Bits of Beauty in Barstow - Desert Gardens I

Theme and Variations

This landscaping effectively uses variations in color and texture along with rocks and a sculpture to create an attractive, nearly waterless garden.





Stately Entrance



The City's use of brick and yellow gravel to provide a formal edging to the median, creates a stately entrance to Barstow.  When the small plantings have matured, this will be a lovely addition to our City.



Oasis in the Desert



The grouping of palm trees with lower plants creates the effect of an oasis.



Mojave Style - Shades of Tan



Ignore the tree and lawn in the background which belong to a neighbor.  This low water landscape is typical of the Mojave Style, with a scattering of xeric plants and round cobbles to suggest a dry river bed.

Mojave Style - Shades of Red

Again ignore the trees in the background which belong to a neighbor.  The white pampas grass provides a contrast to the red rock most of the year.  The Ocotillos provide red accepts before the Mexican Bird-of-Paridise blooms.


Desert Woodland



Pines native to the drier part of the Middle East can provide a woodland effect without using much water.



Pathway to a Secret Garden



A combination of plants in a desert garden invite a closer view.

Yuck, Yuck, Yuccas



Yucca rostrata

   


Yuccas make wonderful background and specimen plants in a desert garden.

But not all yuccas are equal.  Some require more water than others; some require protection from harsh weather; some are tall and some are short; some die after blooming, others do not, and some are less hazardous to the unwary than others.  And like most plants in high desert nurseries, you have to know what you are buying.  I have a large variety of yuccas and here is what I have discovered about them:


Y. aloifolia/Spanish Bayonet           often sold, requires more water, reliable bloomer, 10' clumps
Y. arkansana                                  hard to find, small clump
Y. baccata/Banana Yucca              often sold, native to E. Mojave, but I can't keep it alive in Barstow
Y. brevefolia/Joshua Tree               native to higher elevations, but can be grown here, very little water
Y. constricta/Silver-edged Yucca   hard to find, small clump
Y. elata/Soaptree yucca                
Y. filamentosa/Adam's Needle        requires more water, shrub-size
Y. filifera                                        tree
Y. flaccida                                     small clump
Y. gloriosa/Spanish Dagger            tall clump, requires more water, put in protected spot, leaves not sharp
Y. pallida                                      small clump
Y. recurvifolia/Weeping Yucca      tree, requires more water
Y. rigida/Blue Yucca                     tree, requires more water
Y. rostrata/Beaked Yucca             tree, very attractive
Y. rupicola/Twisted Leaf Yucca    small clump
Y. schidigera/Mojave Yucca         tall clump, blooms reliably, very little water
Y. schottii/Mountain Yucca           tree
Y. thompsona                               tall clump
Y. torreyi                                     tall clump
Y. whipplei/Our Lord's Candle    small  rosette, spectacular bloom, native to local mountains

Yuccas grow slowly, so I am not worried about the tree yuccas taking up too much space in my lifetime.  Except for Y. gloriosa, the differing water needs can be accomodated by adjusting bubblers or using different nozzles on a drip line.  Y. gloriosa is the yucca seen on the edge of lawns in the Los Angeles area.  It needs regular water and in Barstow, to be next to a house wall that provides winter warmth.  Y. whipplei is the gorgeous yucca with the tall blooming stalks that grows throughout the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains.  Unfortunately it dies after blooming, but some nurseries carry a varietal that forms clumps, so that when it blooms, only one rosette dies.  Look for one labelled "caespitosa".


Nolina matapensis



If you like the looks of sharp spiky plants, but not the spikes, then nolinas are a good alternative.  I have a variety of nolinas and here is whaat I have discovered about them:

N. longifolia                             large shrub, mine is too new to describe

N. matapensis/Beargrass Tree  large shrub, very attractive

N. microcarpa/Beargrass         small grasslike clump, reliable bloomer, not very

                                               attractive

N. nelsoni                                tree, mine is too new to describe

N. parryi/Parry's Beargrass      tree, native to area around Pioneer Town,
                                               beautiful in the wild but mine is too new to
                                               describe

N. Texana/Texas Beargrass     shrub, mine is too new to describe

Dasylirions and Hesperaloes are related plants with similar looks.  Dasylirion wheeleri/Desert Spoon and Hesperale parviflora/Red Yucca are the most common.  Although not particularly attractive plants, the hesperaloes have a place in a desert garden because of their reliable flowering.  Dasylirions are planted for their shape.  Most nurseries carry both.

