May Miscellany

My Vitex agnus-castus or Chaste Tree (a shrub at this point) really grew a lot this spring. It has been languishing in my landscape for the past four years, which didn't bother me because I want to keep it as a shrub because of its location. The heavy rains earlier this year probably caused this sudden growth spurt, so I'm thinking of changing the irrigation emitter to a larger Gallons Per Hour (GPH) size to help it along.

Agave ocahui var. ocahui

I acquired this Agave ocahui last spring and it's turning out to be one of my favorite Agaves. I like the color and shape of it, and the fact that it is solitary, so I won't have to worry about offshoots popping up all over. Many of my Agave species freely produce offshoots--especially Agave angustifolia, which I can't even give away. Even the Agave huachucensis (Fort Huachuca Agave) is putting out plenty of offshoots for the first time this year, as well as my one Desert Agave (Agave deserti).

We've had some strong breezes this past week, which knocked off most of the Desert Museum Palo Verde blossoms. I'm glad that most of them came down at once so I can get the "Blow and Go" guys over here to clean up all the spring debris. I've pulled up most all of the dried wildflowers, and hundreds of the overly abundant Desert Marigold and Brittlebush plants that overtook my garden this year. Our weather has been unusually mild, so I'm glad I got most everything done before our first 100 degree day.

Captured Color

Because of my inattention to my garden over my husband's cardiac surgery and recuperation, I missed many of this year's cactus flowers, but I did manage to catch a few of them in between other chores. This Argentine Giant flower is the last of the blooms on this cactus, at least until fall.

Echinocereus dasycanthus (Texas Hedgehog)

Opuntia paraguayensis

Opuntia santa rita

Although my roses were infested with both powdery mildew and aphids in early spring, I was afraid that I would not get any nice flowers this season, but once I got control of the stuff, the new buds that came produced larger than average blooms. Rosa 'Hello Dolly' was especially prolific this year, and because our weather has been mild, it continues to have beautiful roses.

I'm Back!

I seldom show photos of my front yard, but the Palo Verde trees are in full bloom right now and I just couldn't resist showing them off. I have two more in the back, which I've shown a number of times in previous posts. They leave a mess with all the spent blooms, but that's about the only downside to these trees, other than constant worry about breakage or uprooting during windstorms and the need for regular thinning. Come to think about it, that's a lot of downside!

After my six week absence from blogging, I am trying to get back into the swing of things by posting again. In early April, my husband had cardiac surgery, and after 16 days, he came home after spending that time in the hospital and then a rehabilitation facility. After he came home, he needed constant care, including trips to doctors, physical therapy, lab tests and other things associated with such surgery. He was cleared today by his surgeon, and will now be under the care of his regular cardiologist. In three weeks he'll be able to drive again and I can then get back into my regular routine.

My favorite Echinopsis hybrid, 'Flying Saucer', bloomed last week. Last year, it only produced one flower, so this is an improvement. I hope the flowers double each year!

Another favorite is Echinopsis 'Shere Kahn'. I'm partial to salmon, coral and orange hued cactus flowers, and 'Shere Kahn' along with 'Flying Saucer', fit the bill.

Most of my prickly pear cacti have bloomed and the fruits are ripening. Shown here are two types of  Opuntia; in the foreground is Opuntia Santa Rita, and in the back, Opuntia paraguayensis. I have three other types in addition to these.