Sunday, August 17, 2008

Green Thumb Sunday: Cantaloupe on the way!







My garden in mid August never ceases to amaze me! I have really only been at this with any seriousness for a little over a year now, and many of my plants are still quite small, but they seem to have done quite a bit of growing over the last month or so. We've had quite a bit of rain here in Tucson, so I am still getting a variety of blooms here and there.

The top pictures were a surprise- this little cactus (Parodia) bloomed last May- it was actually my very first Green Thumb Sunday post, but recently more buds popped out for a late summer showing. The blooms do seem a little smaller this time around, but no less lovely!

The third picture is of a dove, sitting on her nest, in the smaller of my two Cholla on the side of my house. She built her nest in a rather low, open area, and this is one of many sets of eggs she has sat on here. The last ones though, she abandoned, so I was pleased to see her try again! Hopefully they won't go the way of some birds, being captured by the darn Cholla thorns!

I had to post the two pictures of the baby lizard I noticed running around. Isn't he darling with his spotted body and striped tail? I just love the lizards and they seem to love hanging out in the front flower bed under the big Olive tree! I believe this one is a Mediterranean Gecko - very young, not even 2 inches long!

And last is the cantaloupe plant my son brought home a month or maybe two now ago. To tell the truth, I ignored the little plant for quite awhile, realizing how big these things get, but my son eventually planted it in an open area of the side flower bed, and has it ever grown! It must be close to 8 feet now, and has started to climb the cats-claw at one and and has totally left the flower bed on the other! I noticed the other day it is starting to set fruit- I've no idea though if I can actually bring this to maturity or not- I will really be amazed if I do!


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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

The lizard is very attractive with the camouflage body and ringed tail.
It's exciting when you see your new plants growing to fill the space. That's when my plans start getting more elaborate, and out goes another chunk of the lawn to make room for a new bed.

Anonymous said...

Wow, cantaloupe! That's one of my favorite fruits, and I am starting to miss it because summer just ended and there are minimal cantaloupes available in the market. If we had a bigger yard, I might plant some.

My GTS entry is posted HERE. Please feel free to drop by if you have the time. Thanks!

Teena in Toronto said...

Cool pix! Our winters are too harsh :(

I played too :)

Anonymous said...

I haven't been to the desert, and my notions about it are that it's well, desert-y. Like the old western movies I guess. But now in your post I'm seeing tons of green, the buds, blossoms, and fruits. It's like a dry Amazon out there!

Aiyana said...

I've never seen this type of lizard here in the Phoenix area. We have the plain gray desert lizards. Not much to look at. Your Parodia is beautiful. This is a new species for me. None of mine have an orange flower. Your garden looks great!
Sorry for the late GTS comment--I've been tied up with a project I had to finish--it goes in the mail tomorrow, so now I'm back to visiting my favorite blogs.
Aiyana
Aiyana

Shannon said...

What a cute little lizard. I love desert plants, although I can't grow them outside here. I have tried growing a few as houseplants though.