Happy New Year 2011

A hard freeze is predicted again for New Year's Eve, so all my columnar cacti are dressed for the occasion. The Styrofoam cups protect the growing tips. I've covered many of my potted cacti and a potted Meyer Lemon, but all the rest of my plants are on their own. I'm sure the Bougainvillea will be the first to go, followed by the Queen's Wreath, but come February, they should start coming back.

Ring out the old, ring in the new! This Agave desmettiana is on its way out now that it has produced a stalk. Unfortunately there are no pups to replace it. It hasn't produced any for the past two years. I'm not sure what the freeze will do to the stalk and its budding inflorescence.

This is the only rose currently in bloom in my garden. It's a Red Intrepid, and it lives up to its name. This one rose bush produces an abundance of roses nearly year-round. However, it has very little fragrance. This past year has been a disappointment in the rose department. I haven't had any roses on the other bushes since October, and what few there were weren't much to look at. In a couple of weeks I'll be pruning and remulching, and then in February start with the fertilizer.

We've finished the year with 12.69 inches of rain, compared with last year's 4.28. The average is around 7.5 to 8 inches. The weed crop should be fantastic this spring!

Tricky Transformation

The sound of trickling water here in the desert makes it seem cooler somehow, so a fountain in my front courtyard was a top priority when I designed my landscape back in 2005. I didn't want one of the typical Mediterranean styles that are the most common around here because my house is more Southwest Contemporary in style. So, I chose a wok and ball style fountain that basically just delivered water up the center of the ball and bubbled up just enough to wet the ball. The photo, taken soon after installation, is not the best, but you can get the general idea.


All was well for several years, but eventually the pump seemed to lose its steam, so we sought to replace it. What a farce that turned out to be. In order to replace the pump, the large concrete ball had to come off its pedestal, the pump replaced and the electrical cord rethreaded through a special opening. The first repair company was unable to move the 800 pound ball, even with four helpers. The second repair company brought a small army and removed the ball, but they were then unable to figure out how to remove the pump's electrical cord. The third company brought a new pump, put it in place, but then couldn't figure out how to rethread the electrical connection. They said they would be back as soon as they figured it out, but they never returned. I guess they never did figure out how to do it. So, the whole thing sat in four pieces for several months while we tried to find a company that could handle the job properly. By then, we had put so much money into the various attempts at repair plus the cost of the new pump, that hiring yet another company seemed kind of stupid, so we just decided we didn't need a fountain. I had our landscape maintenance crew roll the 800 pound concrete ball to our back yard, and we converted the fountain into a planter with a kinetic wind sculpture in the center.

The ball now sits in my backyard, as yard art. It also makes a seat of sorts, except in summer! If I ever get enough ambition, I may Mosaic the whole thing.

The whole ordeal of changing over the fountain was so frustrating that I procrastinated in purchaing potting soil and plants. Today I finally got around to getting some seasonal bedding plants and soon I'll have some flowers, fragrance and movement in my courtyard. However, I've just added to my garden chores because I have one more thing to hand water! Come summer, I'll probably fill the thing with rocks and just let the wind do the work.