Monday, May 23, 2011

Roof Damage!

picture from Sheree Quate, 5/14/2011

Spring Migration: from Bone Dry to Soggy


The call of Golf Happens in Carnation, Wa, and the call of family encourage us to close up Casa Verde for the season.   April 1, 2011, a couple of fools say "Adios Casa Verde Garden."   I take a photo trip around the house on March 23 to document the plantings. With crossed fingers a limited water system is left to care for the plants.  Gerardo will keep the grass mowed. Take care little garden.  We begin at the entrance.








The plan is to attach the boug to the palm

Boxer memorial and cleared lot to our north





Not sure this little one will make it






Notice rockery has been extended to end of house

drip to boug added

Views across the Little Lake Tamarisk to the land scalping done for Kaiser Properties.














Sunday, March 20, 2011

March

March 19, 2011

Attended two Living Desert Master Gardener classes today:
The Desert Gardener w/ Kirk Anderson, TLD Garden Manager
G202 Ecology in Desert Gardens w/ Glenn Huntington, TLD Palo Verde Garden Center Manager

Both classes emphasized responsibilities of desert gardeners as caretakers of the environment.
Take aways:
Use of various sized decomposed granite in Agave Garden 
Mixed agaves

  • Find microclimates and niches within your garden 
  • North wall challenge- cold and shaded in winter, hot and open in summer
  • no right or wrong approach- it is an art with only you to please
  • desert adapted gardening- no fertilizing and no amending of soil
  • know the plant dimensions- right place
  • avoid invasives- certain fountain grasses (red ok), penstemon secicum (?) tamarisk
  • limit turf
  • best way to spread wildflowers is by planting naturalizing plants
  • decomposed granite preferred ground cover- various sizes
  • trees never within 5 feet of hardscape
  • phoenix hybrid mesquite, 
  • acacia aneuri doesn't like much watering, nice gray color
  • foothills palo verde (palo brea ?) great structure
  • tiling below topsoil  in imperial valley to keep salt out of the soil
desert marigold, verbena tunuaseca?, penstemon parryi- great combo


acacia- palo blanco-peeling white bark 20-25'

Foothills palo verde, palo brae ?

Friday, February 4, 2011

February

2/5/11
Have covered the bougs the last three nights with bed sheets.  Ice Alert on the Oregon Weather Station.  DB golfed in the 35' and I worked on the entrance.  Have added gravel from the Lake Tam dumping area to the dead ocotillo patio.  Rocks were removed for the rockery project.  Made a path and staging area for fountain (?) Lots of tiny new leaves on all bougs!!!!!!!!!  Loving the weather here.

2/6/11

Took my first Desert Gardener class: Pest and Weed Management.  Identified the Black Widow pest in my compost pile this morning.

2/12/11
Garden additions this week: two oleanders (liberated from small lake) and placed NE & SE;  three fine green (liberated from lot opposite) and places NE;  two palms (liberated from small lake) and placed E & SE.  With the grasses transplanted last month from the entrance grass I'm trying to establish a planting area in the NE next to the palm and property line.  The oleanders and palms are to provide color and oasis.

Monday, January 31, 2011

Rooted Friends

I loaded up the U-Haul with the succulents I'd purchased in June and planted in pots on Mercer Island.  With Nate and Mela buying our house when theirs sold I figured I'd begin my desert garden early.

