THE 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 only two pages to desert gardens. Clearly he knows what will and what won't grow here.

I did learn two major things which seemed to be directed at my new adventure in desert gardening. His mantra of the 3 Rs. Rocks, Restraint and Repetition. Let's see how I am doing. 

Rocks-I had 9. I knew I wanted more, even before I read his book. We have now collected from a local source over 36 decent sized which I have been using to create a rock garden. It may look a little bit currant bun at the moment but I am hoping plants will fill in and soften the look. They are not rocks I would have chosen but this is what we have. The expense of having someone bring in and place larger ones was beyond what we wanted to spend. These broken chunks of granite tend to be rather angular but surely I can soften their edges with plantings. 

 

 I am also thinking of giving them a diluted paint wash to help them blend in. I did that with some limestone ledge stones at my old garden. Then there is the 4" riprack and 1" stone mulch. We rented a UHaul for that job picking up a load at the stone yard. So far two UHaul rentals and two dusty stone yard visits. 

 

Restraint- I have always been known for that. At least from the money angle. I would buy 4" pots and only occasional gallons. But I think Jeff was referring to using a small palette of plants. Maybe I'm not so good at that but hope to manage this better in the desert. The odd large agave may look great as a statement plant but smaller ones look better when they are in groups.

Repetition-I'm been good at repeating some things-namely things that seed themselves or pup. But that was in Austin. I have lots of pups of A.americana and A.weberii but I would like something more exciting. I purchased 3 Agave "Blue glow" of which there were several already planted. I do worry a little that they will not like the full afternoon sun so I will probably protect them with some shade cloth through the first summer. I had hunted around for A. ovatifolia to no avail and then one day we visited Tucson Cactus and Koi and they had several. Sadly they were pock-marked from a hail storm that had passed through the area a few weeks ago. I was just going to buy one but David persuaded me to buy 3 at the discounted price. They are quite small but I know they will grow out of the damage if I treat them well.

                                                    A. ovatifolia "Frosty Blue"

 I had plans to put the second one on the other side of the front planting bed, beneath the large remaining A.weberii. Incidentally when I told a local nursery that these weberii did not have completely smooth edges he told me that almost all of the ones here were a cross between americana and weberii. They could give you a nasty gouge. On the spur of the moment I told David we should take it out. Within minutes I had cut off most of the leaves and he was there to do the final job. Now there was room to plant the A.ovatifolia. 

Of course I read too late his advice about taking out any current planting so as not to have to work around the plants and compromise the design. On the front walkway I couldn't bring myself to do that as the barrel and echinoeereus cactus were about to bloom. They looked too comfortable to mess with. 

 

I worked around them trying to create a drainage swale and mounding on either side, disturbing the cactus as little as possible. He was right of course. He also talked about bringing in soil to create the mounds. We did not. We used what we had. It's just desert sand which is fine for most of the desert plants that grow around us.

 

My garden is now a desert garden and I am surrounded by saguaro and barrel cactus at every turn and discovering the desert is not necessarily the place for all cactus and succulents. Some will withstand the baking summer sun but others demand shade if they are going to survive. I brought with me a large collection of cactus and succulents and herein lies the struggle. Clay pots were perfect for Austin. Not so in the desert. The air is so dry it sucks any moisture out of the pot. I find myself watering more frequently than in Austin. In my former home I would leave them for 6 weeks in the summer, under the shelter of a patio. They quickly responded to a little attention when I came home although they may never have been prize winners, bearing the scars of winter and summer damage. But here they are and I have been doing my best to make them feel at home. Some have been put in the ground. I brought 3 barrel cactus one of which I picked up in a neighborhood concrete wash in a subdivision in Phoenix. At first I thought it was growing in a crack in the concrete but was surprised to find it totally unattached. "I have a home for you" I also brought some agave- A. demettiana, variegata. My neighbor has one so they found a new home in the ground. Also an A. demettiana 'Joe Hoak' I may have to give all some frost protection in winter. I have planted a ladyfinger cactus, Echinocereus pentalophus, in the shade of the ironwood tree. 

I have moved them from one spot to another as the sun moved across the sky finally settling on a place down the North side of the house.  Until I discover the sun has found its way to that spot by the afternoon. So now the only place is under cover along the east facing patio or in the house. 

Most have flowered well this spring but it might be a struggle to keep them happy if we go away.  This cactus asks for little in the way of water or fertilizer and puts on a stunning show of blooms. The blooms last for several days.

                                                 Echinicereus pentalophus

This is not going to be as easy as I thought!

WAIT 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 areas and new plantings.

Sound advice but not for me. I will say I complained the first time I saw the house. "It's already planted. There is no gardening to do" How wrong I was. After moving in and taking a good look around I very quickly saw there was no time to lose. Most of the agave have reached a point where they need to be removed. So far we have removed 3. There are at least 3 more to remove. One monster, one large one and one smaller one at the back. If David thought he would never have to remove another agave after the tens he removed at our last house he was wrong. Thank goodness we kept the chain saw and the pick axes which I insisted on bringing.

Why would anyone plant an A. weberi so close to the fence? It had grown so big that growth of the Texas Mountain laurel planted next to it had been compromised.

