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A Bit Anxious
As March rolls into town gardeners get a bit restless because it won't be long before the chance of frosty nights is gone and desert gardens start to make their annual transition to renewed growth. Signs of last December's hard freeze begin to fade as frost damaged plants start to grow. It's time to put winter behind us and think of the spring ahead.

In my garden I hurried spring a bit and did some winter damage pruning in February cutting plants down to visible new growth. I cleared the greenhouse and moved plants outside in hopes there'd be no more freezing nights and kept an eye on the weather reports. When temperatures in the mid thirties returned, I gambled with many frost sensitive plants and moved only the tomatoes and summer squash back into the greenhouse to guarantee their survival.

To get an early start on tomatoes and summer squash the young plants had to be protected from cold nights. The plants will start going into the vegetable garden near the end of March.
This cold sensitive lettuce leaf basil stayed in the greenhouse where it was protected from cold February nights.

Most of my lettuce bolted during February and I moved the plants to the compost pile. With all the floating row covers I use to protect my crops from birds and other wildlife it's hard to tell what the plants are doing unless I look under the covers every couple of days. As it is I'm lucky to check on growth once a week or when I harvest plants. I have a trellis of snow peas but I don't dare leave them uncovered or the quail will reap the rewards. The same goes for the parsley and Swiss chard which rodents and many birds seem to favor.

Snow pea.
Bright Lights Swiss chard and curly parsley are uncovered for a taste of winter sunshine.

I'd like to remove the row covers for the rest of the season because it's being destroyed by the ground squirrels that chew holes in the soft fabric and haul small pieces to their nests. I like to get at least two years from the row covers but the squirrels were so active in late February I'll have to discard the majority of the material. Planning ahead I've purchased a 500 foot roll of the light weight row cover material which should cover my winter gardens for many years to come.

Smart Bunny?
Cottontail rabbits can be a nuisance in the desert garden when they nibble on nearly everything green. They've whittled many of my plants and flowers down to non existent and have taken a good portion of my garden budget because of all the fencing I've had to purchase over the years in an attempt to keep the little fellows away from maturing plants. I've had success and failures where the rabbits burrow under the barriers unwilling to pass up a tasty meal.

I'm not terribly fond of rabbits but I do enjoy watching them at play and feel fortunate when I come across some of their young with the telltale white spot on the top of their head. Once I even made friends with a cottontail rabbit because it had a fondness for Sweet Million cherry tomatoes and I was in the habit of feeding it whenever it showed up for a handout.

I've also found many a rabbit remnant where something, whether dog, cat, coyote, bobcat or hawk had fed on one of the creatures. Often what remains is a paw or the little white puff that was once the rabbit's tail. They do serve a purpose as one of the low creatures on nature's totem pole. Whatever the case I've never considered them to be all that bright - they've certainly never understood "get the heck out of my garden" even when I've tossed a small stone in their direction for added emphasis.

Good location? This cottontail, with nest directly to her right either liked the soft desert soil or felt the surrounding chicken wire would offer protection from predators.

Recently I watched a rabbit work for several hours as it constructed a burrow in the wide open but at the same time seemed like a fairly protected location. Whether the rabbit picked the spot because the soil was easy to dig or because the surrounding fence offered protection is debatable. The rabbit certainly had to work to get its self under the fence as it ran back an forth gathering acacia seed pods and other plant material to line the nest. I hope I'm watching when the young rabbits emerge from the now covered rabbit burrow.

Enjoy What's in the Garden Now
Many desert gardens begin to change in March as their appearance takes on a new look whether it's from new plant growth or the ambitious gardener that adds new plants to the landscape. Winter annuals planted last fall should be reaching their peak appearance and need to be enjoyed now before we get to eager to gear up for the summer ahead. Sometimes I get too anxious to replace some of my bedding plants and winter vegetables with new arrivals in the nursery or what I've started from seed the past two months. By doing so I neglect what's already blooming in the garden.

Raspberry Parfait Dianthus and Sweet Alyssum an early March garden.
Pots of Dianthus, Petunias, Violas, Pansies and Dusty Miller.

Often I'm more anxious to see that first wildflower or tomato blossom than I am willing to enjoy a colorful clay pot of blooming pansies or cascading petunias.

This March I'm going to slow the transition and enjoy what I already have in the garden. Spring will arrive soon enough along with warmer temperatures. With the warmer temperatures comes more watering and with more plant growth comes more plant maintenance. Winter slows the garden while the rest of the world continues at its hectic pace. Enjoying what's in the garden today instead of thinking of how it can look tomorrow might not be such a bad idea.

The Tucson Gardener
March, 2004