My latest Passion "Passiflora x alatocaerulea"

The warm temperatures and the garden springing into life, has made it just impossible to stay away from the nursery. Out of the 3 Passiflora I planted last year, two did amazingly well over the winter, and are ready to burst into bloom. The third, a red variety, Ruby Glow, died back pretty much to the ground, but the main portion seems green and a small leaf is starting to form so I think it will come back. I just love the Passiflora flowers, so when I saw this one yesterday, I just couldn't resist. I know it is a bit early to be planting but I am keeping my fingers crossed that the worst of the cold is over. It was labeled Passiflora x alatocaerulea and the flowers are a light lavender, almost pink color. The petals are wide spaced, so that the light green part that holds the bud- (can you tell I don't know the proper names here)- shows in between them, making the bloom appear lavender/pink and green. They are just lovely! After a little research I discovered the alatocaerulea is actually a cross between two of my other vines, the Ruby Glow, which didn't do so well, and the Caerulea which did really well. I wasn't aware the scientific name for Ruby Glow is alato. So now I have a whole family in the yard.




My neighbor gave me this wonderful heart shaped plant stand, so I planted the Passiflora in the ground and started weaving it around the heart. I think it is just perfect for it.



The vine looks so healthy- with several buds just waiting to open.

One thing that really attracts me to the passion vine, are the little squiggly whips (another scientific term) that it uses to attach itself to things. They form the most delightful little squiggles and there is always something interesting to look at, even when the vine is not flowering. And mine haven't really gotten to the fruiting stage. That will be a whole nother experience!

Heres to Spring and Passiflora vines and many many flowers!

To see pictures of my other Passiflora vines click here.

A room with a view

I spent 4 days in Las Vegas last week for work, and of course I had a little fun too! I had never been there before so it was quite something to see. I loved looking out my hotel window and seeing the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino- the tall spaceship like building- all lit up at night- but this early morning view was pretty too!

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Along came a spider

Here is my "creepy" Camera Critter. My son found this spider today. Anyone know what kind it is?

Join the fun folks over at Camera Critters each week for great critter posts. Most not quite as creepy as this one!

Signs of Spring

For Bloomin Tuesday, my reliable little Parodia, that never seems to be too far away from a bloom. These started opening about a week ago and a third bud is forming quickly.

Last summer I discovered a little sprout growing in one of my vines (Epipremnum aureum) I had no idea what it was or how it would grow but I left it alone, and it grew all summer, and into the fall, with beautiful green leaves. Come winter it lost all the leaves and now that Spring has arrived the first little buds of green are showing. I decided it was overdue to have its own pot, so this last weekend I split it off from the main plant and potted it up. Here is the root it had!

And here is the tiny bud of a leaf starting.

And here it is in its new home.

My guess is that this little plant is a Hibiscus- based purely on the leaves it had last summer. They have the same shape and feel as my Hibiscus plants. I can't wait to see if I get any blooms.

Spring is showing up in so many places in my garden, and it is hard to contain my excitement. The picture below shows a few of the many passion flower buds forming on my office window vine.


And this picture is the Hydrangea starting to leaf out.

Hope it is bloomin where you are at! To see other "Bloomin Tuesday" posts please visit Ms "Green Thumb" Jean.

And then there were two

After the first bud took so very long to open, I wasn't even expecting to see the second one anytime soon. I was out watering this afternoon and happened to glance over at her to discover both blooms wide open. I guess temps reaching 80 speed things up just a bit!

Pneli blooms at last

At last a fully opened flower! Little tiny flying insects were also interested in her bloom.

A long awaited bloom

The other day, late in the afternoon, the little P.neli finally opened up her little bud- at least half-way. It was a lucky thing I even caught the show, as it was brief, and she closed it right up as the sun went down. That was two days ago, and I haven't seen it happen since. The bud started to open up yesterday a little, but never even made it half-way. The third picture is the current state of affairs. I suppose maybe the colder weather we have been having is keeping it closed. But even half-opened the flower was wonderful! I never expected orange at all, as the only ones I have seen pictures of were yellow and white, with maybe some pink. So orange is unexpected, but oh so beautiful!

My son started me some pansies from seed last fall, and the first of them have finally started to bloom. I've been enjoying Pansie blooms regularly from the small plants I purchased, but these are the first from the seed started plants. I fell in love with this color combination- it is the prettiest Pansie in my yard so far.




I had so many comments on my little reindeer dude so here is a picture of all of him. He stands guard in the bird area, and the passion vine tangles through him. I bought him down in Mexico and I adore him too! I think there is a better picture of him at the end of this post I made last September.

