Hi SW Peeps!

I got the veggie garden seeded last week and still waiting for it to break soil. However, I'm now looking to transplant some star jasmine. I'm not sure how well they will do overwinter as we do dip below 40, but I thought I'd give it a try.

I'm trying to determine location. I have a lava rock retaining wall that faces east (but runs N to S) so I thought perhaps it could be a ground cover and maybe protect it from the north wind chill, but it's going to take a whole lot of soil prep (think jackhammer) to make that work. On the other hand, I have a west facing solid wood fence with sandy loam that might offer some south wind protection. I have the same issue with some Mexican petunia as well.

Just thought I'd toss this out for your consideration. I always appreciate my South-westerner's advise!

Stay dirty, my friends!

I found a solution! Container plant with trellis. South facing with some protection from the north winds as it's below the pine trees. I sure hope they like their new home. Now, on to finding the petunias their space.

Reduce, reuse, recycle and repurpose!








Oh, and here's the arch Hubs constructed for the climbing roses using the warped landscape timbers.





Stay dirty, my friends!

Gina, I reuse those pots as well for my daylillies. Many I have also painted kind of an off white or light beige since black heats up so much in our sun.

Thank you, Linda! I was a bit worried about those black pots! I'll slap some paint on them! Maybe I ought to just put them in the ground before they take off.... iDK, thought I'd see how they do before making it permanent as I can sweep them up at any given time right now.

Desert Gardening is hard work. Ugh.

The paint will help and yes gardening in the desert is hard work. Especially when that summer heat hits. Hope the plants do well.

So I came in late for the party, I love your background view. I am also a 9a zone and struggle from year to year depending on how many days in a row we have frost and rain. I just love the pictures I am seeing, painting those pots with some bright colors will cheer up your plants!!!
Carla

Thank you, Carla!

Yes, I think I will end up painting those nursery pots at some point. After 7 years, I finally have an undisputed understanding of why peeps use a lot of color and metal art in the desert. The right shade of orange just might do the trick!

The jasmine is putting forth growth, so I'm happy so far.

Happy gardening!

Orange is great and goes well with Turquoise, also pops of Red and Yellows!!! I have just bought Louisiana Iris and am going to paint a tub my husband often uses for mixing small bits of concrete to put water in for the swamp effect, I was told they grow very good this way.

Tall bearded Iris do well in our zone...if you can tolerate the crispy look of some of the leaves in the summer. Daylily grow here too, just make sure you get evergreen or semi evergreen. A lot of things grow but do not look so good in summer. I have Salvia too and there are varieties that love direct hot sun.

Go and look at my profile plants and ask any questions you have about the things I grow.


Tall bearded Iris west/south side of yard...very intense heat up to the 130 degree plus last year...because my yard is so small and heat radiates from the block walls.

I love Iris... I'd have a whole lot more if they didn't need to be protected from the cottontails and jacks. Yours are beautiful!

I do, however, have a bed of purple.

That is a really nice purple!

Good morning Gina,

I agree with Linda...great purple!!! Okay so I had trouble with squirrels and cats reeking havoc in my yard in WA. I found a solution by placing chicken wire both above and below my bulbs and rhizomes. I am not sure where bunnies chew from top or bottom but it really worked for me. The only issue is it is hard to weed if they happen to get in the area...but with a good aimed spray of vinegar, avoiding the plant the weed will die!!!

Have fun in the yard and Happy Easter,
Carla

Happy Easter Linda and Carla!

Oh, Carla, these cottontail and jack rabbits are voracious come summer months. Nothing is off limits to them when they are literally dying of thirst. As far as iris, they just eat everything above ground and then go after the roots. They've eaten down to the ground my paddle cacti, lantana, gladiolas, Rosemary, Joshua tree pups, and a handful, or two, of other plants that are labeled rabbit resistant. I do like the chicken wire idea and that's exactly what I ended up doing with these when in temporary holding last summer before moving them into their fenced-in bed earlier this year. It was all about just saving the rhizomes as my dear friend gifted a full wheel barrow from her river bed of iris! We are on the edge of BLM acreage, so the sheer number of these critters is quite high. It's been a wild ride and more than one day of hitting my head against the brick wall! I'm just glad I can laugh about it now...

Happy Easter Gina and Carla!

No rabbits in my yard but do battle with Pack Rats. So far covering a lot of my potted flowers with Mosquito netting at night has stopped the problem, but what a pain that is to do.

Happy Easter to you all! I do battle with deer, rabbits, rats and mice, and ground squirrels. Nothing survives unless it's tightly netted or covered with metal cages.

Karen. It is a battle!

Happy Easter, Miss Karen!

Yes, we SW desert gardeners have our fair share of challenges!! I'm thinking about purchasing a metal dinosaur just to give the neighborhood something new to giggle about (just kidding!... I think... maybe not.). Hahahahaha.