YELLOW IS THE COLOR OF THE MOMENT

Two weeks ago we had friends visiting from Denver. We were so excited to show them our wonderful desert home but disappointed that the lack of rain this year was making the desert look very drab and dowdy.  Usually the desert behind our house is a sea of yellow, at this time of year, with flowering brittle bush, Encelia farinosa. This year their leaves are brown and dried up living up to their name. I wish our friends had come a couple of weeks later, as following a brief shower and a cold front passing through, all the trees burst into bloom. Maybe the shower and drop in pressure had nothing to do with it and the flowering had more to do with daylight hours and the natural cycle of blooming. The Palo verde, mesquite and acacia are now putting on a magnificent show. Just driving down the road with the trees in flower and the backdrop of the mountains is the most magnificent sight. 

This is the  Palo Verde, Parkinsonia x Desert Museum, in our front garden. Regrettably this tree was overwatered by the previous occupants and has grown very large. We have had to do some canopy pruning as well as root pruning as the roots were bringing up our driveway in several places. We were also fearful of them making their way into our sewers system. But for all these negatives we love the tree for the filtered shade it provides for the plantings beneath its canopy. It is the sterile hybrid of three palo verde species, P. aculeata, P. microphyllum and P. florida. Its attributes are that it is thornless, fast growing, drought tolerant and attracts many pollinators.

When the flowers drop the ground is a carpet of yellow  

Below is another common spring bloomer, the mesquite, Prosopsis sp.  producing long pods later in the season. These are a favorite of the javelina and can also be ground to make a flour as the Hohokam  lived did many years ago. For all their messy nature the trees both stabilize and being a legume, improve the soil.

Above the sweet acacia, Vachellia farnesiana, The desert trees and shrubs are competing for who is the most fragrant. 

Other shrubs like the hop bush, Dodonaea viscose, are also blooming. These reseed quite readily and I have a couple which seeded in a perfect place among the rocks and which I intend to keep. Yesterday, I collected the papery winged fruits, with the intention of sowing some behind the house in what we now call the hinterland. 

This tree loves dry rocky slopes so will be quite at home. 

In my limited space areas damianita,  Chrysactinia mexicana, is very much at home in fast draining desert soils. It is extremely tolerant of heat and drought. If I had one complaint is that the yellow color is just a shade too bright. It germinates quickly from seed but bringing it to even childhood even under controlled conditions is very challenging. The wiry roots are thin and easily damaged. I have had success with only one plant. It makes thousands of seeds but never produces seedlings naturally. 

In truth I think I prefer the gently sprawling nature of the yellow evening primrose, Oenothera primiveris. It is planted along the edge of the walkway between two rosemary bushes. 

evening primrose

The first of the prickly pear blooms are opening. 

The barrel cactus make up for having the smallest of blooms by making a bold statement with their structure. 

Flowers on the Blue barrel cactus, Ferocactus glaucescens

The blooms are barely noticeable on the golden barrels, Echinocactus grusonii, but they leave behind dry prickly pods with small black seeds. I don't know what the conditions are for seedlings to grow but I never find any. The quail are very good foragers.

Next time I'll introduce you to the saguaro. There is much of interest to share.

WAITING 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 the ribs expanding to accommodate all it can drink. Other fish hook and mammillaria cactus will fill up and many of them will have a fall bloom. Other plants will bloom for a second time. Every opportunity is taken for reproduction. 

Monsoon season is typically anywhere between mid June and mid September. Among the gardening world there is much talk about the signs that the monsoon is imminent. One heard it is when the dew point stays above 50% for a certain number of days. She couldn't remember how many days. There has been more humidity recently and the AC fallout pipe shows evidence of that. Another said it was when the ants start to bring soil up out of the ground. They are certainly doing that.

 There was talk about hearing the cicadas and seeing more tarantula hawks and cicada killers. Are those tarantula holes I see on the ground. They are perfectly spherical and with no debris around them and appear over night. It would make sense that they need to exit the ground before the rains came.

When they first appear the ground around them is untouched so clearly they are exit holes. This one has been walked over multiple times so there is some disturbance. 

Another indication is when the mesquite pods begin to fall. It's happening everywhere. The ground has become very crunchy.

 

I'm not sure that the palo verde beetle looks like but someone believed their appearance was an indication of the coming rains.

And yet another said it was because her tortoise is moving around. For another it was the appearance of toads.

One gardener noticed a few buds on her Texas sage. Now there is one I am familiar with. There was always an argument in Texas as to whether the bloom predicted rain or came as a result of. For me it was the latter. But I can see why they might be starting to  bloom because every morning this week I have come back from my walk dripping. That is noticeable. The air has more moisture which is being pulled in by the increasing desert heat. When suddenly you notice changes surely that is an indication that something is brewing. For us desert dwellers lets hope it foretells the monsoon rains are shortly to arrive and we will all take in that distinctive smell of perichlor.