Skip to main content

Let's try this again...

Last year we purchased soil, mulch, and all these plants that grow great in well-watered, rich-soiled areas. Then we went away for a weekend, and everything dried up like a prune.

I was a bit disappointmented, as gardening is a hobby & passion of mine. In fact, I became quite frustrated with our hot climate.

But we did some research on desert plants, and I found a new love! Desert plants are quite fascinating, actually. Their tough outer skin & small leaves result in maximum absorbtion of our spare water -- allowing them to thrive on little.

They are also extremely regenerative. You can cut a branch or an arm off a cactus, and plant it in the ground somewhere else to create a new plant.

So we found a very local cactus nursery last weekend, and got to work! Here are a few of the gems we planted. (These are pictures I've found offline, as I haven't taken proper pictures of our front yard yet due to the immaturity of our plants at this point)

The Desert Barrel - I found these to be kind of interesting as they grow these beautiful flowers a few times/year. Also, no matter what orientation you transplant these in the ground......they will ALSO lean to the south.

Ocotillo - These are just a fun plant that get a lot of height. One of my favorite uses of these plants, is that when they die they make for a really neat fence or gate. It definitely is for the southwestern/desert feel, however.


Agave Americana - I'm sure you've heard of agave, as the blue agave plays a part in what makes a margarita so delicious (tequila!!). Well, there are a wide variety of agave plants. We planted 4 smaller agave americano's in our yard. These are such healthy & vibrant looking plants.

Yellow Barrel Cacti - These are very similar to the previous barrel cacti I spoke about. However, they are smaller, and are planted in groups. 


Prickly Pear - These cacti put off some gorgeous flowers and fruits. The fruits have a very refreshing and sweet flavor. They make an excellent margarita, too! The picture below is an extreme version..I would never let ours get this big! You NEVER want to allow these to get too large, as large prickly pears are great "houses" for packrats! No thank you!

We learned this while house hunting, and the older homes with these plants had big pack rat holes.

And finally....

Saguaro - We don't have any saguaro's in our yard. These come with a hefty price actually, since they are so sacred to the Sonoran desert. But they are quite fascinating. Once they start growing arms, that means they are about 100 years old. So it's amazing when you see the trees with multiple arms - that means they've been in the soil for hundreds of years! How cool!


These last 2 photos were taken by yours truly! Well..not the one of me running. Ryan took that, obviously! But these were taken at our own Saguaro National Park this fall!


I hope I haven't totally bored you. I've just become mildy fascinated with this new genre of planting! When my cacti mature a little, I will post some photos!

Next post up....Chicken Curry recipe...so stay tuned!

Comments

qwerkyqook said…
uh oh Abby! Keep an eye out for an airstream in your driveway! Pretty sure my Dad will be over in a heartbeat for a tour of your cactus garden. So cool.
Unknown said…
Suzanne beat me to the exact same warning! Paul's cacti/succulent collection has been diminished (due to our vagabonding) to a mere 40 plants. He would love your yard!!! Of course, he loves Florida's climate and plants, too. I tell people if we lived here permanently, our yard would be such a jungle people would need to bring a weed whacker or chain saw just to cut their way to our front door!!!!
Marlys said…
I'm so happy that you are aclimating yourselves to the climate instead of trying to reproduce the flora from the midwest! I guess the old saying, "When in Rome....! I can't wait to see your new yard and all the beautiful cacti you are planting!
Very cool! I, too, thought of Paul when I saw this post! He has quite the impressive cacti collection!! I am glad you are finding new things to grow that will thrive in your environment! I so did not get a green thumb but i am glad you did! Can't wait to see these plants in your yard some day!
Very awesome- I LOVE desert plants. Eric wants to plant prickly pear cactus at our house- I'm like um, I'm not sure how successful that will be!
I like cacti. We have a lot of agave where I am from. Those things grow everywhere it seems! That trail you are running on in the second to last photo looks steep! And hot!

Popular posts from this blog

What is your color?

Green My favorite color ever! I have to control myself to not purchase too many green things. If I had no control, my house would be green. My kitchen would be lime-themed. With greenery everywhere. My bathrooms would be green. My bedroom would be green. You would all feel nauseated-green after entering my home. (So I don't have a green-themed home) Many things I love are green, such as: Spinach (I eat it a minimum twice a day usually) My weding color was green. (clover green) Limes (I have at least one time a day) Grass. I love the feel of grass, especially since I see it so rarely in AZ (except in my neighborhood that has amazing landscapers with grass-galore) Palm trees. Any tree. Christmas trees. I love Christmas Green Beer. I think the green beer on St. Patty's Day tastes better. My favorite color of eyes. When I was in 9th grade, I so badly wanted to get green contacts. But they made me keep my brown eyes. Diet Mountain Dew (my guilty pleasure) Granny Smith

Currently - May edition

   I haven't blogged much - but the last time I did one of these, Maddy was 9 months old. It's really fun looking back on the things that were "stressors" to me at that time. Prior to that - my currently post was a pregnancy edition.  So here goes May 2022. Maddy is almost a 15-month old and summer has set ablaze here in Tucson.   Reading :  I really wish I had a better answer for this one, but I have not been the best about reading lately. The only book I'm reading is "How to talk to your kids so they'll listen and listen so they'll talk". It is really good. Most of the book is geared more to school-aged kids, in my opinion. But it highlights some great communication skills with children to help them trust you as a parent to be open and honest. Eating: All the smoothies. It has been getting really hot here - and every day when we get home from our stroller run I make a smoothie for Maddy with whole milk, Fage, and fruit - and then a smoothie for

8 Months

 Well, I missed month 1-8. But it is never too late to begin, right? Here is a recap of Maddy at 8 months. (I'm totally stealing this idea from my sister, Lisa. I thought it was so neat that she recaps her son's favorites and happenings every month)   How am I sleeping? Better than I was - but not as good as my peers. It also depends on if I'm teething. Last week, her 2nd tooth was poking through - so she was awake 3 times.  No matter how much I let her cry it out, I cannot seem to cut down her feedings. When I go in there - she is literally pulling at my shirt with her mouth wide open. So clearly she's hungry.  She eats 2 times/night and luckily goes right back to sleep. It is what it is. What am I eating? While we have had breastfeeding and bottle refusal struggles - I am so glad that taking to food as been relatively smooth. We are doing baby led weaning, and Maddy really enjoys most every food I've given her.  Her favorite foods are scrambled eggs, apples, and c