I cut off the leaves and then called in the big guns to get out the root. 

Next to go, this monster. I have always thought A. weberii to be pretty innocuous as agave go but these ones have small teeth.

This time David didn't beat about the bush but got out the chain saw, making quick work of it. 

 

I have my eye on this spot to plant either a new calamondin or an satsuma tree. The shops are full of citrus at the moment so I shouldn't have a problem finding one.

I have begun work on making a retaining wall around the mound. Originally the area was piled up with rocks, which prevented us from walking down the side. Now with the soil retained further back I can use left over rocks to make a pathway. 

I am not 100% happy with the rock work but I must make do with what I have on hand and these angular lumps of granite are not as easy to work with as the flat limestone stones I have used in the past. Still I am hoping that succulents and cactus will soften the edges and find a happy home in the nooks and crannies.

After reorganizing the rocks beneath the roof scupper outfalls I will get a few bags of gravel from the local big box store to put down on the rest of the pathway and between the cracks.

 

There is more rock work to do here but I am making a list of plants that I hope to introduce to this part of the garden. Most are desert dwellers. On my list are,

Agave parryi, var, truncata, Artichoke agave,  Euphorbia resinifera Moroccan mound, Echinocereus triglochidiatus Claret cup, Echinocereus engelmannii Engelmanns hedgehog, Aloe x 'Blue elf', as well as many flowering perennials with which I am familiar like Melampodium leucanthum, Blackfoot daisy, Tetraneuris acaulis, Angelita daisy, Damianita and Berlandiera lyrata, chocolate flower.

Let the shopping begin.

YES, WE'VE GOT ROCKS BUT THEY ARE DIFFERENT

One 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 rooms in the house the tight spaces in my garden do not have these spectacular rocks. It was cleared for the building of the houses. The package of information from the builder specifies 10 boulders from onsite stockpile. I counted and we have exactly 10. Whomever was responsible for their placement clearly had no thought as to the best way to place them. He dotted them around the landscape, one here one there and lucky for us 2 in one place. Far better to have used them all at the front to make a really big statement. 

 I was lamenting this and what the possibility might be of getting more! I can't imagine the cost of getting someone to just bring in a few boulders and placing them, with me standing over them telling them which way they should go.

Now as it happens 2 of the 10 original boulders are serving no visual function at all. They are along the edge of the driveway, mostly hidden by overgrown bushes. How about relocating them, I suggest? And so using pieces of cardboard David moved the first rock end over end to finally get it into the place where I had dug the hole. 

 

Although it is not the perfect shape but I will tuck in cactus and other low growing plants to soften the angles.  I think it will work well. Plus we will try to procure another one to make it 3. 

That is what we did this week. But we could only manage rocks that would fit in the car. They are not super big so I will have to use my thinking cap as to how to manage and plant them for their best visual appeal. My plan is to tuck cactus in among the rocks as well as low growing desert bloomers.

But there are more rocks provided both as drainage and cover. 2-8" Coronado brown rock for drainage and 1/4" minus desert gold gravel.  In fact we have everything they specified. The 2-8" rip rap in abundance. Every scupper that drains from the roof must have an area of this rock to get water away from the house. 

 

The owners of dry creeks know that they eventually fill up with debris and blowing soil and must be cleaned out. We have 5 years worth. So I have begun to work on some areas pulling out all the rocks as well as some rather tired bushes. 

 

Maybe they would have surprised me come spring but honestly there was gross over planting followed by hacking. Out came two Baja ruellia, Ruellia pensularis, and after a lot of thought I cut the Cape honeysuckle, Tecomaria capensis, down to the ground. It took me two weeks to make the decision on the Tecomaria because I think it might bloom on old wood. We'll see what happens and if it survives.

 

There are 3 more,  planted beneath a Texas Olive, Cordia boissieri. David does not like the look of the tree, which is not at its best in winter. I remember this tree, outside the auditorium at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, which sadly was killed by last winter's freeze and removed. I also saw it down at the coast blooming with gorgeous white flowers. We shall see.

 When all was cleaned up and irrigation lines were marked the rocks were returned leaving a few planting places. I happen to have a couple of Agave demettiana, which may prefer this sheltered location as well as as a  A. Joe Hoak (as yet still in a pot). I am eyeing up this space for some smaller agave like Confederate rose, which is currently in a pot. We do get a little colder than down in the city so I am not sure if they would survive winter. 

Among the rocks I placed a few fossils I had had for many years but never quite had the right place for.

And who could resist a few spring bulbs. Every year Walmart sells 4" pots of these for a dollar. 

 I have begun a small collection of the rocks that show traces of copper. They will be used as a mulch in my hypertufa trough which house the paddle plants. They are not looking to attractive at present having been out of soil for some time.

 

The bird bath came from Texas with us and is holding a spot for something more colorful as is the A.weberi which I have left for structure for the time being. I feel sure it won't be there for too much longer.

Behind the agave are three crowded bushes one of which is to go and the others cut to the ground. I might then have a view of my neighbor's beautiful whale's tongue agave, Agave ovatifolia. I have not been able to find one here so a trip to Austin may be necessary.