Ave Friends

Prairie Falcon with coot

Prairie Falcon at attention

Prairie Falcon in flight
Sandhill crane loving to sleep on one leg



Sandhill Crane searching
Little Lake Tamarisk  Feb. 27, 2011




Sunday, January 30, 2011

Master Desert Gardener

The Living Desert Museum and Zoo offers courses toward a couple of interesting certifications.  I'm going to begin the first weekend in February with a class in Pest and Weed Management.  If I choose to complete all 57 hrs. of requirements I earn a certificate as a Master Desert Gardener.  Another option is certifying the garden as a Backyard Habitat after completing 9 hrs of class and including certain requirements in the garden.  Also, they offer a Master Desert Naturalist after 60 hrs.  The certification process is far less important than the knowledge of desert environs I'd like to acquire.
www.livingdesert.org/

Certification Requirements for Master Desert Gardener:


Note: Class titles may vary slightly from semester to semester. Rev. 9/29/10mm Class offerings will vary from year to year. - 1 - 
 The Living Desert Master Desert Gardener Certification Worksheet 
Participant Name : ___________________________________________ 
Directions: Find the classes you have taken and circle the hour credits associated with each class. (Don’t forget to make a note of the class date.) Subtotal each section in the boxes provided, paying close attention to hour and/or class requirements. ClassID 
Class Name 
Hrs. 
Hrs. 
Hrs. 
Hrs. 
Hrs. 
Date Taken 
Section 
GENERAL DESERT GARDENING 
G100 
The Desert Gardener 
3 March 19, 2011 w/Kirk Anderson 
G101* 
Basic Botany for Desert Gardeners (mandatory) 
3 
G103 
Plant Pathology 
G114(a) 
Propagation of Native Plants From Seed 
G114b 
Propagation of Native Plants From Cuttings 
G117 
Success with Succulents 
G118 
Proper Pruning in a Desert Garden (highly recommended) 
G120* 
Irrigation & Proper Water Management (mandatory) 
3 Dec 3, 2011 w/ 
G121 
Plant Placement & Irrigation 
G202* 
Ecology in Desert Garden Designs (mandatory) 
3  March 19, 2011 w/Glenn Huntington
G210 
Entomology in the Desert Garden 
G301 
Soils of the Coachella Valley (highly recommended) 
L103 
Landscape Design Workshop 
L104/ 
G104a 
Do-It-Yourself Desert Landscape Design 
Special 
SOILS OF THE COACHELLA VALLEY 
& THEIR USE IN DESERT GARDENS 
Credit for the following class may only be used towards Section A Master Desert Gardener Requirements if class dates were prior to September 2004, due to Requirement Changes. 
NH303 
Geology of the Coachella Valley and Surrounds 
Section 
PEST MANAGEMENT 
G115 
Introduction to Pest Management in Desert Gardens 
3  Feb 5, 2011 w/Glenn Huntington
G211 
Insect & Vertebrate Pests in a Desert Garden 
G212 
Pesticide Use & Safety 
G213 
Pest & Weed Management in a Desert Garden 
Section 
DESERT PLANT IDENTIFICATION 
G102 
An Introduction to the Desert Plant Palette 
3 Jan 7, 2012 w/Glenn
G105(a) 
Desert Accent Plants for Landscaping 
G105b 
Yuccas & Agaves in Desert Gardens 
G108 
Year Round Color in a Desert Garden 
G109 
Southwest Plants on Parade 
G116 
Desert Annuals and Perennials for a Colorful Landscape 
L201/ 
G201 
Desert Trees for Landscaping 
L202 
Flowering Shrubs, Vines & Ground Cover for Desert L… 
L203/ 
G203 
Desert Shrubs, Vines and Ground Covers for Landscaping 
G207 
Color in Your Desert Garden 
G323






SECTIONS A-C HOUR SUBTOTALS 
Desert Landscapes    March 5, 2011 withPaulOrtega       for small spaces                      3


HOURS 
Total
General Desert Gardening hours (12 hrs. minimum) 
*MUST INCLUDE G101, G120 & G202
Total
Pest Management hours (6 hrs. minimum)
Total
Desert Plant Identification hours (9 hrs. minimum)
A – C 
Add Hour Totals for Sections A-C 
Minimum 39 Total Hours for these sections 

G111 Vegetable                 taken Jan 7, 2012 with Don Ackley    Gardening                 3 

G800 Coachella Valley Garden and Landscape tour: Smoke Tree Ranch w/Mike Chedester 3