From Apples to Ziziphus

Fuji Apple



Jujube/Chinese Date

 This year's fig crop has been picked, except for an occasional fig well beyond reach which I have left for the birds.

Now the apples, grapes, and jujubes [Ziziphus jujuba 'Lang'] are ripening.  Of the three, the jujubes do best in this climate.  Eaten raw, they are best when the skins are all brown and just starting to wrinkle.  Then they taste like dates and can be used in cooking as dates are.  They are about the same size, and have a date-like seed.
Jujubes could well be grown commercially in the high desert.  Developing a market would have to include developing western-style recipes.  At this point, I mostly eat them raw, and give them away to friends who like them raw.

Readers -- If anyone can provide me with a recipe or two, I will include them in this posting.

When I originally had my backyard landscaped, I asked for an orchard.  All the trees that Cal Landscaping planted have survived and fruited although some have had problemsl.  I have added a few more trees, most of them ordered from Raintree Nursery.   Here is a list of the fruit and nut trees that I have in my orchard.

Almond, Dwarf Garden Prince                ripens early July         needs extra iron
Apple, Semi-dwarf Fuji                          ripens mid Sept
Apple, Semi-dwarf Gravenstein              ripens early Sept.
Apricot, Moorpark                                 ripens mid June
Aprium, Dwarf Flavor Delight                 ripens mid July
Cherry, Semi-dward Compact Stella       ripens late May        susceptible to borers
Pineaple Guava                                       ripens early Nov.     only fruits on east side
Jujube/Chinese Date/Ziziphus                  ripens Sept-Oct.       has thorns, sprouts from surface roots
Nectarine, Semi-dwarf Fantasia              ripens late July
Nectarine Dwarf Red Sunset                   ripens early  Aug.
Nectarine, genetic Dwarf Nectarina        ripens mid July
Peach, Nectar (white freestone)              ripens early July
Peach, Golden Glory (yellow freestone)   ripens mid Aug.
Peach, Dwarf Nectar (white freestone)    ripens mid Aug.
Pear, Sure-crop (European)                    ripens late Sept.     problem with fire-blight
Pear, Semi-dwarf Twentieth Century       ripens early Oct.
Plumcot, Dwarf Spring Satin                    no fruit yet             susceptible to borers
Pistachio                                                 ripens late Oct.      male must be upwind of female, low water
Pluot, Flavor Queen                                ripens mid July       Flavor King & Flavor Delight don't work
Plum, Stanley Prune                                ripens late Aug.      susceptible to borers
Plum, Sapo                                             ripens mid June      problem with watersprouts
Pomegranate, Red Silk                            ripens mid Nov.     has thorns, low water
Quince                                                    ripens mid Oct.      problem with fire-blight
Walnut, English                                       ripens mid Oct.

If I had had sufficient foresight, I would have planted other trees to the west of the orchard to act as a wind break.  This year, because of the Spring winds and a late frost, none of the trees bearing crops earlier than late August, had any fruit.  Also I would not have planted any semi-dwarf or standard fruit trees (except for the walnut) as they are too difficult to keep small enough to pick the fruit.  The walnut tree is fine as the nuts drop when they are ripe.  And eventually the walnut may be large enough to act as a windbreak for the others.

It is important to buy self-pollinating trees, ror trees that will pollinate each other.  The original placement of my pistachios was wrong in terms of the prevailling west wind here.  I had to buy another male pistachio and plant it upwind of the female.

9-11 Tribute

Exactly ten years ago, on 9-11, a fountain I had ordered as a birthday present to myself, was installed.  The workmen who installed the fountain were all excited about something.  My Spanish is limited and their English was even more so; but they kept saying something about dos aviones and muy grandes edificios in Nueva York; so finally I went in and turned on the TV.  Shock and horror!  I still don't understand how anyone can think that indiscriminate killing makes a political statement.  It just reminds us that there are warped minds and evil in this world.  My fountain stands as my personal memorial to lives lost and as a tribute to the bravery and courage of Americans.

