Mule Deer

I took a walk yesterday at the Sonoran Desert Museum with my visiting brother and his wife and here are some of the critters we came across......

Wolf

Javelina

Whiptail Lizard

Cardinal Torito or Pyrrhuloxia

Labels: Cardinal Torito, Cooper's Hawk, Finch, Gambel's Hawk, hummingbird, javelina, mule deer, Pyrrhuloxia, Tucson, Whiptail Lizard, wolf

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Waterfalls in Tucson? Yes.

This is part 3 of the Redington Pass adventure.  It's a rough hike along the way, but worth it all once you've reached the Tanque Verde Falls. 

Getting there can be difficult and you have to climb many rocks making this an excellent day hike in March and April.

You have to climb a steep hill to reach this little canyon oasis.  Next to the waterfall is our beautiful Arizona Cottonwood which is commonly found along rivers/creeks here.

Please be careful during monsoon in our summer months or during a big rain event as people have lost their lives here.  A story comes to mind of a college student who jumped in after his poor little puppy and never returned.  Bring your swim suit but be careful of the rocks in the water.  These falls are wonderful but many college kids are new to the area and don't always understand the dangers of our desert. However, this is a popular place that is in a spot where not everyone can get to......

....therefore making it a Tucson treasure for hikers who want to escape from the general tourist population.

Happy Adventures from Tanque Verde Falls!!!

Labels: Arizona Cottonwood, canyon oasis in Arizona, canyon waterfall, Redington Pass, Tanque Verde Falls, Tucson, waterfall hike for Tucson

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It's time to get back to my gardening journal.  The intent of my write is to help gardeners in Tucson that are either questioning if a plant will grow here or help out new gardeners who are trying to figure out what to buy in the market.  This is a priority to me because right now stores are going to be putting out boxes and boxes of bulbs and other fun things to put in our gardens.  A person may ask, "Can we even grow such things in the desert?"  And my answer is a whole hearted, "Yes."  I'll share with you some of my experiences with these plants and what does and does not do well here in Tucson.  There are a couple of things you need to know first.

The BULB RULES

1. You can buy bulbs now, but do not plant. Keep them in a dry and shady place.
2. If there are bulbs in the ground right now, but no foliage, be careful not to overwater and cause the  existing bulbs to rot.
3. Be patient.  Ground temps need to be at least 50 degrees F before anything starts leafing out(I'm specifically speaking about caladiums and elephant ears here)
4. Once summer arrives and the plants leaf out, they will need to be watered regularly....sometimes daily. Some are more high maintenance than others.  
5. Most bulbs, etc enjoy morning sun but struggle in afternoon sun not the heat. Cannas are the exception.
6. Did I mention water?:)
7. My recommendation is to put all tubers, bulbs, corns, and rhyzomes in pots because they require more water:)
8. Things generally start taking off the middle of May and into June.
9. Many bulbs once established love a good fertilizer......manure seems to work wonders.
10. Do not separate newer baby plants from the bulbs until it's warm enough to transplant.
11. Bulbs like loose soil.
12. Asian markets that sell "taro" roots, which are delicious by the way fried, are also a variety of elephant ears.  If Wal-Mart or other gardening places don't have them, think outside the box and buy some large and healthy taro roots.  Sometimes it's cheaper than buying them at the gardening center. 
13. Be wary of ordering online.  Bulbs come well packaged but you end up spending too much money for the tiny bulbs in the mail.  In my opinion, it's wasted money.  Be patient and keep your eyes open at the garden centers.  They'll come:)

There is so much information to share with you all during this time of year.  I wish I had people there for me when trying all this stuff out, but it hasn't been lost.  I've kept the data and am sharing it with you all so that you may have a better success trying out these fun and exciting plants.  They make wonderful fillers and add that beautiful tropical foliage you seek in your desert garden.  Stay tuned for the next series of posts on bulbs and related plants. Remember, ALWAYS have a place for them in the garden.  Plan out the areas well before going shopping or you'll waste A LOT of money.  Until tomorrow, stay tuned for the Elephant Ear and the many varieties.  There will also be a follow up post on Alocasia vs. Colocasia.  Until next time......

