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High Places -Think Up
Most urban desert gardeners don't have to worry about wildlife munching their vegetation. Fenced in yards and well developed neighborhoods have encouraged or forced the indigenous wildlife to move elsewhere. Neighborhoods that still have natural desert and arroyos or are located on the city's fringes still face wildlife problems. Ground squirrels, rock squirrels, antelope squirrels, pack rats, cottontails, jack rabbits and javelina are all capable of munching a bunch. If you don't have some sort of fencing to keep the animals at bay then you need to rethink some of your gardening techniques.

In one issue of The Tucson Gardener the Observations section had a brief article describing the use of common electrical conduit mounted under the roof eaves for holding decorative hanging baskets. That high place is inaccessible to most blossom eating animals except for the occasional bird that takes a liking to flower blossoms. The hanging baskets have worked out so well they'll be replaced with either baskets of colorful coleus, portulaca or purslane come summer.

While admiring the blooming baskets under the eaves this desert gardener was struck by a rare gardening epiphany. A flat bare wall sat above the entrance to the house. The high wall was in such a location that a little color added to the top of the wall could enhance the appearance of the house. A step ladder and a long handled watering wand would be needed for watering the plants that rested on the wall.

Several heavy clay pots could have been used to hold plants but instead three plastic planters were used. They were heavy enough when filled with potting soil that they wouldn't blow off and each container could hold three or more bedding plants. Voila, a garden safe from marauding wildlife. If I had had other easily accessible walls I'd probably have more pots of plants located there.

A tall flat surface away from pesky javelina, rabbits and ground squirrels became a safe haven for petunias.
The baskets of hanging petunias are thriving in the hostile environment where the native wildlife looks for food in the unfenced desert garden.

High places can be an interesting place to grow container plants. Keep in mind you don't want the growing site so high off the ground that you have to go to a lot of trouble to water. However container grown cacti and succulents can go a long time without regular watering.

So next time you're wandering your garden and looking for a safe haven to grow your plants be sure to think up and look to the high places in your garden. (2000)