THE CONSTANT EDITOR

I took advantage of a recent cloudy morning by going out in the garden with my Cobra head, my scissors, my pruners and the garbage can. Yes, pruning and removal day again. In a rock garden you should be able to appreciate the rocks and the only time you can do this in my sunken garden is in winter and early spring when most perennials are dormant. It is time for a rethink and renewal.

Early summer rains just made everything grow like weeds, and there are plenty of those. Even plants that would be great in another garden setting are no longer welcome. Plants like mealy blue sage, Salvia farinacia, and Ruellia sp. as well as fragrant mist flower, Eupatorium havanense. When this plant made its appearance a few years ago I was more than thrilled but it has pushed out the bee balm. It is now on the move again, almost covering the day lilies and somewhere behind is a yellow iris which only put out a few blooms this year. A big shout out for  something to be done. I am thinking I may just have to remove that mistflower.  I'm almost positive there are rocks under there too.
Mid-June the sunken garden was looking quite nice, although I had at this point already removed the spent annuals like Love-in-a -mist, Nigella damascena, poppies and  other spring annuals. The cone flowers, Echinacea purpurea, were in full swing but by mid July they were finished. Another task on my list unless I want them everywhere.


From one angle, on the other side of the wall in the English garden, the late July garden looks fine but I begin to see already that the Pride of Barbados, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, has already attained a size that may demand its removal before next year. Walking around the pool has become more difficult and having had that rather bad accident last year makes me very nervous about walking around there. Maybe a little chop back for now!

I have already removed all the plants in one area and have a plan to add a few more rocks before I soften the area with small plants. At the same time I will amend the soil which should help its moisture retaining ability.

And further along the wall there are Crocosmia sp. which have become  just a floppy mass. How to keep them upright I wonder. Less or more water. I remember my grandparents having these, they called them Monardia, in very sandy soil all the way along their driveway and they were very upstanding.

So I am on the hunt for hardy, small rock garden plants. Unlike English nurseries where the rock gardener would be sure of finding an area dedicated to rock garden plants, our nurseries have no such thing.Yes, they do have cactus and succulents in one area but there are plenty of other plants which could well be classified as being suitable for a rock garden. I guess there aren't enough of us with rock gardens.

The local nursery in the town where I grew up

When I visited the local nursery in the town in England where I grew up I was left drooling over all the different dianthus they had. I fear I might be a dianthus collector if I lived there. Dianthus do well here-or at least certain ones do and they are a favorite winter annual surviving sometimes for several years. But the selection is always disappointing.

So far I have been listing the plants that can take full sun and might be suitable for the 'new' rock garden.
Blackfoot daisy                                  Additions to the list from Deb Wilson
Square bud primrose                          Crag lily, Echeandia texensis
Germander                                         Hill Country penstemon
Dianthus                                             Evening primrose
Scabiosa
Achillea
Skullcaps
Alyssum
Sedums
Iceplant
Creeping phlox
Four nerve daisy
Leadwort plumbago
Thymes
Small iris species
Gulf coast penstemon

It will be a matter of balancing spring and winter bloomers. For those that are dormant at any time they must look presentable. I may be tempted to add species tulips and their seed heads are quite presentable even until the plant dies back.
Undoubtedly I will add to the list over time but I would like to try to keep the planting in this garden different from the other gardens which is not the easiest thing to do. I am open to suggestions for plants that do well in our Central Texas climate.

THERE'S A DRAGON IN THE GARDEN

There's a dragon in the garden and he's breathing his fiery breath over my plants.

The dragon was a chance find at an estate sale and as things are at the moment I thought he deserved a place over here.

Can it just be a 6 weeks ago that I was lamenting that 3" downpour on the day of the Fling visit to my garden. Since then we have been completely dry. While other gardeners were recently blessed with another 3" downpour, the storm passed to the north and left nothing here. My stock tanks are empty. This summer is wearing thin-wait a minute it isn't even summer yet. High nineties have been the order of the day for weeks now with a few 100s thrown in. The second flush of flowers, Monarda, Echinacea, Rudbeckia, day lilies have all had a pitifully short season this year. I'm sure I am partly to blame because the soil is poor and drip irrigation has minimal impact when it is so dry.

Who needs flowers anyway? Rocks look pretty good.

and there are plenty of the tough green plants.

The Liatris doesn't seem to need any additional water. In some places it is growing out of the rocks. It is growing everywhere in the front courtyard, having seeded freely, and will bloom with incredible purple spires in the fall........or will that be sooner this year.

Everything has gone quiet in the front courtyard. But that's OK. Less work for me.

Thank goodness for some very tough plants out in the front. These are the plants that manage without additional water although they may not look their absolute best.

And I have moved a few plants into the only shade I have in the side entry courtyard. Even cactus and succulents need a break and I shall be ready for one myself soon.

I have added a battery powered drip irrigation system in here for the summer to water a few plants that need a daily water when I can't be there to do it.

Including the asparagus fern by the garage door. Even the fish have moved into the shade.

There is rain in the forecast for this next week but then we know how that goes.