Labels: Asian Markets, caladiums, cannas, crocus, elephant ears, freesia, gladiolas, growing bulbs in Tucson, hyacinth, narcissus, rhyzomes, taro root, tubers, Tucson

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How many times will you try a plant before giving up?  Over the course of years, I've experimented with a lot of plants.  These next upcoming posts will be on plants that just don't work for me in the garden.  We are currently suffering a severe frost for the next couple nights and I have to say....IT'S COLD!!!  I don't know what's going to happen after these two days are over, but I might be adding more failures to my plant list.  Part of this blog is to keep track of the failures and learn from them.  As gardeners, we have a pile of these "failed" plants hidden somewhere in our gardens.  Stay tuned for the next series on plants that may cause Tucsonans or the "Zone Niners" issues in their own yards.  I've got a nice list of plants you should definitely not plant and some that just may not work for me......

A Snap Shot from my hometown of Two Rivers

Labels: failed plants, gardening zone 9, Tucson, Two Rivers, Wisconsin, zone 9 gardening

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The battle has begun.  A war wages against the meth zombies.  I have called border patrol and they have refused to help.  I have called the police and they just shrug.  Most people turn a blind eye. But today I offer a sharp PRICK!  and fight the battle against meth!  My army of cacti have been employed in a fashionable manner.  Officially it's called the cactus garden which will serve as an attractive entrance to El Presidio.  It also serves as the next barrier of thorny anger that keeps evil from hopping our walls and stealing our valuables from the property.  Several months ago, I wrote about the cacti soldiers that protect our property.  Today I write about the army that came together to protect our northern borders.  They are an attractive group of plants that will hopefully grow as a team. Stay tuned for the completed project!

Labels: cacti, cactus, cactus fence, drugs, meth zombies, security cacti, Tucson, whiskey barrels

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Last but not least, I cannot forget this important citrus.  It seems to be the dominant citrus of Tucson.  There are trees here that are old with most of them being on the East side of town!  You can see this tree out in the open all over the place and most people don't care if you pick the fruit.  Of course, remember to ask first.  I wanted to mention before I finished this series on citrus trees that there is a program here in town that you can contact if you can't use all the fruit or just don't want to eat the fruit. The Tucson Food Bank offers to come and pick these citrus for those in need around the community that can't afford fresh fruit.  Here is some information before I start my write on the Ruby Red Grapefruit,

"The Community Food Bank is offering to pick surplus citrus from homes and businesses in the Tucson area.

This service is known as "Gleaning" or harvesting food that would otherwise go unused.

"It's an easy way for someone to help their neighbors in need during these difficult economic times," said Bill Carnegie, President of the Community Food Bank. "There are thousands of orange, lemon, and grapefruit trees in the Tucson area with citrus products that go to waste each year. These items can go a long way to help feed the hungry in our community."

To schedule someone to come to a home or business and pick the citrus, call:

•(520) 622-0525 x 222.

Those able to do their own gleaning may bring the citrus to the food bank at:

•3003 S. Country Club Road (between 36th Street and Ajo Road)

•Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Founded in 1976, the Community Food Bank provides education, advocacy, and food for people throughout Southern Arizona including Pima, Santa Cruz, Cochise, Graham and Greenlee Counties.

On the web:

www.communityfoodbank.org " Source:
http://www.kold.com/global/story.asp?s=11959811

