Verbena is a tricky plant to grow for me.  I don't know why, but I always feel the need to buy them when they are on sale.  I follow the directions and they still die.  The only one that I've had success with is the sand pink verbena.  It loves sun and performs well here in Tucson.  At times, it can get a bit leggy and isn't as nice a groundcover as other verbena.  I put this plant with other groundcovers and it looks great.  It is said to be endangered along the Pacific Coast, but here it is sold at the local garden centers.  My recommendation is to forget the other verbenas and try this little guy out.  It has beautiful pink flowers and will add that color pop in your garden.

Here's a little blurb on this native plant to our deserts.....

"Pink or beach sand verbena is a prostrate, somewhat succulent perennial with few to many slender, glabrous to glandular-hairy stems and opposite, ovate to diamond-shaped leaves on stems as long as the leaf blades. A member of the coastal strand plant community, sand verbena is typically found on beaches and sand dunes near the coast from San Diego Co. north to Yuma, AZ blooming throughout most of the year. The flowers are in clusters subtended by 5-8 rose-colored lanceolate bracts. There are no petals, and the five calyx lobes are in turn cleft into two lobes, making it appear that the plant has ten petals. The limb of the perianth is rose to bright magenta with a central whitish spot and the tube is green or red and glandular-pubescent. The one pistil and three stamens are included within the tube. A. umbellulata hybridizes with several other species of Abronia, including maritima." End of article.

Source: http://www.calflora.net/bloomingplants/pinksandverbena.html

Sand-verbena likes full sun, and sandy soil. Sand-verbena has gray foliage with pinkish purple flowers, and the flowers are fragrant. It does not tolerate weeds and needs bare ground. They require little to no care, but do water once a week during the hot months if monsoon rains seem to be lacking.  

Labels: caring for verbena in Tucson, desert sand verbena, growing verbena in Tucson, Verbena, verbena care, verbena groundcovers, verbena sand pink

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The Pincushion Cactus

On this Sunday morning, I plan on going outside at some point and battling the mosquitos and the wells. So here's a thought...well more of a question and I'm wondering if I'm the only person who does this, but do you ever impulse buy plants?  For example, yesterday I went to Lowe's and saw a great deal on verbena and lavender. I got excited and spent money....not a lot...around 65 bucks...but after I did that, I thought...."Do you know how much work you just made for yourself? And that money could have been used for gas or food or....._______________(fill in the blank). I suspect it's not just me who does this, but I love plants so much and when a project starts, like the wells around the trees, I get excited. I don't feel like that all the time, but right now before school starts and the paychecks are few, teachers have to watch their spending especially if they did the balloon sum in June. And that would be me:) So should  have I purchased those flowers? Probably not, but here they are calling me out this morning to stake their place in the garden.

Look closely or you'll miss our desert dwellers. Camouflage is the key word here.

Mosquitos.  I hate them.  What??!!!  You have mosquitos in the desert? But I thought it's a dry heat? Oh boy... Yes we do and always during monsoon which makes our "dry heat" go away for awhile:( However the plants love it and it does get cooler in the evenings because of the storms that explode around the city.   I hate mosquitos...wait, I already wrote that, but it's true I hate them.  They bite me like little vampire bugs every single time I go outside and always around the ankles!!.....and yes I use spray but that doesn't stop them. I itch for about 2 hours after working out on the grounds because of the little suckers. We also had rain last night again and they really think it's neat to reproduce and live in my garden.  I didn't invite them and I don't think it's neat at all. So my verbena sits......and I am preparing myself mentally for the bloody battle outside.

So today's topic is the Desert Museum.  It sounds boring, doesn't it?  For most people it does when they come and visit from out-of-town.  They ask me, "Is it worth seeing and spending the money?" And the answer is yes and yes.  I hate museums, but this is one of Tucson's gems.  It spotlights the Sonoran desert both living and rock.  What an incredible place to see our desert come alive!  First off the drive alone is breathtaking as you will meander through the pristine Saguaro National Park.  Thousands of Saguaros surround you while driving on this curvy road, but watch out for the critters as they like to run across the street often.

The Quail...a Tucson favorite!

What some consider the local flying cockroach?

Once you get to the "museum", you will have to find a free parking spot, but pay a 13 dollar entrance fee.  You will see people from all over the world here and realize that you are stepping into an international "must see and do before you die" place......and yes, it's that cool.  The museum sports a living zoo of both plant and animal species native to our desert.  You will be able to see all the varieties of cactus that grow here as well as other Sonoran plants. If you are into the animals and have kids, you are going to love their interactive features around the park. It's a beautiful hike up and down a gravel path which has bridges into a lot of little surprises.  Keep your eyes open for javelinas, coyotes, bighorn sheep, the bobcat....and well, the list goes on and on.  I'm purposely not showing you the buildings in the blog so that it will be a surprise when you go....but here are some local plant favorites of mine along with some of the scenary you'll see at the museum and around Tucson.

The Chuckwalla

The Pincushion Cactus

There are a lot of buildings to cool off in between your walks and they do have an aquarium showing off our snakes, fish, and reptile populations.  There is a humming bird building, a theater that has some really great shows, a butterfly garden.....and the list goes on and on.  I go about once or twice a year as there is always something new to discover and sometimes, it's just to go and walk the beautiful grounds.  You won't regret spending the money and your kids will LOVE it!!  Bring sunblock as you will be out and about on the trails.  I highly recommend this Tucson gem for avid desert gardeners and enthusiasts. You won't be disappointed:) So get inspired and have some fun...just watch out for the mosquitos:(.....Happy Sunday!.

My Mom and Dad in front of the Organ Pipe Cactus

Sonoran Beauty

Lantana...the weed of our desert

Labels: Desert Museum, pincushion cactus, Tucson gem, Verbena

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Greetings, It has been a couple weeks since my last blog. Things have been busy with school coming to an end. I have one more week before summer starts!!! The summer is fast approaching and things are starting to explode all around the garden.....I will be taking A LOT of pics as everything gets taller. The garden is just that....at the beginning of its' journey. Therefore, things are still being moved around until I see a happy plant. Today I moved the lilacs to pots as they seem happier there. So what's been going on? Since the last post, caladiums and elephant ears have all surfaced from the ground and it will be quite a show. The jacaranda tree has purple flowers!!! It took two years for it to happen, but it happened:) The chitalpa tree has nice pink flowers and the castor plants are meeting various success in different areas of the garden. Overall, I am currently VERY happy with the progress around the property. A lot of good things are happening and it's exciting to watch. On the negative side, I am still battling palm seedlings by the hundreds...they seem to keep popping up daily. The last of the oak leaves and pollen will be cleaned up next week. And I pulled up the dead persimmons tree from the ground. The roots were all twisted and matted. It was replaced with another persimmons tree but this one was NOT bare root. Weeds seem to be drying out. Plums have been struggling a bit, but they are green and growing so I will not touch them unless I see a major die back. Overall, it is encouraging to see that things are beginning to pay off.....stay tuned for more garden posts. Chris

Labels: Jacaranda, Nerium, Oleander, roses, Verbena

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