NUTS 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, even one with cactus and succulents, some irrigation will be necessary, especially with new plantings. And with monsoon rains which come in the summer, there had better be a way to get water out of here. If only we could capture it. It will only be possible to do so in small quantities as we just don't have the space for large tanks. Nor would our close neighbors appreciate their presence. We may put in one small rain barrel (wishing I had brought mine with me). 

We began by trying to understand the outside system of pipes which include a water softener and multiple pipes and shut-off valves. We now have an understanding that our irrigation system is run on hard water (relief) but not the outside faucets that come from the house. There is one faucet on this pipe work which is before the water softener which will be useful for watering by hand. 

 

Everyone had been saying that i would eventually kill all my plants if I used the softened water. Apparently using potassium rather than sodium to soften the water would be better for both people and plants. We will look into that.

We also learned that the large pipe going into the house is for our in-house sprinker system. We have never had one of those before but they are required here. Fortunately they are unobtrusive flat discs in the ceiling. 

The previous owners were taking no chance and put in a reverse osmosis system under the kitchen sink. I have never bought bottled water as we did have filters on our drinking water in the last house but I guess now we are triple protected.  

Our attention now turned to the irrigation system which had been coming on every day, dripping for short periods multiple times. Finally, after some heavy rain, I said let's just shut it off for now until we understand all the drips. So many of them had no plant anywhere near them so I capped a number, and others had clearly been chewed by varmints. When we finally got around to checking which program was linked to which drips we discovered that most of the buttons on the main control box were not working! So we had to replace the front panel. Very quickly and efficiently done on line but still quite expensive. We now have a working system but must investigate the best way to irrigate for soaking. The soil is basically desert soil. And finally we must check out all those drip lines to find which work, which don't and which are redundant. 

This must be the way commercial companies install install their irrigation lines, possibly as a protective mechanism against rodents who like to chew them to get at water. It was prevent leaks.

Most of the roof is flat and water comes off by way of scuppers. When we had a rain 2 weeks ago we discovered one of the scuppers was causing a problem. The water splashing down on a decorative overhead was being deflected to the patio door and finding its way into the house. So we deemed the solution to be extending the scupper further out. It has been ordered and David will attempt to install it. We had to buy a new ladder as David sold all the ones we had before we left!

Rain from multiple scuppers around the house either drops directly onto the paving or rocks which feed into drains. That was the next job. Over time the wet weather drainage system has filled up with sand and is not flowing well.

We investigated the 4 large grids, two at the back of the house and two down the side. They had standing water which we will have to watch closely and keep fed with mosquito dunks. David used a hose to determine what was going on and where the water was coming out. Suddenly water started coming out at the bottom of the driveway running into the street. A neighbor came over to warn us that we might have a leak! 

So this is the boring but necessary investigation we have been working on. Although I have instructed the removal of a large agave and also a little leaf Cordia, Cordia parvifolia, which was hampering our passage down the side of the garage. The information that came from the landscaper says little or no pruning necessary on this beautiful evergreen shrub. The one we removed had been horribly hacked and was in terrible shape. I think I can find a better replacement. Then I discovered an Anacacho orchid tree, Bauhinia lunarioides, poor thing. It was fighting for its life beneath a Texas Olive,  Cordia boissieri, A tree hacked into a shrub. Shame on you landscape designers for your thoughtless plantings.

THE 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 bushes and a post and rail fence.  Fast forward nearly 50 years with 6 more gardens under my belt, none of which came with so much as a blade of grass, to December 2021 when we purchased, what we expect to be our final house, in the Sonoran desert of Oro Valley, Arizona. The much smaller house on a very small lot is already landscaped and to a non-gardener might be considered complete. 

The builder was very generous with the plants which was clearly required by the association to make sure properties were pleasing to the eye. Even to installing lights and drip irrigation. It would appear the original owners added more plants to the plan although many have been lost. Javelina, rabbits, rats, mice and lack of care may be to blame. Or was it just over planting? If they had just waited, but you know how that goes. They left me the plans which are very helpful in identifying a few of the plants I am not familiar with.  

 

Then, there were additional plans with more plants added. I have no idea how many were in the final installation but it is clear that many are missing like S. greggii and gaura. 

I was incredibly excited to find quite a number of Agave "Blue Glow" and Anacacho orchid trees, Texas mountain laurel and a number of Mexican olive trees. Now I learn the latter are rather messy as their brown leaves hold even through winter and I will need to remove the fruits so we don't encourage rats.