There are also other programs around town including one that utilizes African refugees who have just moved into the Old Pueblo.
My hope, when writing on these citrus, is to expose the unique properties of a citrus tree/bush.  It's important to NEVER prune a citrus tree in hot direct sun.  That's a sure way to kill your citrus plant.  Citrus, naturally, are bushy in nature and should not be pruned into trees. The branches protect the trunk with its' leaves. However, they do make lovely trees and here is a practice that you may see some people do with their citrus in hot climates.  I don't recommend painting the trunks white on many trees, but with the case of the citrus, it is okay to do.  The white paint reflects the sun off the trunk and keeps it from scald. This practice is usually done on the younger trees and only on the ones being trained as trees. If you leave the branches on, you won't need to do any of this.  I prefer dwarf varieties that will fit into my smaller spaces and I prefer them in the bush form. On several posts back, I wrote about several of the citrus having thorns.  I have put these bushes by fences to keep the transients off the property.  If they get through the cactus, they will then hit the nasty thorny Tangelo or Bearss Lime.  These make great deterrents for safety around your property.  Imagine that!  Not only do citrus smell good, look good, taste good, but they can also work as a security system! Talk about a useful plant to have around.
The Ruby Red is a great citrus to grow around your property.  It's the sweeter of the grapefruit varieties and excellent both for breakfast and/or juice.  I almost killed my grapefruit this year by planting it in a shadier spot.  When I pulled it from the ground, it looked like it was going to die, but I nursed it back to health in a pot and it will be ready for transplant this spring in March.  Most grapefruit varieties in town have a yellow fruit and they make great juice.  I like to eat grapefruit so I chose the Ruby Red variety instead of the juicing yellow variety.  This tree is sold as a dwarf or as a regular size plant.  I always go with the dwarf because I know that they won't grow out of control, but you may have a larger area to plant a bigger tree.  My final post is one that many people ask about......what if I threw my favorite orange seed into the ground?  Will it grow?  I have answers so stay tuned!  Until next time, see you in the garden!

Labels: caring for grapefruit trees in Tucson, Citrus trees, Food Bank of Southern Arizona Citrus Gleaning, gleaning, grapefruit tree care, Ruby Red Grapefruit, Tucson, Tucson Community Food Bank

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As you can see, this time of year can be busy for gardeners and people of landscaping.  It is so important to do your spring projects now before the summer heat arrives.  One of the things that can be difficult for people to do is find a reputable tree service to come and clean up their trees.  Sometimes people offer to do the job and are not qualified to do the work or they are qualified yet butcher the trees and plants. Here's my personal story.  When I moved onto the property, we had a landscaping service come and clean our property twice a month for 315 dollars. They cleaned the property well enough, but butchered the trees and plants. During several visits, they had lied to me about the irrigation drip system and smelled of alcohol.  Worst of all, dead trees were left on the property and they killed healthy ones!  My journey into the world of landscaping and intense studies began in 2007.  After one year, I was disgusted by what we were getting from this company.  They never arrived like they said they would. They never carried off plants that I properly pruned. And they didn't have a clue about what the plants in the landscape were called!  After one year, I wrote up a contract and presented it to the board.  It was a contract to reinvest money back into our property and take control of a place that was in bad shape. Once I was approved, we fired the company. At first, the work was slow and gradual....and I'll admit, time consuming....even frustrating because residents didn't really care or want to help out at the time.  Some would say, "That's why we're paying you."  Well this isn't the case.  The money doesn't pay for my services, but it does give me control over what needs to get done without having to ask for money all the time.  It comes regularly every month and I know that I have a certain amount of money to work with and save over the year for things like our arborist.

It came time to prune our live oaks but I was frightened that I would kill them.  They are the most beautiful things in Tucson.  They are the largest and rarest trees around town and I will fight to keep them protected even though they drop huge amounts of tree litter.  The trees needed pruning from years of neglect so I here's what I did.  First I called 3 different Arizona Tree Companies and had a list of questions for them.  Here are the things you need to consider when hiring your arborist......

1. Are they reputable?  Check reviews online; ask around

2. Are they certified?

3.  Do they look like they are honest and reputable people?

4.  Do they care about what you want, what they want, or do they care about the health of the tree?            (I'll explain about this more later)

5. What will they charge for the service?

6.  Do they know about the tree that they will be pruning?  Have they had experience with it before?

The reason I say three is so that you can negotiate the costly prices that go on with trimming trees. I remember interviewing each of the 3 companies here in Tucson.  One charged a lot more money because of their name and seemed indifferent about what he was doing.  The second gave me an estimate that was the cheapest.  And the third gave me an honest answer.  The third was my choice because he is passionate about what he does.  He also cares more about the trees and how to make them grow stronger and look better.  If you only knew how many times people complimented me on the canopy of the oak trees......and it was because of Angelo working his magic with his crew.  This is our third year working together and he has done amazing work on our property.  He's professional and really gets excited about the philosophy of pruning even talking about new techniques that were introduced last year. Who knew? He does and I trust him to do the work.  The one thing that Angelo told me that I won't forget....and he said it in a very polite way....we need to remember what's best for health of the tree.  I had wanted to cut branches off, which he did but in a way that was healthy for the oaks. I have the link if you need a good suggestion for a tree company.  I am not being endorsed or receiving any financial discount from this company.  I've just really enjoyed working with Angelo and Romeo Tree Service. Blogging should have some benefits, right?:)

