

Bougainvillea has always entered a  dormant period in prior years losing all its leaves. Not his year. It took a beating from the hail but promptly put out new growth and is now flowering. And this was the year I was going to get in there and give it some training to improve its structure. I really would like it to grow against the wall.

The pomegranate tree, Punica granatum, only lost a few of its leaves and quickly added more and even a few pomegranate flowers. I shall be eagerly watching to see which are male flowers and which are female (hermaphrodite). Most of the flowers were males last year so we only harvested 3 good pomegranates. Maybe year 4 will prove to be a bonus year with more females. It is easy to spot the difference as the females have a more bulls base and the males smaller. Male flowers tend to drop off fairly quickly. 

 The calamondin tree bloomed and set fruit all through the winter and is now putting on new growth but no new blooms. We had a nice crop of grapefruit and the tree is putting out new growth but no blooms. This Oro Blanco variety is one of the most sought-after of grapefruit varieties for its pale green, sweet flesh which lacks the sharp bitter taste of some grapefruit. It is a cross between a pommelo and white grapefruit and therefore has a thick skin. The lack of flowers may be caused by too much fertilizer or too much water. 

The Philippine violet, Barleria cristata, has not entered dormancy and still has all its leaves. I even noticed a small purple bud at the end of one branch. Planted in a rather shady spot underneath a Texas Mountain Laurel it is reaching across the fence to which I have tied it. I believe I was successful in striking a cutting in the fall which I will plant in a more favorable position. 

The Anacacho orchid tree, Anacacho lunarioides,  bloomed on the top branches several weeks ago and now the lower branches. It looks rather strange with the green spiky seed pods on the top. It is my "apple tree blossom" of the desert. 

Who knows what the year will hold in store. This week the temperatures will hit 105 before settling back down into the 80s. But the heat will have done its damage frying delicate spring blooms. It is far too early to be having summer. I fear the saguaro will not flower this year. We shall have to wait and see.

FINDING MY WAY BACK

 It has been a difficult few weeks since the hail event which knocked out every scrap of my desire to garden. It had been my habit for years to go out into the garden first thing and check everything out. I couldn't bear to look at the agave all the while trying to make a decision whether to pull. That, and to clean up all the leaves that were down; the anacacho orchid tree leaves burying the stone drainage channel along the garage wall and worse still the very fine leaves of the ironwood caught in among the rocks and cactus spines in the back garden. The promise of a heavy rain got me moving as I knew things would only get worse unless they were moved.

This tree is very fortunate because it got its leaves back in the form of a mulch. It is a very happy tree and blooms with the most spectacular bloom each spring. 

It certainly made me feel better to see the plants free of their burden of leaves. The fine leaves I collected I have been used for mulch around my peas and herbs ( raised pots).

But I think the thing that really got me going was joining the Tucson Cactus and Succulents Society. One of my neighbors has just taken up gardening and he was planning to go to their recent meeting.  He asked me to join him. I'm not much of a night driver these days and the meeting is held quite far away so I was more than happy to ride with him. What a crowd! They have over 1700 members, although I'm sure many are enthusiasts from places outside of Tucson. After the meeting and presentation they have a fun little raffle for plants, 6 chances for $5,  and I was lucky enough to win a 'totem pole' cactus, Lophorocereus schottii monstrose. Hardy to 14 degrees.

 As I plan to restrict my in-ground garden to only plants that can withstand the difficult Sonoran Desert climate it is perfect. And at the end of the meeting we each got to choose a small cactus to take home. Not so smart this time. 

Notocactus wariasii is only hardy to 40 degrees so is likely to be a candidate for pot culture. I brought a lovely clump of this plant from Austin, planted it in the garden and overnight it was eaten bu the javelina. Even with all those spines they were not deterred. 

And it did rain. We collected a full inch and my rain barrels were full to overflowing. The good winter rain may make for a good wildflower season. Already I hear the Anza Borrego Desert is blooming. We have booked a campsite for the beginning of March so fingers crossed it will be a big wildflower season for us in Oro Valley. 

Things are definitely looking up in my gardening world.