Woke up too a beautiful morning. The clouds give a touch of art too the morning sky. I love the endless blue skies of summer here, but a few clouds can give it interest.
The best gardens for me are the ones that invite wildlife in, even "pests". Ok...maybe not all, but some I can live with. These are found on my Datura sp.
"Tomato Hornworm"," hummingbird spinx month caterpillar"
Manduca sexta
"not a pest!"
Pacific tree frog
Despite the freezing nights, some flower still blooming.
agastache sp.
liatris flower, just started to bloom.
Some new plants, some old.
My new cactus from cactusbylin.com
Ferocactus cylindraceus, will be planted outside next year and covered in the winter.
Unknown ferocactus I grew from seed. Came from a desert seed pack sold in the southwest.
This is last one I have, all the other died with lows in the low 20's
Purple pricklypear cross. Planting it outside next year.
Some cactus seed that sprouted from mulch that came with a desert plant I bought.
Looks like purple pricklypear. Opuntia santa rita?
And the best for last! A new hybrid cross I got from my friend Tim.
Yucca arkansana "freemannii" x reverchonii-thompsonii
Will be covered this first year.
This was also from Tim.
Yucca gluaca-stricta, Maxwell NE
I really miss cactus country. Miss all the challenges to living off that landscape. I often go to Canary Islands to collect cactus for the home here in Sweden. Snails and slugs made a meal of the new cladode cactus pad which grew this year.
ReplyDeleteJust wrote a piece yesterday on my Earth's Internet blog about Prickly Pear Cactus ability to cleanse the soil of contaminants. Very interesting work in the San Joaquin Valley. However it's amazing just how much cold some species can tolerate. I'm not one of those species, I hate cold. Going back home for three months in April.
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I read your piece on the prickly-pear, good stuff!
DeleteIt is amazing how much cold some prickly-pear can endore. I never thought I would have been able to grow some of the species I have in my garden (Idaho), and so trying new ones all the time.
PS I hate the cold!
Looks like more interesting goodies you're trying. I just got a similar-looking Opuntia santa-rita cross, maybe the same thing! Hopefully you get a milder winter to help establish these plants. That Agastache looks very vibrant so late in the year.
ReplyDeleteI seen your blog and the Opuntia pads you have, I think they may be the same. I hope they prove too be cold hardy for at least one of our gardens. lol
DeleteI was surprized at the agastache, still flowering after many freezes.