They're Back- Palo Verde Beetles

The monsoon rains bring so much to the summer here, it is hard to complain, but they also bring the one insect I really dread! On the whole, there are not that many bugs here- compared to other areas of the country I have lived in.
However the bugs we have here in the desert are some mighty big bugs- That's a golf ball in the picture for size reference!

The Palo Verde Beetle
shows up in my backyard where I have a nice sized Palo Verde tree that does seem to be a bit stressed in spite of having enough water. I worry I will come home some day to the tree up-ended and a mass of bugs in the hole. They come up through the ground and fly around- I did manage to get this picture of one the other night as he tried to run into a pile of debris. The little dog Puffin alerted me that there was a backyard invader! These bugs drive my dogs crazy- they are out there sniffing around during the day- and if I let them out at night they bark non-stop when they find a bug.

GTS- Baja Fairy Duster Bloom (Calliandra californica)

The little Baja Fairy Duster plant in my yard has been amazing! Click on the pictures to see the amazing detail of these little flowers! I bought this little guy early last spring, and he has bloomed faithfully all summer long, producing neat little seed pods that snap open to distribute the seeds and plenty of blooms as well. For as small and as young as this plant is I've been really surprised at all the activity.

The blooms do seem to be getting a little sparser with the summer heat, and they are not quite as full as they were earlier in the year, but they are still wondrous with their airy little strands and beautiful red color. I can't wait to see how this little guy does in a year or two!

Green Thumb Sunday


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Monsoons have arrived!

Tucson had the first storm of the 2008 Monsoon season yesterday and it came fast and furious as it usually does. The picture is downtown, and the streets were so flooded I was glad to get home from work.
Everything will really green up now that the rains are here and that includes the weeds! I am going to have quite a time keeping up with them in some parts of my yard but the wonderful rain and cooler temperatures are worth it.
The only thing I dread are the huge Palo Verde beetles that inevitably come up in my backyard- they are HUGE! I'll try and get a picture of one to post but I sure which they would just stay away as they give me the creeps.

Mystery Flower- Black Eyed Susan, Indian Summer?

I believe this could be an Indian Summer, as was suggested in a comment, or as I recall them from my childhood, a Black Eyed Susan. Here is a picture of it mostly opened up- and another bud is coming! What a fun surprise this has been in my garden.

On another note the Monsoons seem to have arrived in Tucson- we had our first rain of the season last night along with a beautiful lightening show-I stood in the middle of the yard and just let the rain come down on me- what a wonderful thing rain is in the desert!

Bloomin' Tuesday

There are very few blooms of note in my Arizona garden today, but I did find an unexpected one when making the rounds this morning. I think it might be a weed- does anyone know?

However it is so graceful and beautiful I believe I'll leave it alone!

To see other Bloomin' Tuesday posts, please see the link list at

Ms Green Thumb Jean's

Bean babies

After my bean gathering two days ago, Sunday, I put the seeds in warm water, covered them with a cloth and set them outside in a shady spot. I figured it wouldn't be easy to give them warmth indoors with the cooler running so outside they went. This morning I remembered them and when I peeled away the almost dry cloth, I found almost every small bean had a little sprout started! So my dreams for a Mescal bean family of trees seems as though it might actually come true! I'll give these another day and plant them tonight or tomorrow-

So what I've read is true- the very best time to sprout these seeds is when the seeds are just barely turning red- once you start the soaking process- the seed turns completely red as in the picture above! Click on the picture above and it will open up for a larger view!

The other picture above is the new sprout in the garden- the first picture I posted was almost impossible to pick him out but he is standing up straight and tall now.

Mescal Bean Gathering

With my two recent Mescal Bean Tree babies sprouting in my garden I am more determined than ever to try again- this time in more appropriate pots for later transplanting. So today I went Mescal seed gathering again. Here are the bean trees in the middle of a busy road- I must have looked pretty silly out there to the passing cars! In my head I was planning out what I would say if a Police officer pulled over and asked what I was doing. Is it illegal to pic pods in a public place? Hmmmmm- luckily no one stopped and questioned me!