Teardrops fall into the basin like autumn leaves

dissolving

water to water, earth to earth, spirit to spirit.

We will not forget.

As sun glints off of water, Winter turns to Spring.

We may go down,

but it is only to rise again.

Together we rise to the sky;

Together our hearts beat strong.

Missing - Baby Goldilocks

Penny and Wendy

The three Goldilocks are part of my family. 
Mama Goldilocks, Wendy is the matriarch
who teaches everyone how to behave.

Hercules

Hercules is the mighty hunter who brings home cherries, figs, and the occasional lizard, ground squirrel, or bird.  Hercules likes nothing better than to slip out of the door and spend a couple of hours chasing jack rabbits across the open desert.  Never mind that the jack rabbits are as big as he is.  They run and he runs.  Ah, the joy of the chase!

Penny, baby Goldilocks, really isn't a baby, just a very small, long-haired golden Chihuahua who loves to play!

When I say "Snack!"  Wendy stands up on her hind legs and bows politely, Japanese style.   Hercules finds something to chase; and around and around he goes, chasing his tail.  Penny simply bounces.  But no more.

Saturday, 9/3/11, Penny disappeared.  I was weeding the garden and Penny became bored watching me, so she wandered off, probably looking for cottontails to play with.  When I finally missed her, she was gone.  Later I found a fence post that was leaning at such an angle that she could have gotten out of the yard.  I have looked everywhere, talked with all the neighbors, put up signs, put an ad in the paper.  Our Little Miss Sunshine is gone.  Everyone is desolate.

Going Bananas in Barstow

Sorry, it should say "growing" bananas in Barstow.

My new hothouse came online in May.  I had been anticipating this for 6 months, and so had bought various tropical and semi-tropical plants from Logee's Greenhouses.  They survived 6 months in pots in my entryway and finally made it to the new hothouse.  Two more bananas were added in May for a total of

2 Dwarf Cavendish bananas                                                                                 

1 Dwarf Lady Finger banana                                                                                

1 Vente Cohol banana (also dwarf)                                                                      

At this point the two early arrivals are 8' tall and the others are struggling to catch up.  Who says you can't grow bananas in a climate that is hot and dry in the summer, cold and dry in the winter, and just plain dry the rest of the year.

This hothouse is temperature and humidity controlled.  The idea is to have a place to garden in the winter when it is too cold to be outside.  At the same time it will be nice to have some homegrown tropical fruit -- if everything works out.  I have also planted starfruit, dragonfruit, sapodilla, 2 papayas, and passionfruit.  There is one spot left for a Condo Mango, which will have to be ordered from Florida.  If it will grow in a pot on a balcony in Miami, it ought to grow in my hothouse.

Figs are ripening in the high desert.

Not much fruit is ripening right now.  When I returned from vacation I noticed that my little dog, Hercules, was going outside and sitting under the fig tree.  He sits under my cherry tree when the cherries are ripe, so I went out to check the figs.  Sure enough, they were ripe, and the birds had already found them.  Normally this would be the second crop of the year, but with the late frost and strong Spring winds, the first crop never materialized.

I have three fig tree: Brown Turkey, Kadota, and Black Mission.  There were ripe figs to be picked from all three.  Ducking under the branches of the Black Mission fig, I came nose to beak with a roadrunner perched in the tree.  We looked at each other, and I was the one to back away.  A pair of roadrunners hang around a lot.  Do they eat figs?  Eat creatures that eat figs?  Do they nest this time of year?  Was she nesting in the fig tree, or in the Spanish Broom next to it?

This is the first year the Kadota figs have ripened properly.  Since they are the kind of figs bought in cans, and are mediocre eaten raw, I figured I better cook them.  Here is my simple attempt at a recipe.

Poached Kadota Figs

12 Kadota figs                                                                 

1/4 c white wine                                                             

Cut figs in half lengthwise and put in microwaveable bowl.

Add wine, cover, and cook for 6 minutes.     (Serves 2)   

No sugar is needed as the figs turn the wine into a syrup.  In fact, I think I will  cook this again tonight.

Now, does anyone have a recipe for Figgy Pudding?