30 Days In The Gardener's Garden: Day6

Here comes the rain!  At least, that's what the 'meteorologists' are saying.  On cool cloudy days, I make a concerted effort to do just one thing here at Xericopia - OBSERVE.  This is still, in my book, the most important garden practice of all. Plus, why get all sweaty and dirty when the weather is so nice.  

(serenity now, serenity now...)

I noticed my squash seedlings are making an entrance into the garden.  Lots to plant and plenty to share (wink wink, nudge nudge, know-what-I-mean).  
 

(Summer squash making their appearance!)

I have sunflowers galore, and the season is just getting started.  These things come up like weeds everywhere (but not as bad as the hollyhocks). Sunflowers are perfect for simple bouquets around the house with lavender or penstemon or snapdragons.  And, the flower petals are edible, so great for salads.  The seeds I leave for the birdies in the garden (sparrows, finches, verdins, toehees, oh my).

(The sunflower garden is showing off)

Each year I have more and more of these red roses.  Originally, I acquired the plant from a project in 2006 where I dug up the root stock. It only took it two years to start blooming and hasn't slowed.   It only gets about 4 hours of sun, doesn't get fertilized, and not a whole lot of attention.  I wonder if I talked to it more often if it would produce more roses?  Something new to explore...

One neat surprise I discovered was another cauliflower.  This was a bit hidden in the sunflower garden until the leaves got big.  I couldn't quite recall what it was (broccoli? cabbage? brussel sprouts?).   But, like everything else in the garden (including weeds!), just wait long enough and it's sure to bloom.  Then you can figure out what to do with it. 

(yummy cauliflower - ready for roasting with carrots and chard!)

With more rain expected in the weather forecast, expect more eye-time and smiles around Xericopia. (now go plant some seeds!!!)

Friday Feature

It's Friday and thought I'd feature an awesome plant for you:

justicia spicigera

Come again, you say? Yes, I do love my botanical names, and for good reason. From Florida, to Tennessee, to Texas, this lovely garden superstar goes by many different names; orange justicia, orange plume flower, mexican firecracker bush, and most recently, mexican honeysuckle. (eeee gads)

So, using the good ol' botanical name I know I can talk to any nursery specialist and find the exact plant I'm looking for. Here in Phoenix, I shop at Baker Nursery, a local haven for the most proven native adapted plants.

Our daytime high temperatures have been over 110* degrees (as high as 116*) for the past three weeks, and my orange justicia hasn't stopped blooming. In fact, I'm seeing a resergence of new bloom heads all over the plant. So if you don't have this beauty in your garden yet, maybe you should should give it a try. Your hummingbirds will thank you.

Wednesday - What To Do?

Welcome to my new segment I'm calling "What to do Wednesday", which will focus on a project you can plan for your weekend gardening. Why Wednesday, you ask? Well, if I gave out great garden project assignment on Friday, you would like have to spend your Saturday morning racing around to the nurseries, preparing soil, and digging holes. Then, your Sunday up to your dirty knees working on the project. I believe Saturdays are for gardening and Sundays are garden viewing. So, Wednesday gives you two days to get ready for the weekend fun.

This Wednesday to start, I thought of a simple project we all can do. Here in Phoenix, where it's been over 110* degrees for the past two weeks, it's about all we can do in the garden right now. I want you to spend some time thinking back.

("The Yard" - 1998 Spring)

I know it will do me some good to take a moment think back - back to the incredible spring we had this year. To think back to this time last year. I'm even thinking back to the early days when we had a 'yard'.

("The Garden" - 2008 Summer)

Thinking back will help you plan your next move for this fall. Perhaps, reminding you of what not to do (that you've maybe tried season after season still to no avail). Thinking back will give you some pride in what you truly have accomplished from year to year. So browse the old garden journals, flip through the Post-it riddled pages of your garden magazines, print of some old and new photos. Take note of how your garden has grown.

(2009 Summer - "Xericopia")

Where are the monsoon rains?!?!?!?

I have been anxiously desperately waiting for the summer rain to come.
But that doesn't mean I can stop watering. Rain is very important to gardens in the southwest mainly because it is the primary source for good tree watering. Most homeowners rely on inappropriate watering methods such as sprinklers, or just don't water enough.
Regardless of whether or not there appears to be rain in the forecast, it's still a good practice to water your trees.