A close-up of the tree that had the more developed silvery looking pods- these turned out to be the ones that were just a touch red.

Close-up of a tree that had larger, greener pods- these have bigger seeds but were less developed.

Home again with the loot- the Mescal pods and some Mesquite pods I found near my car. I love scavenging for seeds to try!

My first glimpse of red on the seeds after carefully peeling away the outside.

Perfect seeds ready to soak for a couple days- then I am going to try planting these in containers- to be continued...

Sunday Morning Surprises

One should never post GTS using Saturday's pictures, without first taking a walk through the garden early Sunday morning! This is a lesson I have learned as this mornings walk certainly brought forth some interesting finds:

The yellow rose from yesterday opened up in all its glory this morning- it reminds me of the sun!

A new deep red rose bud- this one hasn't bloomed before so I am very excited at seeing the first bloom form- it almost looks black!

The new bougainvillea I planted looks gorgeous in the morning light- reminds me of a bridal bouquet! I just love the pale pink and white of this variety.

And lo and behold- can life get any sweeter- ANOTHER baby bean tree just barely peeking out of the earth! I am truly blessed this Sunday morning but the picture just wouldn't turn out- too small I guess!

I also posted a picture of the big brother bean tree- see how I've grown!

And a close-up of the bougainvillea- I love the little flowers within a flower!

GTS- end of the prickly pear blooms and yellow roses

The two rose bushes in my yard continue to put out a bloom or two even with the heat coming on. Those little leaf-cutter bees though have almost completely carved up the young leaves.

The prickly pears in my yard are just about done blooming- this sweet little flower is one of the last! I really adore the peach color and waxy appearance of their flowers- I just need to learn how to make candy out of the fruit.

Cactus bloom

Everywhere I go these days I seem to be keeping my eye out for cactus blooms. Probably because the ones in my own yard are getting really sparse these days! Summer truly has set in and although our Monsoon season is just around the corner, it is hard to imagine rain when it is 109 degrees outside.

I saw this bloom at a local hospital- so huge and just gorgeous this cactus is really something! My job gets me over here frequently so I'll try and catch it open- if it lasts long enough.

My Mescal Bean Tree Adventures

A baby tree!

I wanted to write about my adventures in trying to start some Mescal Bean Trees in my yard but I have not gotten around to doing it until today. I discovered these trees in Tucson a couple years ago and each time I came across one in bloom I was amazed by the incredible grape candy scent that gave me an instant sense of "de ja vu" probably reminding me of carefree childhood days with grape bubblegum!

The flowers were so beautiful and the scent so tantalizing that I really wanted one or more of these trees growing in my yard. I found one little tree, about 2 foot tall at a local nursery and brought that home to plant. Despite my best efforts it hasn't done well, losing many of the leaves on some branches and just not appearing to show any growth! When reading online about them I discovered that they are indeed difficult to transplant, having a very long tap root, and not doing well when moved from one location to another.

So I have continued to provide it water, and lots of hope and FINALLY I am seeing some growth (middle picture)!

In the mean time I have collected seeds from some of these trees that grow in the public areas of Tucson and have researched online the best way to get them to sprout- I tried sanding and soaking and nicking the outside of the seed but nothing seemed to cause them to swell up and sprout!

Many of my failed seeds, went into various places in my garden, not because I thought they would really grow- but because I couldn't bear to throw them away!

Anyway yesterday I discovered a tiny little plant growing next to my bougainvillea, in a place some of the discarded seeds were planted! I dug down just a pinch and found that it was indeed one of the seeds I had planted!

I am so thrilled! I am sure the picture doesn't look like much yet- it is just a tiny little sprout- but oh the joy of seeing it! I can't wait to see how it grows and hope and pray I can transplant it to a more suitable area of my yard, once it has gotten some decent growth on it! I'll sure be watching for others to come up now too!

The Mescal Bean trees real name is Mountain Laurel-Sophora secundiflora - Fabaceae, Bean Family!