 www.romeotreeservice.com/

 One last important note once you have chosen your arborist.  Please make sure you take the day off so that you can supervise the work or be around if they have any questions.  Remember that they are doing the work for you and not the other way around....you are, afterall, paying them quite a bit of money to take care of your landscape....and you have to live with it after they are gone.  When I stay home, I watch how they do the job just so I can learn how the pros do it and it's quite educational for me.  Every year it's a new project.  It is also the same reason we could cut those trees down from the planters because we learned the rope technique guiding large limbs to the ground.  For me, it's a fun day.  When to prune?  Before the trees leaf out and for live oaks, which drop their leaves in February or March, it's still okay to around this time.  Most people wait until the end of January or beginning of February.  Spring here starts in March and you want to trim before the tree puts out new growth.  Until next time, I'll see you in the garden.

 

Sometimes, it comes down to the people when choosing a tree service.  Sometimes it comes down to someone who is passionate about what they do. Sometimes it comes down to the service that they provide. But most importantly, it should ALWAYS be about the health of your tree. Stay tuned for more....

Labels: arborist, arborist tree service Tucson, arborist Tucson, Romeo Tree Service Tucson, Southwestern tree service, Tree Service in Tucson, trimming trees in Tucson, Tucson

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Today I am going to kick off a series of postings that will be about fruit trees that are currently growing in the El Presidio Gardens.  They will be a part of the Tucson Fruit Trees series over the next several days.  Why now?  Besides seeing the million and one varieties of hybrid roses at your local garden dealer, you'll also see a lot of bareroot fruit trees in packages along with their siblings in buckets or biodegradable pots.  This series will include my experiences with each fruit tree over the past year and whether or not they performed well.  Last year I was overwhelmed by the amount of fruit, berry, and nut trees available.  Basically, I had to pick and choose which ones to plant. It was also frustrating to type information into the computer and find nothing on gardener's experiences in Tucson with these plants in their own backyards. I guess I'm the guinea pig and I'll gladly share my experiences at what turned out to be a costly event last January while shopping for all of these fruit trees.
My first selection of the series is the Pomegranate Wonderful.  For 30 dollars, I put this shrubby tree into the corner of the garden that gets mostly light with some afternoon shade.  This plant can be put into full sun or part sun that gets at least 6 hours  .  It is deciduous and flowers in both spring and early summer.  It's hardy to 0 degrees and should be protected from winter or cold winds in its' infancy.  It has a max size of 20' tall by 15' wide and I've seen it get larger than this.  It needs at least 15' of space and it has a vase shape when fully grown.  It states to fertilize once a month, but I don't do this every month.....I fertilize about every 3 months.  It's low maintenance and once established doesn't need a lot of water.  I water in the summer about once or twice a week unless the monsoon is good.

Chile en Nogada is a famous Mexican Dish that uses the colors of the Mexican flag with pomegranates serving as the red part of their banner.  Recipe below and IT'S DELICIOUS!!  I've had it several times with my Mexican family on September 17th. Give yourselves a couple days to prepare it.
Pic and recipe taken from Cocina Eclectica http://cocinaeclectica.com/?s=chiles+en+nogada
I love this blog for the dishes listed as well as how to set up your table with a dinner theme in mind.

