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.

I'M TINY BUT SO FRAGRANT

I ventured into the greenhouse yesterday. I just haven't had the energy or the inclination to go out there. Naturally, I was wondering what kind of horror story I would find. It is mostly overwintering cactus and succulents but a few plants which require watering, including the flat of narrow leaf zinnias I started from seed. There was a sweet fragrance on the air and I looked up to see a cactus I had planted in the spring had a tiny flower. It's a flower that needs to be at nose level to appreciate. The flowers are less fragile than the night blooming cereus.

I remember last year when the mother cactus flowered I was so disappointed in the color and size of the flowers expecting a bloom like the night blooming cereus. It does make up for that in fragrance though. The original plant was a small piece I found lying on the ground near my son's house in Arizona. I still haven't managed to identify it although I think it does belong to the cereus family. There were tiny ants on the flower feeding on the pollen or nectar.

UPDATE;Thanks to c kind reader the cactus has been identified as Myrtillocactus geometrizans.

This morning I spotted flowers on the pink jasmine, Jasminum polyanthum. 

It doesn't always have a good year because of late freezes. Located in a sheltered corner of the garden and protected on both sides by walls the plant can make it through light frosts of which we have had four this year but flowering so early really took me by surprise.
It's a large vine that really needs strict control. It will run along the ground sending down roots at every node. Periodic cutting down to the ground will keep it in check.
It was raining but I did just step out to get  photograph and drink in the fragrance. At least I a not missing the gene for smelling the fragrance of these two plants.
Maybe I'll get my gardening mojo back soon.

BACK TO THE BUSINESS OF GARDENING

I have been side-lined for the last couple of weeks by recovery from surgery. Something that was probably caused by all the time I have spent outdoors in the sun either gardening or hiking. I will be more cautious in future but let this be a warning. WEAR SUNSCREEN.
Even though it is February there is much to do cutting back and removing plants that didn't make it through several unexpected deep freezes.  Here is one plant that has been a star through all kinds of weather.

The large rosemary is planted out front by the side of the driveway. It has never been watered and has withstood drought, summer heat, hail and freezing temperatures. Yesterday it was blooming as it has never bloomed before and I even spotted a bee visiting one of the flowers.
On one of my non-gardening days I did the rounds of the nurseries. For a moment I thought that I might have missed spring as all were overflowing with spring bedding plants, grasses and vines. Of course I was tempted just as I was last year. Five pots of grape hyacinths at $1 a pot was easy. The patio table needs a little brightening. I still have the ones I saved from last year but they are making a slow start. Once in a while it is worth having someone else do the planting for you.

One plant I wasn't tempted to buy was a large pot of climbing jasmine, Jasminum polyanthum.

And this is why. I have had maybe 3 or 4 good years when the plant made a worthy bloom. Yes, the scent was heavenly but this is a vigorous vine forming a big tangle of finely cut leaves. This was cut to the ground last year! It roots easily and I don't doubt there will be a stray shoot somewhere that will try to make a comeback.

After cutting it back to the ground I used the pick axe to remove the root.

The question now is its replacement. Something which takes less work. I don't mind dieback in the winter if the plant performs well in the summer. Nor do I mind a bare trellis in the winter. I'm pondering on remaking the trellis so that it reaches to just above the weep screen. That way it is easier to get smaller vines started. This is a south facing exposure but sheltered from early morning and late evening sun by the wall of the house. Maybe I'll try a Mexican flame vine or even a clematis. I wish our nurseries carried better selections of clematis but I will be out looking for a summer bloomer this time.
The roses in the English garden are all pruned. It doesn't seem to make a difference how early we prune because they were already leafing out. I see a lot of weeding to be done. Last year I planted iris  around the bird bath. They seem a little slow to take.

The citrus are out of the potting shed. The Mexican lime still has fruit as do the lemons.

Some seedlings are outside to harden off. Some destined for the window box and planters others for the ground.

Brachyscome, Swan River daisy

10 week stocks

The grasses are all cut back and it will be a a waiting game to see if the ruby crystal grasses will return. If not there are plenty of Mexican feather grasses to take their place.
A cloudy, cool day is my favorite day for gardening so that is where I am heading right now. It's good to be out there again.

BRINGING FRAGRANCE INTO THE HOUSE

There are several ways to bring your garden fragrance into the house. The first is with cut flowers. Today I picked these white 'cheerfulness' jonquils. Their stems were battered down by strong winds yesterday so rather than try to prop them back up again I cut them and brought them inside. Their perfume reminds me of Easter when I was a child.

Their double white blooms with a touch of yellow in the center are intensely fragrant. Don't mix them with other cut flowers because their stems exude a substance which makes other flowers wilt.
But there is another way to bring the sweet smell of the garden into the house and that is to plant a fragrant vine by the door. This one, planted by the French door, is Jasminum polyanthum.

This vine, seen here on a trellis on a south facing wall, grows by twining itself around its own stems. It can grow as large as 25' but is easily controlled by pruning back after flowering. The flower buds are pink, hence its common name pink jasmine, opening to white. The first time I saw this vine was on the house we bought in Southern California. It was draping over the trellis outside the kitchen window. One day I came home and the whole vine was gone. The house had a zero lot line and the vine was growing on the other side of the wall in next door's garden. They had cut it down to the ground. I have done that myself before now and this year my plant will get a good pruning to bring it to a manageable size.

At my front door I grow Confederate jasmine, Trachelospermum jasminoides, sometimes called star jasmine. It's a few days away from flowering at the moment which is probably a good thing. When the fragrance from one plant has diminished another will take its place. This evergreen vine is growing on a north facing wall with a little shelter from the porch over the front door. It has been here for 12 years. One year it was severely damaged by a late freeze when the sap was starting to rise. That resulted in split bark and die back. Nevertheless after dead tissue was removed it began new growth. The flowers on this Confederate jasmine has a slight yellow tinge. There is also a pure white-flowered variety.

April 2010

Does fragrance waft into your house when you open the door? Both these plants can be grown in pots in cooler climates and overwintered indoors.