Winter Garden Reflections.. Odds, Ends, ..and new beginings

[Silas_Sancona]

Its chilly, cloudy and the sun is low.. yet, life doesn't mind.  A few hardy Bees buzz about looking for something to drink.. Grackles and the resident Mockingbird scratch through the gravel looking for seed, while others sit perched up in the spindly Mesquite squawking at the neighbor's annoying feral cat who assumes it can hang out under the Guayacan, before it is chased it back to where it came from. 

As dry and desolate as it has been this year, there is plenty of spring green peeking up here and there, though nowhere as lush as last year, as strangely late, stubbornly resilient " summer blooms " finally take a nap. At the same time, the toughest of the carefree flower right through it all.. 

This is a moment in the Winter Garden.. a time when life may slow down for a moment, but never stops moving forward.. and is reflective of life during a tough year that is finally coming to a welcome end,  and what to look forward to as a new chapter opens. 


Odds, and ends...

" Summer Flowering " things, flowering right around Christmas, -again-  ..( Happened last year too.. but after receiving more rain )

Sacred Datura, Datura wrightii. These typically die down in the cool season in most places.. Not my yard, lol.. Big one is throwing a few flowers, another i thought this summers' heat/ lack of rain/ running over with the hose killed roared back to life in November.


AZ. Summer Poppy, Kalstroemia grandiflora.. which did not come up until, ...late October.. ( About a month later than last year when some germinated at the end of September ). These usually pop up in August in response to warm season/Monsoonal rains, and are pretty much spent by Halloween.  Plants are finally dying off for the year as a new one begins.



Endurance, in the face of many challenges:

Torch Glow Bougainvillea, the stubborn, care free bloomer that never quits.. Laughing off this past summers cruel heat, and barely being watered, -by hand, or by nature-..  Just getting bigger, and flowering even more. 



A few lines on the first page of a new chapter:

Last year, as part of a list of plans made for the new year,  i'd set sights on working with a group of plants which form part of the foundation of my journey down the green and leafy road..  While 99% of planned plans would essentially grind to a halt, decided that wasn't going to completely alter everything.. Even so, the year ahead will determine how well thought out my decision to proceed starting down the road toward a future collection of rarely grown Pines was.  Being determined -and stubborn- is both a great.. and not always so great personality trait.  Not as concerned about the outcome of the first two, i can acquire more seed of both later if need be.. The 3rd will be protected -from the heat- if it comes down to having to do so.. Hopefully it doesn't..

Mexican Pines, and a Cypress:

Pinus Pseudostrobus, Smooth bark Mexican Pine


Pinus oocarpa, Egg Cone Pine.


Pinus maximartinezii, Big Cone Pinyon. One of the rarest Pines on the planet, and a tough to obtain species that is slowly becoming more available, and for good reason.. Plants were actually cheaper to purchase than past listings i have seen for seed.




Taxodium mucronatum, Montezuma Cypress. While perhaps too big for many yards, these should be grown more, where they can be planted. **A little bigger atm than when pictured, but not by much** ..( Thanks to @Fusca for some seed )




Some other random things germinating atm: 

As is the case sometimes, to grow new things, or those rarely cultivated,  heading out into the wild and collecting seed may be the only option. With that in mind, i always follow the wise philosophy taught by others.. only collecting what i need to get the ball rolling..  just enough seed of desired things to produce my own seed/ new plants to distribute.. Never collect enough to negatively impact a local population.

Desert Chicory, Rafinesquia neomexicana.. Uncommon spring Annual that should be more available for inclusion in xeric gardens..


Rock Pea/Shrubby DeerVetch, Ottleya rigida.. A rather unassuming xeric perennial that is about as tough as they get, and also helps to fix Nitrogen. Exploring these for later use as a living mulch.



California Trixis/ American Threefold, Trixis californica var. californica  Another tough, but unassuming  xeric-garden friendly Perennial/ subshrub that represents the northern-most member of a rather tropical section of the Sunflower family. Seed heads can be a little messy. Trim off if so.   ** ( Pic #2 ) Flowers from specimens out at Rock Tank, east of Florence, AZ. 4/15/20**








A glimpse of how life never stops moving forward toward a new season.. no matter how gloomy things may appear  -in the moment-

First flowers forming on some of the coming spring's Desert Bluebells, Phacelia campanularia..



Enjoy,
-Nathan

[chinandega81]

Are the mangos in bloom there yet? Here they are just starting. I also have a sea mahoe flowering. The tropical almond trees are turning bright red as well. Starburt clarendenrum are starting to develop their flower buds for the coming weeks....it is a down time in the garden here overall though. At least the weeds have slowed down too!

