Snow and Sunflowers in late January

Winter has definitely arrived in Arizona, with snowfall in the mountains near Tucson. Here are a few shots of the Catalina mountains this past week. In these first two you can see the Saguaro cactus in the foreground, with the snow capped peaks behind them.

To give contrast to the snowy mountain peaks, the little sunflower has opened in the bird yard...

And the first real sign of Spring- the first Hyacinth has popped through the ground!!!

And just a shot of Moo and Amber, sharing a drink of water!

August Survivors

Although it has been an incredibly hot and dry monsoon season a little rain came late Wednesday afternoon, refreshing the dry desert just a little. I've also upped the watering I've done to try and help the plants through the summer. I've had quite a few go crispy and die but quite a few others are doing well. Here is my pretty pink Hibiscus soaking in the rain.

I've spent some garden time moving several plants, that were not doing well where they were planted. This Dahlia had been planted in an area with too much sun, and although it grew lots of leaves, it was prone to afternoon wilting and no blooms. I moved it to the side yard, where it will get alot more shade. It looks pretty sad in this picture after being transplanted, but it is standing tall and it will be ok.


Here is the Orange Dahlia, planted in the same place. This Dahlia blooms and blooms although none are currently open. I am hoping that by moving the pink one next to it, I get some blooms from it too eventually.

And my little bean trees...I've got two that have grown amazingly well. The others are in various stages but not as big as these two.




My Red Bird of Paradise is finally blooming. I learned a lesson about these plants, not knowing last winter that I should have cut them back. I cut them back early Spring and they have finally taken off. Here is the first bloom just opening this morning.

And the Baja Fairy Duster- blooms and blooms but sure doesn't get very tall.

Lantana- I've discovered this is just a wonderful flower to grow in this area. A little extra water since it has rained so little and these bloom and bloom.

The Canna I bought are starting to bloom too now, although often the bloom wilts before it can completely open. They are gorgeous though with their purple leaves and orange blooms.

And as I was wandering around the garden taking pictures this morning, I noticed this little dove, not 3 feet from me, enjoying the little seed patty I made and had out for them. The birds are getting fairly used to me being around, but the doves seem the calmest, more interested in getting fed, than in the silly human with the camera.

Happy Saturday!

The clouds came over the mountain....

I monitor the possiblity of rain by looking to the North in the afternoons during monsoon season. The clouds gather over the Catalina mountains most afternoons and then move in over the town to hopefully bring some rain. We've had an awfully dry season so far this year but I keep hoping for a downpour!

Good-bye July 2009 and Happy SkyWatch Friday! To see the skies around the world please visit SkyWatch Friday!

Wind and Fury but little rain

Our Monsoon season has begun with some incredible winds, but not much rain yet. Monday night the wind blew so hard, that it pulled over the top pads on my two prickly pears. I think these big cacti probably needed water since I don't give them much additional water, and the strong winds just toppled the heavy pads. I noticed the same thing in other yards as I was driving to work yesterday. I'm not sure if the cactus can repair itself or not- if not I suppose I will need to cut off these top pads.

And the rest are just random sky shots- the sunset last night just blew me away- I thought I had seen the best sunsets Tucson could offer but every direction I turned the sky was a different color and the palette was constantly changing.

The bird area- the light from the sunset made it just shimmer- the pictures don't do the real colors justice- that white cloud behind the tree in the picture below was alight with a golden pink glow.

Clouds coming in over the mountains in the East.

Looking West.

A bit of a rainbow in the North.

And some shots of the sunflowers...a blowing in the wind!

Hopefully the rain part of the monsoon season will pick up soon- the big scary cactus in my front area sure could use some rain!

It's A Record - Ninth Wettest Day in May in Tucson!!

It is not often, I get to take pictures of my plants in the rain. Especially in May- it just doesn't rain in May in Tucson. However we broke a record withe the half inch that came down today- the Ninth Wettest May Day on record!

The biggest of the bean trees-soaking up the rain!

The hydrangea gets pinker by the day!

And the little balloon flower has been blooming like crazy.

We also broke a record for low temperature, and Monday we broke a record for high temperature when it got up to 102- a week for weather records! The forecasters are predicting an early and wetter than usual Monsoon season- I can't wait!

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.

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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