 

And several Agave Victoriae reginae. I brought Brer rabbit with me and he seems happy in his new home. He was a housewarming gift 22 years ago when we built our last house.

There are more large A. weberi that I need. Already past their prime. We have already begun removing some of the lowers leaves becasue they provide a good hangout for mice and rats.

 And we are not making a pineapple out of this one but slowly removing the leaves with each trash day! It will finally be removed and as yet I don't have plans for what will be there. Maybe a Whales tongue, A. ovatifolia. There are a number of pups which I will likely use to replaced other outgrown agave.

Oh! and there are quite a lot of red tip photinia. That was a no-no in Austin so not quite sure how conditions might differ here. They look healthy. I suspect they are the builders standard plant which grows quickly is evergreen and wows with those red tips.

There are a number of bushes I am not familiar with and frankly most of them will have to come out or at least be cut down to the ground as they are growing into other bushes.They have been miserably hacked by the landscapers to keep them under control-with a blunt pair of sheers. It is sad to see the Texas mountain laurel treated in this way as well as a number of Anacacho orchid trees. Only one has been allowed to take a tree form and then a small one shows promise of making it to adulthood. 

At first glance I remember thinking there wasn't much gardening to be done but a second glance has told me otherwise. I have been scanning local landscapes for which plants will work best here. Once again much will depend on micro climates and visiting wildlife. Although our property is fenced on 3 sides we intend to complete the fencing. It may keep javelinas away but not rabbits. 

This weekend we got to grips with some drainage we needed to understand and the irrigation system. We have had to order a new control box as most of the buttons weren't working. What was that David was thinking about not having to do such things! We also removed the Mediterranean fan palm(what a brute) and I planted an Agave desmettiana I brought with me. It feels good to get my hands in the dirt although I'm not sure I would call it that. It's basically just gritty sand. 

Maybe I will get to a nursery this week.

PART 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 weather remained favorable the whole way. Driving in wet conditions would not have been easy. But there are a few disadvantages ot the sun beating in through the window. We decided to buy some window screens which should be better than trying to secure a piece of paper in the window. We joked about the old saying of the wealthy going out to India and China years ago. POSH. Port out starboard home. No AC on ships back then.

Of course we saw plenty of cotton and plenty of oil and the two seem to survive hand in hand. I didn't manage to get a wind farm with oil and cotton in the same shot  but there were plenty of those especially around Big Spring. I remember reading how the early settlers were nearly driven crazy by the wind.

 The cotton is no longer picked by hand but bailed ready for transportation to the gin.

 My ancestors were in the cotton business but not this end. Some had cotton and bleaching mills in Lancashire where the climate was perfect for spinning. Some were spinners, some weavers, some carders and one was a designer in a calico print factory. Those that owned the mills (the part of the family that made all the money) actually came to America to source their cotton arriving in New Orleans before the civil war. 

We had planned our journey to coincide with closing on the house early Wednesday morning at 8:30 am The transaction was recorded by 9:30am and by 10:30 we were meeting our realtor at the entrance to the community where they were busy setting up the seasonal decorations.

 It was just by chance that we had saved the balls that decorated our agave a year ago. There were no longer any agave to decorate in the old garden but I have plenty in the new garden-at least for now! It will just be a matter of finding the box among hundreds still to come.

Reversing the trailer up the tight driveway took some doing because there is a hill and a bend and a Palo Verde tree which arches over the driveway. After several tries David succeeded. 

But before we began we were given the key of the door. I joked about David carrying me over the threshold or maybe he would prefer to put me on the dolly! In the end we just opted for a photo.

I was both nervous and anxious. After all I had only been in the house one time a month before, at which time I had already crossed the house off my list for not having enough garden and for being a little dark inside. It was only when we came home that David persuaded me that we should make an offer. I relented and when we had a contract he went with our son to the inspection. It was much better seeing the house empty. I walked around and then made a beeline out to the back garden or should I say patio. For the time being I will not reveal what is there as there isn't a lot to show. Back to emptying the trailer. We needed to return it before the 5 day limit was up. We brought two large pots to put either side of the garage door. Both traveled well as did the citrus, only shedding 2 lemons. They have taken up a temporary home on the end of the driveway.

 All the boxes were unloaded into the garage. By the time we had finished we counted 40 in all. We began to open them taking the plants out to the patio at the back. The patio faces east so they will get the morning sun during our absence. Then we knocked down the boxes to take back to Austin for the final move.

