Putting the garden to bed

I more or less have everything put to bed for the long cold winter months.  All the flowers have been pulled/cut, a few bushes trimmed, and some makeshift tents have been put over a few non hardy and even some very hardy plants.  Normally I would not have covered as much, but I didn't want a repeat of last year, so I think I will do what I can until some of the yuccas get bigger and are more able to withstand the extreme chill.   



Oh my... ice on the pumpkin, and you know what they say about ice on the pumpkin.  

sclerocactus parviflorus

Coryphantha vivipara

Echinocereus tri. var mojavensis

Opuntia sp.

  Note the shrinking of the plant cells, almost all cold hardy cactus will shrivel up some for winter. 

Yucca angustissima

Very cold hardy, it did well last winter, and this was a winter that filimentosa died back.

Beautiful plant, not sure of the var. or how big it will get. 

Penstemon pinifolius

Winter colors 

More winter colors

I built these monuments/pillars for wildlife and to add some interest in the garden, they are built on a lava flow that I could not do much with.  I put them here a few years ago and have stuck out like a soar thumb ever sense.

So I have been trying to Angkor them with some rocks and planting beds.  I think this and some restaining of the mortar should give more of a natural look.    

And some that I did earlier this year, I should have taken a before pic.

And last some birds by the feeder.