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No Way to End a Year
After the couple of below freezing nights at the end of December I haven't had much urge to garden. A walk around the front and back yard after those cold nights was a bit depressing. The signs of the freeze were everywhere. Plants in hanging baskets drooped, potted succulents hung over the sides of their containers like they suffered from a lack of water. Leaves on shrubs were blackened and the green leaves of trees didn't look much better. I'll have to wait till spring and the first signs of new growth to really tell the extent of the freeze damage.

I also failed to pick or protect my citrus from the cold. Lemons have started to drop. The tangerines will certainly follow. Most years with the first indication of a freeze I would have been out in the garden covering the citrus with blankets, table cloths, bed spreads and anything else I could find. I would have put a flood light under each tree in hope of spreading a bit of warmth around the tree during the night. I failed miserably at protecting my cold sensitive trees.

We've had quite a few warm winters the past few years and it's easy to forget how cold it can get in the desert. Late December, 2003 was a painful reminder.

I haven't even bothered to look at the vegetable garden. All the beds are covered with a light weight floating row cover that would provide minimal frost protection. I use it to keep the quail from eating the lettuce and to deter some of the insects, not as a true frost protector. Some of the lettuce will have survived the bitter cold while some will have damaged leaves and hearts that will eventually turn to a black mush. It's happened before.

Easter egg radishes do fine in the cold weather and grow quickly. You have to remember to pick them before they become woody.
With food scarce the potted sweet alyssum flowers became food for visiting quail. Blooms became hard to find in the garden and containers.

Fortunately I did move many plants into the greenhouse before the cold nights rolled briskly into town. I would have added more but the plants were stacked from floor to ceiling and I just couldn't get any more potted containers into the small 10 by 12 space. I left two large potted Portulacaria afras (elephant's food) on my back porch foolishly thinking they'd be protected from the cold nights. I should have moved them into the house where they would have been safe. It was too much trouble, the pots too heavy. The two plants are now masses of blackened leaves and I can only hope their trunks and stems have survived.

The frost damage is visible everywhere in my garden and it's only January. More freezing nights could pay Tucson gardens a visit during January, February and even into March. I know I'll be replacing some garden plants in the spring but until then there's not too much to do in the garden. I may plant some new lettuce and try to get a head start on spring by planting my tomato and pepper seeds in flats if I can make a bit of space on the greenhouse bench.

Homemade grow tubes didn't require as much watering during the winter as they did in the summer and became a colorful pansy display. Pansies didn't mind December's cold spell.

Grow tubes display blue and yellow pansies.

I've already browsed some of the dozen or so garden related catalogs I received in December. I even order a few things over the internet with the catalog companies claiming the items were "shipping now". Most of the seed packets will get here in the next week or two and then sit on my desk for a weeks or even months if the seeds are destined for next fall's vegetable garden.

My garden has suffered some setbacks, but the gardening will go on. There'll be warm January days and maybe a few trees will need a bit of pruning, a pot or two replanted with some bedding plants, a weed pulled, a hole dug, a bug squished, and plants watered. Warm spring weather will get here and some of the plants that appear to be knocking at death's door may show signs of recovery. Right now it's a waiting game. Sort of a vacation from gardening. I'm going to make the best of it, maybe read a novel or two, hop on the bicycle if the days warm up, maybe make a wood planter or two and start planning some spring changes to the garden.

Cold Day, Hummingbirds Get Possessive
On a cold Sunday in December, after a previous cold night I noticed the hummingbirds in my garden became very possessive of the three sugar water feeders. A different male bird staked out each of the feeders and claimed his space. All day there was battling as the birds flew at one another trying to keep each from feeding. I counted at least six different males and four females battling for food. The losers seemed to be the females as the males dominated. Late in the day I found one young female sitting on the back porch exhausted from the fights and probably from the lack of food since she was kept away from getting any of the sugar water. She did manage to fly to a mesquite limb but she lacked the shine in the eyes and I could only hope she made it through the night.

This little lady eventually took over a feeder as the days warmed up. She even chased away some of the males when she wasn't posing for the photographer.
Attached to the metal perch is a bird feeder. This fellow was never more than 10 feet from the feeder unless he was chasing another hummingbird away.

After another cold night the birds were once again claiming their territory and guarding it from other hummingbirds. As the days warmed the battles subsided and their seemed to be fewer of the little birds around. The birds were ferocious little fighters and didn't seem to pay much attention to my watching as they buzzed within inches of where I stood.

The Tucson Gardener
January, 2004