 We had sold all our patio furniture so we asked the sellers if they were interested in selling theirs. We had some concerns that with the back log of supplies we would be left with nothing to sit on during the winter months. It was a boon because we had our morning coffee and then our lunch out there. 

 

 

The patio has such a beautiful view that it was hard to get back to work. We just had two days to get all the boxes open and everything moved. And to get set up with wifi access. That took longer than anticipated as we were also trying to set up the TV in the living room which we had also purchased. We are so used to using rabbit ears for local stations that what appeared on the TV was totally alien to us. The TV is far too smart and big for us and we will welcome Nick coming down to help up out with technology. But, we had internet and that matters more to me than anything. I took the following morning off and played bridge on line. 

And then it was back the 900 miles to Austin. As we pulled out of the driveway a rabbit ran right in front of us and down the side of the house! At least it wasn't a javelina, pack rat or a Gila monster. They will be round according to the neighbor. Will there be anything left when we get back I wonder. I have certainly left them some juicy things to eat. Desert life will be as much of a challenge as gardening in Austin.

Stay tuned for part 3 in which I discover all my plants, their names and look at the original landscape plans for the house. There is much to discover.

PART 1 LOADING THE PLANTS.

You didn't think I was going to leave all my plants behind, did you? It would be far too traumatic to leave everything. After all I am leaving my friends, house, garden, city and way of life for 27 years. I'm taking my potted plants with me and as you may have discovered the movers will not take plants. We have to take them ourselves and in a week's time we will be back for the real move. So this morning David pulled a U Haul into the apartment complex, reversing it into a spot just as close to the pathway to our door as possible.

I am going to take this advert on the side of the trailer as a good omen. Yes, we are setting out on a big adventure.

I have been busy all week packing the plants into boxes, But first of all I made sure there were no hitch-hikers. I examined everything closely for signs of scale and mealy bugs, giving them a spray of 70% alcohol. These little bottles you can pick up at the drug store are very handy for the job. 

Some plants got the festive treatment. This seedling Philippine violet, which sprouted after days of freezing temperatures and ice last year, may not survive the summer in Tucson but I will give it my best shot.

Some of the plants went side-on in the box and I needed to secure the gravel in the top of the pot.

We are on the ground floor. You might guess that after weeks of clear blue skies today it is raining, so between showers David began the job of loading the first group of plants. We are on a tight schedule as tomorrow we go over to my old neighbor's house to pick up the last of the plants and a couple of pots. 

I'm the one who read the instructions on the U Haul which say pack 60% to back and 40% to front. I fretted on the side line about getting that right as some of those boxes are very heavy. David assures me it will be. The test will be the open road. For the first time we will not take I 10 because we are tired of the truck traffic on that road. Instead we will go via New Mexico stopping the night in Carlsbad, which is exactly half way. We have driven that way before towing the Airstream so it shouldn't be a problem. Slow and steady will be our motto. 

At breakfast this morning I reminded David that there has only been one other time we pulled a U Haul and that was in March1969 when we relocated from Austin to Brockville, Ontario, with all our worldly goods. Our towing vehicle was our 1953 Chevrolet which had no heat and no AC. I was in the early stages of pregnancy and not feeling too well. We had been living in a furnished rental apartment so had no furniture. Just a small TV, record player, a portable tape deck, my sewing machine, a stack of records, two little tables we picked up at a garage sale, a few dishes and cooking pots and bedding. No plants.

 When we got into New York State we were stopped by the police because the U Haul sticker was out of date! 

Please note that David is wearing a suit!

So here we have the first U Haul trip and hopefully the last. Wish us luck.

WE HAVE A HOUSE IN THE DESERT

I have been pondering for days what to write about moving to a new house, in a new town with a new garden. For that is exactly what we, in our late 70s, are doing.  Lots of friends are calling us brave. Some say they will never leave the house they have. Did we have a choice? We had talked about it for years and then suddenly on the spur of the moment we called in a realtor. That set the whole thing in motion and before we knew it, with no decisions made about where we were going to go, we were out of the house we had lived in and the garden we had created over a 21 years time period.

                                                                     The sunken garden in Austin

Our original thoughts were to move to the Phoenix area and then driving back from there in April we spent a few days in Tucson. We fell in love with the area, the surrounding mountains and desert scenery, and decided that is where we would look for a new home. A house like this with a garden like this would be my dream house and garden. Of course, this one was not for sale.

