|
The Tucson Gardener |
|||||||||||
|
In the Garden Calendar
Local Garden Links
You're visiting Tucsongardener.com |
Out the Window, II The first nursery didn't have what I wanted but I was assured a shipment would be in by that afternoon. I said I might be back and headed to my next stop. There I found everything I wanted and more except for the container grown ocotillo which wouldn't be available until late September or early October. I wanted drought tolerant plants that had any color but the usual green you see in Tucson's desert. No prickly pear pad green. I settled on two of the popular golden barrels (Echinocactus grusonii); two white variegated agave (Agave Americana variety mediapicata) and one Agave Americana that had yellow variegation on the outside of the leaves. The agaves could grow to six feet tall and six feet wide so I started with small plants. I'm in no hurry to fill my garden space. I like to watch the garden change over time. I noticed one of the larger agaves already had offshoots coming off the side and bottom of the plant. That gave me an indication the plant would spread on its own if I let it.
In addition to the cactus I purchased I had three five gallon brittle bush plants that I started from seed last year. Two were a green color, and the other had a lighter almost gray leaf. I also had several one gallon containers of Mexican primrose I'd also started from seed. I'd discovered earlier, in a test planting, that the rabbits found the small bushes quite delectable and had eaten them down to their roots. Whether I try Mexican primrose in the landscape again has yet to be decided.
Arranging the Furniture
Thinking that someday the ocotillo fence would have green leaves and the brittle bushes yellow flowers I imagined the two working together. I tried to envision the eventually large agave and golden barrels as accent plants. The mesquite tree would need to be pruned for height so as not to block the view out the window. There is a house in the distance and I hope the mesquite's canopy will block the light colored roof. I also wanted to add a concrete bench to the site to act as a plant stand for a couple of container plants. I also purchased a shallow concrete dish to use as a watering hole. I don't plan on keeping the dish full of water year round because that's inviting the animals to stick around and dine on other plants in the garden. But I do enjoy looking out the window and watching the native wildlife whether it's a lizard or passing coyote. And come June maybe a little extra water in the desert might help some of the animals to survive until the July monsoons arrive.
More to Come
Gardening on a hot muggy day in August really isn't all that enjoyable and I can wait until fall weather arrives. I've already spotted where some animal has taken a fancy to one of the variegated agaves and nibbled off most of a leaf. The plant can handle a little nibbling, not a lot. If it keeps up, I'll have to put fencing around the agave until it grows larger.
Good Planting Instructions Appreciated |
||||||||||