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Happy Valentines Day

This little "Red-Headed" cactus sends you a Happy Valentines Day. If you squint a bit he almost looks heart shaped!

Winter Wonderland in the desert

It seems to happen at least once each winter- a snowstorm that reaches low enough to actually cover the Santa Catalina's in snow. It is a pretty sight to most desert eyes. This was my view as I drove to work a couple days ago. By the afternoon most of the snow was gone.

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Forecast: Snow in the desert

Driving back home from the Phoenix area the other day, I noticed the snow-capped Santa Catalina Mountains as I got closer to Tucson. There was just a dusting of snow on them, which is pretty typical for this time of year. I thought "As long as it stays up there..."

We have had a couple of rainy days since, and then it happened- the forecast says "SNOW in Tucson" today, and freezing temps tonight. Now I am sure there are plenty of people, my son included, who are happy at this news, even excited about it, but I am sure not one of them. I had my fill of snow and cold before I moved to Tucson, and I have no desire to experience that again.

I walked around my garden yesterday, and the thought of snow and frost is so depressing. So many of my plants are budding out and greening up. This next picture is an Alyogyne huegelii, or commonly called "Blue Hibiscus" although it really isn't a Hibiscus, the flower does look similar. I bought this last summer, and it has never bloomed, but there are tiny little flower buds on it- just waiting for sunshine and warmth to turn them into blooms. I don't think they are expecting any snow though! I haven't even covered this little plant on the cold nights, but I don't think the little flower buds will stand up to freezing temps, the same way the rest of the plant did.

Below is one of my 3 Passion Vines. Two of them did not even die back, and now that there has been some warm weather, they have new shoots growing in every spot imaginable.

I will be out tonight covering up everything I can, and hoping this latest cold snap doesn't last, or seriously damage anything. While I slept and dreamed about Spring, some gremlin borrowed my camera last night and left me with this little image to greet me this morning. It did snow a little last night -are at least there was enough slushy stuff to create this little guy.

So Happy Bloomin Tuesday- no blooms but a snowman from Tucson!

To see other Bloomin Tuesday posts please visit Ms "Green Thumb" Jean.

Waiting for the rain to pass

My little split rock plant is so very close to flowering. I thought it might be today, but it rained all day, so I brought it in where it would be protected. It seems to be waiting patiently for some sunshine before unfurling all the glory. I see pink though- which makes me smile. I've seen pictures of these in flower, and although they are all incredible blooms, most it seems are yellow and white. The few I have seen with pink too were just over the top gorgeous!

Whats wrong with the Aloe? Mites!

I wanted to post an update about the weird growth on my Aloe. A kind visitor to my blog emailed me and sent me a link that describes this condition. The cauliflower like growth is actually caused by an Aloe Mite, also known aloe wart mite or aloe gall mite. It is a Eriophyid mite known as Aceria aloinis (Keifer). The growths are called galls and they are caused by the mite injecting a chemical into plant tissues during feeding causing the plant tissues to grow abnormally.
The recommended solution is to remove the infected parts of the plant, and put them in the trash. Since this Aloe really doesn't belong in the bed it is in, I am going to pull the whole plant and trash it. I sure don't want this spreading to any others. I am so glad this plant is a loner- and the clumps of Aloe in the big area look fine.

Bye-bye Mr Aloe plant!

Spring comes early in Arizona

I am so excited that February is here- and Spring seems to be as well. Walking around the yard I find so many things budding out and coming up. I have spent some weekend time, cleaning out the flower beds, of dead leaves and other debris, and there is always something new going on. The temps are reaching the 80s the next couple days so I am crossing my fingers that we don't get a late frost after this quite mild winter.

This Periwinkle vine didn't die back at all with the cold, although I did throw a rug over it on the very coldest nights. It has little lavender blooms and is growing fast with the warm weather.

And my salad bed is recovering from the rabbit attack. Here is a teeny tiny little broccoli head! I will be just thrilled if this gets to any size without another rabbit visitor eating it. I should come up with a way to cover it during the night.

And my lone Aloe from previous posts, didn't ever bloom, but the bunch of Aloe that live under one of the small Chollas are sprouting buds all over the place. They are silky smooth- soft like velvet. They are not open yet but are beautiful nonetheless. The plants though have dried tips- I wonder if it was the cold, or not enough water?

And just a little "puppy love"- Miss P gives one of the puppies (Moon Pie) a kiss!


Happy February 2009! Welcome Spring.....(I hope) ;)