       

It has not been easy. Over the last month we have put offers in on 3 houses, pulling out from each of them for various reasons. Surely it would be third time lucky. The house had everything. It had a Southwest exterior, a very modern interior and just enough garden for me. We offered sight unseen although our realtor did a video walk- through. Our offer was accepted and we made plans to attend the inspection. After seeing the property, and hearing some of the things in the inspection report we withdrew our offer. Thank goodness we had gone to the inspection. I suggest this is something everyone do and keep your eyes well open. Most of the times inspections bring up minor things which can easily be fixed but for us there were clear indications of a very poor build with poor contractors and the drainage issues that would have been incredibly costly to resolve. We felt relieved that we had not lost our earnest money.

On the rebound, we went to look at another house we had rejected from photographs because it just didn't have enough garden. My realtor told me that most houses that people buy will tick 7 out of 10 of the things they were looking for. Yes, I was aware that finding a 10 would be difficult having come from a 10 out of 10. I'm not sure where this one was on the scale but I believe it is well below 7. The biggest issues were the small amount of garden surrounding the house which left only a modest amount of gardening opportunity and the house was quite dark by my standards. The owners had had the windows tinted. I dreamed of having a white modern kitchen-this one was modern but darker than I had hoped for. We left for home and over the next few days David mentioned the house several times saying he thought we should buy it. He is not as fussy about the light and garden as I am. He was not happy living in the apartment and wanted to get on with his life. I had to think long and hard about whether I could be happy there. As a part of that I began to convince myself that I was being silly about the amount of gardening. After all my age was against me and we had already decided it was time to make a change in that direction. Desert gardening would not be quite so intensive and there were things I could do, some changes I could make to the plants already there. I have already come to love cactus and succulents and many of my potted plants would welcome being planted in the ground. David ascertained that the window tinting could be removed if we felt it necessary and maybe we would soon realize that we needed it. After all we have no first hand knowledge of the desert except for short summer forays to stay in Phoenix with our son. The good thing about this area is that it is slightly cooler than the desert level as it is at about 3000' That was definitely one of the attractions of the area even though it is subject to some frosts in the winter. We would have plenty of hiking opportunities including the Catalina Mountains and Mount Lemmon which is 9000' On a summer's day the temperature among the pines up there is 30° cooler than the desert floor.

Every house that we had placed an offer on had a view and whereas that had never been something on our list it now became important. To make up for the lack of garden behind our house there was a view with a towering saguaro on one side. We decided to put in an offer which we held firm on and they accepted. David flew out on Sunday and along with our son attended the inspection. All went well and save for a few small repairs the house had a clean bill of health. 

                                                                  The view

 The fence is interesting being made of what looks like corten steel. It is not something I have seen before but is very attractive and doesn't block the view. It continues around the house on three sides and should keep the javelinas out! There may be no deer in the area but there are certainly plenty of desert critters. I know pack rats can be a problem. Will they eat my plants I wonder? I am going to have a whole new garden experience. 

                                                       My first project will be the front elevation

My plan is to completely redo this area at the front of the house, removing the bushes along the side and the large agave. I will need to research the choice of plants I can use in this area, which has a westerly exposure. The last time we bought a resale was in 1981 in California when we ripped out all the paving, making new pathways and removing the snail infested dichondra. This should be a relatively easy job as the hardscape will stay. Because I had no thought in my mind that this would be the house we would buy I paid little attention to other areas of garden I might improve. It will be a complete surprise. We close on the house December 1st and expect to be in there before Christmas. Which reminds me of the Christmas balls we decorated our Austin agave with 2 years ago. When we lost them all I had no idea what I was going to do with them, now I know-at least for a little while!

TRAILS AND WILDFLOWERS ON OUR DOOR STEP

We were aware that there were trails on the land between Tecoma Trail and Mirador but I had no idea how unspoilt they were, with more flowers blooming there than any other well-traveled trails I have been on in the Austin area. David had ventured down the bike trails which criss-cross both sides of the steeply wooded ravines that eventually drain the land into Barton Creek. When he came back with tales of beautiful pink flowers my ears perked up. The following day I joined him. 

 Too late in the year for the pink evening primrose I was trying to decide what they might be. Two fall blooming flowers sprang to mind.. Agalinis and palafox. I had seen both of these in my own wild spaces. Only about a mile away as the crow flies these were the more than likely candidates and it was the right time of year

I was right on both counts. All along the edge of the upper trail grew clouds of Agalinis purpurea, interspersed with dwarf Palafoxia texana but there are many other flowers growing there. Plateau golden eye, Viguiera dentata, blackfoot daisies, Melampodium leucanthum, Maximillian sunflowers, Helianthus maximiliani,Whitlow wort, Paronychia virginica, and liatris, Liatris,  Liatris mucronata.