Shades of pink

Here are pink roses that seem to bloom all year on the side of my house-

If you look closely at the leaf by the unopened bud you can see where "something" is munching on little circles of leaf- When I first discovered this I thought there must be some type of worm or bug eating them but after checking them at all hours- I haven't found a thing! Good thing because I am not sure how well I would take to picking bugs off plants- the day may come when I do this but I haven't had to yet! I think I might have leaf-cutter bees coming to visit- from what I've found on the internet they cut away pieces of leaf, and roll them into a tube shape to line the entrance to their nests! Interesting huh- and supposedly they don't really hurt the roses!

The tiny Pink and White blooms on the cholla are so delicate and pretty- a big contrast to those scary thorns!

The deadly Cholla

There is a lovely Cholla outside my bedroom window that both brings me joy and also sorrow! This Cholla is good sized- taller than my admittedly not very tall house. If you are not familiar with the Cholla they come in different varieties and are comprised of thorn covered segmented joints that seem to drop from the main plant or sometimes even "jump" onto unsuspecting passersby. One variety is referred to as a "jumping cholla" for just that reason. They are quite common in the desert around Tucson and I suspect that the one in my yard, was part of the desert, long before my home was built. Because of that and because I love all plants, I enjoy having it, although I have stepped on the thorn covered joints and have had to rescue a couple furry friends from them too! Once one of these thorny pods gets attached to something, it is awful to get unattached! They are no fun to tangle with!

The thing that really bothers me though, is the life and death struggle between this Cholla and the birds that chose to build their nests within its dangerous branches. There are two permanent nests built in the branches and they are always occupied by birds that I believe are cactus wrens. For the most part these birds seem very capable of navigating the thorns and staying out of their reach. However not always- I've had at least three birds die what must have been horrible deaths- impaled on the thorns, with any struggle just causing them to be further attached.

This year I listened to a mama bring up her two young, every day through my window- even hearing the middle of the night feedings sometimes, and watching those little birds stretch their wings and hop up onto the outside of the nest, just waiting for their first flight. Then I go out one day to find that one of the two had flown the nest, and the other was dead- impaled on the thorns of the cholla that was both its home and its enemy! I understand the cruelty of nature- but right outside my bedroom window? I struggle with destroying the nests in the tree- but the birds would build them again I am sure.

I couldn't bring myself to capture the baby bird in a picture but I have posted a picture of bird that seemed to have actually crashed into the Cholla in flight! You can see one of the nests just under that bird, and the other nest area is on the other side and not visible in this shot.

Oranges, Lemons, Limes, Tangerines, Grapefruit- and Bees!

When I bought my small home the big sell wasn't the actual house- but the yard and all of the promise it held for future gardening. The five full grown citrus trees were especially appealing. I have one of each -Orange, Lemon, Lime, Tangerine and Grapefruit and although some years have been better than others (probably due to how much water they have received) I always have at least a small crop of each. Here is one of the baby oranges just waiting to develop into a fat juicy delight!












When they go into bloom the scent is just heavenly- I step outside and am just overwhelmed by it. They also bring the bees out in full force- for a couple days this spring I was even visited by a huge swarm that hung out in the nearby Oleanders and then left for a better home.

The ugly cactus

This poor guy has had a rough time- I inherited him with my home, and he was in a pot with very little dirt, and then pot-less for almost a year with his roots exposed.

I finally got him a pot, and found the time to transplant him after I noticed that he was growing a beautiful green at the top, in spite of all the harsh treatment! I had been watering him once in awhile and that was enough to spur the growth! I can't wait to see how he does now that he has a proper home! I've no idea what type of cactus this is or what to expect in the way of blooms but I am glad I finally took the time to get him in a pot.

Green Thumb Sunday

My very first Green Thumb Sunday post was a hard decision until I noticed this little guy- I just love the shadings of orange and deep yellow on these blooms!
Aren't these flowers just gorgeous? When I snapped the picture last night they were just aglow in the light from the setting sun!

I believe this little cactus is a Parodia, at least that is what was marked on the container when I purchased it

With June here though, everything will all start slowing down with the summer heat- If anyone has any suggestions for helping them survive please comment- I haven't been gardening too long and I welcome suggestions!