Sunday, May 26, 2013

May 26, 2013 - The Desert Blossoms, in My Back Yard

Purple sage

Sulfur buckwheat


Firecracker penstemon

Orange globemallow


The back portion of our property is used for two things - growing a small grove of trees, and growing some native plants in a separate area.  The trees, in the far back, are often visited by the deer.  The native plants, which include big sage, started from seed, and gray rabbitbrush, self-sown, are interspersed with some plants I've purchased, and a very few I've been able to start from seed.  (Sage-steppe plants seem to be pretty fussy about planting conditions.)  So, a few of the current blooming plants are pictured above.  There is also flax, and I'm having enough luck with biscuitroot in another part of the garden that I'll be able to gather seed from it this year, and try getting some new plants going.  As freely as many of these plants grow in the immediate vicinity, I'd expect no problem in getting them to grow in my "native plant" area.  Not so!  They are fussy, persnickety, fastidious, and just plain ornery at times.  That said, a few are beginning to take hold, and those that are taking hold give me hope of setting seed, then setting new plants.  Meanwhile, I enjoy watching my tiny desert bloom! 

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