My experience as a Tucson gardener with this plant has been pleasant.  It is low maintenance indeed and makes an attractive addition to the garden.  There has been ZERO issue with this plant and it has performed extremely well.  I would rate this plant as a 10 for Tucson because we really do have the perfect conditions for growing pomegranates here.  Considering the cost of 1 pomegranate in the grocery store, this shrubby tree will pay itself back over the years.  Tucson is loaded with these trees and it's very common to see them all over the place.  While pomegranates are delicious and have many healthy benefits(lowering blood pressure and reduces the risk of heart disease and cancer), they can be difficult to open and eat and require a bit of patience.  Also one needs to be careful with the red juice that bursts forth from the fruit as it will stain your clothes.  It may take several years for this tree to produce fruit and grow to height, but I personally think it's worth the wait.  If you want something green to grow and don't want it to die, this is your plant. There are no chill hours required for this tree and it is self fertile. Stay tuned for more fruit trees that you'll be seeing in your local Arizona nursery.  Until next time, save your money for the planting fun this winter and spring!! Edible landscaping is the best!

Labels: chile en nogada, Pomegranate, pomegranate tree arizona, pomegranate tree care, pomegranate tree in Tucson, pomegranate wonderful, punica granatum, Tucson, Tucson fruit trees

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Our El Presidio Gardens

A new week and a new theme.  Today's theme is about "El Presidio".  These grounds were in poor shape when I arrived on the property 3 years ago.  Today they are becoming the El Presidio Gardens which I hope transforms into something special for the residents within the next couple years.  This is a very interesting word and one that applies to our grounds here.  The word "El Presidio" literally means a fort or establishment.  The above picture is just a piece from the entire garden.  There is more garden on the sides and in the front.  This is the Central Courtyard.

Tucson's El Presidio Park

Specifically it was a fortress established in the southwestern United States by the Spanish in order to protect their missions and other holdings.  When I look at El Presidio, my place and from my point of view, we are definitely a fort protected from the meth zombies, homeless and prostitutes who try and keep stealing and invading our "fort"!  We are a little gem hidden away in a bad neighborhood!

San Francisco's Presidio

The first time I encountered the word "Presidio" was in San Francisco where I lived for 2 years.  It was beautiful and a former military fort.  Now it's a recreational area and a nice walk!  Good views as well.  The purpose of the presidio was to protect the mission from Indians who were unfriendly, and to secure the Native Americans from escaping the mission. A presidio, in the case of the California missions, were homes for the soldiers. That was why so many presidios were near the missions...to guard the Priests living in the missions.  Nowadays, the presidio takes on a whole new meaning.  Missions, still trying to convert those "savage" Indians, have moved down to Central America, Asia, Africa, and South America.  The Native Americans here in Tucson now run casinos and some, but very few, still live like they used to back in the day.  It's actually sad how people feel the need to try and convert people. But that's another topic:)  Today  my "El Presidio" is a wall to wall fort that protects its' residents from bad people that surround our borders.  We don't always succeed and sometimes I think we should call our garden, "The Alamo".  But as I am putting in my army of cacti, things are changing.  That project is currently in works on the front walls for the upcoming months.  The last freeze damaged several of my "soldiers."  I'm just waiting a bit until the freeze danger lowers.  So there you have it...the meaning of El Presidio and a couple famous places with the same name including our garden here.:)

Labels: El Presidio, El Presidio Gardens, El Presidio Park, fort, meth zombies, San Francisco, Tucson

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I thought this would be a fun post and in lighter tone especially after what happened yesterday.  Last year and last night we saw two fantastic productions in Tucson at both the Tucson Convention Center and at Centennial Hall.  The production of Wicked is in town until the 23rd of January and it was an amazing production to see.  Cirque de Soleil came to town in December with their production of Alegria.  Both shows were absolutely worth the ticket price.  Here are a couple of songs that I am listening to on my mp3 player in the garden.

Hula Hoops are cool! Cerceaux

Malioumba-the Flying Man

Defying Gravity-Wicked with the original cast who are not in the production anymore but are incredible actresses that brought this production alive several years ago! So who are you listening to in your garden?

Today was one of those days. We were looking forward to the production of Wicked, visiting family in Sierra Vista and then we came home to a major shooting. It kind of put a damper on the evening. We drove pass Congresswoman's Gifford's office and saw the vigil going on. It was beautiful, but it was quarantined off several minutes later because a suspicious package was found in the area. Everyone is hoping for the best and of course very saddened by today's events with the family and friends killed in this tragic shooting.