For me, I've found that using a water hose works best. I once had my trees on a drip system, but the growth rate required me to make adjustments every 3-4 years, which was (surprisingly) more than I wanted to keep up with.
So I disconnected the drip line and set out the hose.
With the hose on a very low flow rate (about 1/2gal per minute on ground and 1gal per minute in lawn), I just let it run all weekend moving about every 6-12 hours around each tree (north,south,east,west). This allows for good deep watering, and then when the rains do come, the soil is primed to soak it up.

Check out more on watering at the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association.

If you're in the Phoenix area, you can sign-up for my Permaculture Guild workshop this coming Wednesday 08/05/2009 on watering in the garden.

I'll share great tips not only on what, how, and when to water, but also some fun demos on building and using watering systems.

It's An Invasion!

Oh no - they're here!

And they're taking over my garden!
(Yeaaaa!!!)

It's the attack of the Compost Makers!
After years of managing my rickety compost bins made from recycled pallets, I decided to try these new-fangled eComposter (from CostCo). I started them in May 2009 and I figure they should be done cooking by mid-August.
Stay tuned to see what hatches...

Surviving Summer

It's hot here in Phoenix. Really hot. Yesterday was 115* degrees. Today it was 115*. And the forecast consensus shows over 110* degrees for all of next week. YIKES!! If you think it's tough on us humans, be assured it's tougher on our plants. Remember, outside it's not only hot, but the sun is intense. If it's not a cactus, it's stressing.


One of the easiest ways to beat the heat (well, tolerate the heat) is simply installing shade cover. Just by reducing the amount of direct intense sun, life gets a little bit nicer for plants.

The set-up in my garden is quite rudimentary. It's not pretty, but it is effective, and it only took ten minutes to put in place. My new seedlings are much happier now.


This is all a temporary solution for current season. Since my back garden receives west exposure, I have a greater plan for future protection. In summer 2008 I planted some new trees (palo verde, bauhinia, crape myrtle, pomegranate) to create natural shade cover. By next summer 2010, too much sun will not be an issue for me.
(keep cool!)

Summertime Spirit

Summertime is often a very disheartening for many of us Phoenix desert gardeners. As we slowly slip from the 'comfortable' springtime 80* and 90* degree temperatures, the dreaded heat can but the breaks on our gardener spirit. But don't dispair; If you think there isn't much to plant during the dog days of summer, think again. Here are a few of my favorites for warm season survival:

(Palo Verde - Parkinsonia florida/cercidium floridum from 24"box)

Nothing better to plant during summer than trees. The warm season is the growing season for most native-adapted trees, and there is no better time thatn the present to start working on shade. Palo verde is the perfect solution.

(butterfly on zinnia)

From simple beginnings come great things. You can't go wrong with zinnia seeds. It's never too late to get your seeds in the ground - especially before the monsoon rains arrive.


Go native and go big. This leucophyllum sage is on its third bloom cycle of 2009.

But a couple of my summertime favorites are red salvia and orange justicia. These two sun lovers will not only bloom through summer, but with occasional dead-heading, can bloom year-round. Bring on the color!

For more planting options, visit the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association or the Maricopa Master Gardeners plant guide.

Eating Up Some Spring

One of the best things about living in Phoenix Arizona is the weather. Still 28 days before spring 'officially' begins (March 1st), it is 70* degrees, sunny, and everything is in bloom. This really all began about three weeks ago, just after winter weekend. We had a couple of weeks with lows in the 30's, a few days of glorious rain, and now we're headed full steam into what looks to be an incredible spring season.

Before diving into some big project that involve digging or hauling (I have loads), I thought I'd have a little inspirational fun.

"I'll do edible pots!"

Using some old tera cotta pots (about 18"x18") I made a soil blend of potting mix, compost, mulch, and pumice.

Here are the plants I installed in container #1:

Kale - perfect for salads and green smoothies
Spearmint -I like to snack on when I garden and use in tea
Purple kale - labeled as an ornamental, I saute' with monk pepper and sea salt
Dusty miller - it looks so great, and makes a unique garnish

Here are the plants I installed in container #2:

Dill - great on fish (with lemon) and the blooms attract butterflies
Spinach - full of calcium for green smoothies and salad
Swiss chard - saute' with garlic and spinach - yummm!
Lemon thyme - perfect aromatherapy and in tea
Dusty miller - very cool pressed flower for art cards

Except for the dusty miller and purple kale, I gathered everything else from the Downtown Farmer's Market or Baker Nursery in effort to keep things as organic as possible. These pots will only require watering a couple days per week and should produce well for about two months. I don't intend to fertilize because of the organic composted mulch in the soil mix.

Once temperatures over 90* degrees, I'll transplant everything into a shady area in the garden, hopefully to gain another month of late springtime eats.