Sunday, March 6, 2011

Spring at last

Winter was brutal- for Tucson standards anyway.  We had two stretches of freezing night temps- dipping down to about 18 or 19 degrees a couple nights.  It was the worst I've seen since I started gardening, and I lost so many plants.  Every night blooming cactus in my yard is either dead or severely damaged.  My two majestic old Prickly Pears (one featured in my header picture) are just stumps coming from the ground. The dead and rotting pads filled a pickup truck load. The Sky Flower, Hibiscus, two Passion Vines, all seem lost. My sweet little Ponytail Palm- if it comes back it will be amazing. 
But it seems Spring has found us at last...and the little bulb garden I planted in the fall is really coming to life.  The first Crocus opened up yesterday.





 As I walked around the yard, I noticed the little Mescal Bean Tree, the first one I planted, has some tiny blooms starting.  This little tree has not grown an inch, and has deformed leaves, never thriving no matter what I did. But it is going to bloom! It made my heart soar.


Happy Spring!

4 comments:

Cheryl Ann said...

Oh, gosh! We had some very cold mornings here too, a couple of weeks ago. Fortunately, my plants made it, but my bougenvillas got hit pretty heavy. I have GOT to plant some bulbs next fall. When did you plant yours? They are beautiful!

kesslerdee said...

I planted them in early November. It might have been too soon for some, as they started to grow and then froze back (the Iris). The Ranunculus bulbs I planted are getting ready to bloom too. They actually have been growing since last fall and survived the freezing temps with just a blanket over them.

Julie said...

Oh, I am so sorry for your losses! SAD. Your bulbs are just gorgeous!!!! Enjoy!!!

Candice Suter.....Sweetstuff said...

I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your beautiful succulents. I hope that some of them have enough left to come back. Your bulb flowers are so beautiful.