Labels: Centennial Hall, Cerceaux, Cirque de Soleil, Defying Gravity, Malioumba, Tucson, Wicked, Wizard of Oz

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Dear friends,

Please keep in your thoughts or say a prayer for the families and friends of those affected by the shooting that happened this morning during a meeting with Gabrielle Giffords.  6 people were killed(one being a 9 year old girl!!) They have captured the suspect, but not without taking lives.  20 people, total, were shot. Giffords was shot through the head, and is expected to survive. She currently is in critical condition. Full story below on suspect and more....
http://www.kold.com/
While this post in not about gardening or travel, it's one that really affects the city and people of Tucson.  We are in mourning for those lost and those affected by this tragic event.

Labels: Arizona, Congresswoman, Gabrielle Giffords Shot, Jared Loughner, kold, Tucson

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Roses bloom before the cold evenings hit.

There are several months out of the year that I like to call perfection....November, April, and half of May in Tucson.  It's not too hot nor too cold.....it's perfection.  The plants seem to glow from not having to stress from the heat or worry about the frosty nights.  Here are some images from around town that caught my attention.

Tucson Botanical Garden

Can you see how the plants kind of "glow"?  It's hard to get a pic from this, but the leaves look brighter as the sun hits them which creates a brilliant green effect all around you.

Bug pictures are difficult to shoot....it's amazing how hard it is to get a good shot of a "slow" bee.  They never want to stay in one spot for too long:) Have a great weekend!

Labels: November, Tucson, Tucson Botanical Gardens

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We, here in AZ, are waiting for "fall" to begin.  We can only hope it will start soon, but honestly, it still feels like summer.  During a conversation at the Botanical gardens last weekend, this extremely rare snow event was brought up during a discussion about the horticulture business in Tucson. Plant nurseries lost millions of dollars to this storm. So while we suffer in hot, humid conditions, here are some cool thoughts from that chilly November of 2006. The following pics are from my own camera and from other Tucson viewers at the time. (off of the KOLD website-the pics are no longer  there unfortuneatly, but I saved a few:).

Can we say Christmas card?

A KOLD viewer took this of their puppies playing:)

My car Goldy(RIP)

I got up early and took this pic from my backyard!

Some of these plants died in this pic:(

My hood

 The fence around my patio

One winter to rule them all.....it was one evil November day that caused massive plant death and millions of dollars of damage to the Tucson nurseries.  It was the first(and probably the last) time in my Arizona teaching career that I ever had a snow day from work. People from the cooler regions understand and appreciate the excitement of a snow day:)   I couldn't believe my eyes as I looked out my apartment window at the time and saw SNOW!!!  My tropical patio suffered a major set back and I couldn't do anything about it.

To this day, gardeners still talk about that winter "5 or 6 years ago" that killed so many trees and plants.  I discovered that the Silver Dollar Eucalyptus, while one of my favorite trees, is not that cold hardy.  As a consquence from that storm in Tucson, most of those trees died....some were very very old.  Today, you won't find as many of those trees around the Old Pueblo anymore.  Other varieties of Eucalyptus stood the test of Mother Nature's fury.......

Winter in Tucson:)

A cold evening after....Look at how the snow blanket covered my neighborhood. I'm on a hill looking down and Mt. Lemmon is in the background.  This is in the Foothills near Sunrise and Swan

Due to this topic being brought up in class, I thought, "Hey great idea....share those beautiful winter pics!!"  It was a one day event but boy the aftermath was felt for years.  Old trees were taken down....in one neighborhood, they had a line of those silver dollar eucs and it took them 2 years to remove the dead giants.  That is why today I won't plant certain trees because all it takes is one night to kill many years of work.  I will admit secretly that I planted several Jacaranda knowing that a snow storm could kill them.......but my heart longs for the Jac:) And once you see the purple blooms on the tree or covering the ground, you will want to plant one yourself:)  Maybe two....or three......Enjoy the pics!!  PS.  You better start your Christmas shopping now....don't procrastinate like I do:)

From Mt. Lemmon

Labels: snow, Tucson, winter

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