 

I came so close to this roadrunner on the trail. I moved closer and closer and he was not going to move. I began to think he was harmed in some way but eventually he ran off in front of us. 

At one time an unpaved ranch road ran along the top of the escarpment giving way to a single trail which in many places branched off down into the ravine. David has explored many of these trails that head down into the ravine and I have now joined him. He will wander down any trail without knowing where it is going. I, on the other hand, am more cautious not wanting to get lost in there.

Hiking poles are really a great help as many areas are slippery and quite steep. I don't know who made the trails but we believe mountain bikers might have improved many of the original trails made by cattle.

At one point David points with his pole telling me that is where we are going. It looks miles away! He has a much better sense of direction than I and walking the trail it is almost impossible to believe that you have that you have reached the other side without being aware of having gone around in a half circle.

On subsequent days we went deeper and deeper into the area and at one point came across this. Someone has been very busy creating a ramp to make sure their bike made it around the corner instead of heading over the edge of the ravine.

We have yet to make it right down to the bottom where the wet weather creek would flow. There is no trail along the creek bottom which eventually passes over Lost Creek Blvd. Once many years ago we did walk an area on the other side of this creek and found a rusted out Volkswagen vehicle abandoned on the top. I wonder if it is still there. I know there are plans to eventually develop that area above Barton Creek and someone will probably end  up with that vehicle in their back garden. For now we can enjoy the flowers and the trails without having to get in the car and drive somewhere. What could be more perfect.

Alas! Our time will be short here. In December we will move to a house in Oro Valley, Arizona, and a new chapter in our life. It will be a whole new gardening adventure.

THE NEW PAD

When it comes to the garden that is exactly what it is, a pad of concrete on which I will garden for the next few months. It is a new experience for me and I am 'digging in ' with the enthusiasm of a die-hard gardener. Years ago, as I steadily added more cactus and succulents to my collection, I realized that my future probably held more of this kind of gardening, be it on a patio or in the desert itself. My cactus should be happy because now I can give them my undivided attention. I'll try not to over-water! 

 

They had a respite over at a neighbor's house. Some were under a car port some were under a persimmon tree where they were rained on during a deluge and then had leaves and dirt blown over them by a gas blower! One was blown out of its pot and across the driveway where my neighbor found it. Of course I told her not to worry as I apologized for landing her with so many plants. She is now taking quite an interest in growing succulents as she has been privy to several of mine flowering.  This one today, Stapelia gigantea.

 I told her how it attracts flies to its rotten meat smell and as soon as I see a fly has visited and laid eggs, witnessed by the small white wiggling larvae, it's time for me to snip it off and put it in a bag and dispose of it.

I also have one blooming over here but it is rather different. Not so showy but certainly very stinky. David was standing on the grass about 12' away when he said he could smell a foul smell. Is it dog poo, I asked, because everyone here has dogs and sometimes two, and most of them get a short walk to the grass while their owner checks their cell phone. We see it all the time. Once in the morning and once after work! 

 This is my stinky bloom, Stapelia leendertziae, black bells. It comes from Tanzania and Northeastern South Africa. To us its smell is vile but to the blow fly it smells like rotting meat and although it may be disappointed at not finding a dead rat it is a good place to lay its eggs. A stem was given me by a friend who had visited the area and I waited patiently for many years for it to produce a bloom. I will admit that I was mildly disappointed in the bloom but if it was the smell I was interested in there would be no disappointment whatsoever. It is much stinkier than the gigantea. Having learnt that it grows low to the ground I decided to put the pot on the ground so the flower would be turned up. As I put it down a fly flew out and a huge waft of foul odor reached my nostrils. That was it. Off with its head and in the bin.

 The patio has a wider section off the dining room doors and then this narrower section, which I have yet to fill with plants. We sold all our teak patio furniture at a consignments store  keeping only this small green plastic table and chairs and a couple of small teak chairs. We may be sorry some day in the not too distant future when we try to replace them and find the tremendous back-log of container ships goes on well into the future.

 I also managed to find a couple of pieces of metal art which I was able to fasten to the railing. Glad I kept those little green grocery store ties. They came in handy.

In the corner by the little table there is a shaded spot perfect for the house plants. 

It makes me feel more at home to have my plants around me. More to be added this weekend. Meanwhile back to the boxes.