[Silas_Sancona]

2 minutes ago, chinandega81 said:

Are the mangos in bloom there yet? Here they are just starting. I also have a sea mahoe flowering. The tropical almond trees are turning bright red as well. Starburt clarendenrum are starting to develop their flower buds for the coming weeks....it is a down time in the garden here overall though. At least the weeds have slowed down too!

I'll have to take a look at my neighbors' trees. Thinking it has been too chilly overall but could be wrong. His/ other Moringa in the neighborhood are flowering though.. You ever encounter seed off the Tropical Almonds?

The weed factor, mainly whatever " wild " Bermuda it is that grows out front, is definitely down compared to last year.. simply due to the lack of rain.

[chinandega81]

1 hour ago, Silas_Sancona said:

I'll have to take a look at my neighbors' trees. Thinking it has been too chilly overall but could be wrong. His/ other Moringa in the neighborhood are flowering though.. You ever encounter seed off the Tropical Almonds?

The weed factor, mainly whatever " wild " Bermuda it is that grows out front, is definitely down compared to last year.. simply due to the lack of rain.

Yes, here is South Florida they all seed profusely and grow naturally in the wild thanks to the squirrels who love them. I have one that is flowering now and a second one that is dropping seeds as well.

[Silas_Sancona]

1 minute ago, chinandega81 said:

Yes, here is South Florida they all seed profusely and grow naturally in the wild thanks to the squirrels who love them. I have one that is flowering now and a second one that is dropping seeds as well.

Have heard they can be prolific down there.. Think i saw maybe one or two specimens up closer to Bradenton. On my list to try out in San Diego once out there. Love the leaves/ fall coloration.

[Tracy]

4 hours ago, chinandega81 said:

Are the mangos in bloom there yet?

Not quite yet in my yard further west in California.  My Alfonso Mango tree is starting to push out some inflorescence but still a few weeks away from flowering... maybe late January best guess from appearances.

[Tracy]

5 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Taxodium mucronatum, Montezuma Cypress. While perhaps too big for many yards, these should be grown more, where they can be planted. **A little bigger atm than when pictured, but not by much** ..( Thanks to @Fusca for some seed )

 

Interesting Cypress tree that caught my eye in your post.  The only negative for here in Southern California is that they appear to want a lot of water, naturally growing in swampy areas from what I could read.  My wife is partial to California native Hesperocyparis macrocarpa .  There are a few old ones growing here in Leucadia but I never see them for sale or any young ones planted.  When you make the move west, it might be something to try as I'm sure there would be a market for them.

[Silas_Sancona]

56 minutes ago, Tracy said:

Interesting Cypress tree that caught my eye in your post.  The only negative for here in Southern California is that they appear to want a lot of water, naturally growing in swampy areas from what I could read.  My wife is partial to California native Hesperocyparis macrocarpa .  There are a few old ones growing here in Leucadia but I never see them for sale or any young ones planted.  When you make the move west, it might be something to try as I'm sure there would be a market for them.

 T. mucronatum will tolerate much less water/ cyclical drought conditions better than Bald Cypress, Taxodium distichum, even though it also grows along streams/rivers in S. Texas and Mexico ( inc. Sonora ) Definitely needs a lot of space though, and will shed all/most foliage right as it flushes new growth in spring. Great for parks/larger properties.. but can also be kept as a Bonsai. Thinking Gary ( Glevine ) has one at his place. 

There's a few scattered around San Diego, a couple in parks near San Pedro/ Long Beach, other parts of S. Cal. but some of the biggest/ oldest are in parks up in Santa Barbra. Supposedly, a specimen at Kuruvungna Spring in Los Angeles is registered as a California Big Tree. Huntington's specimen is about as big as well.

There's also a cross circulating in the Nursery trade between the two species that supposedly exhibits the best qualities of both parents. Not sure if anyone here/ in CA. is growing those yet though.

Don't think Monterey/Santa Cruz would be the same w/out all the Monterey Cypress there, but they do get massive ( but can be trained as a Bonsai/ kept shorter ) The rare Cuyamaca Cypress, Hesperocyparis stephensonii  ( thought to be a variant of the Smooth-Bark AZ. Cypress, H. glabra ) would be interesting to try as a large Bonsai also.  Moosa Creek, over in Valley Center lists both in their availability.

 

Edited January 1, 2021 by Silas_Sancona
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