May 2008 - The Yard

May ended up like this.............................................And started out like this.
The Large Crab came in out in full bloom.	One Prairie Fire made it and the other one died.
We planted Romaine in early May.  Three weeks later,  there were some nice heads ready for harvesting.
This year the Blue Elderberry trees bloomed.  Several weeks later, we have berries!
Mormon Tea and other native bushes in bloom.
More shrubs in bloom.
This Tamarisk is always the first to bloom.                 Blooms on the Scarlet Hawthorne.
Malus Snowdrift is off to a good start.	A Golden Locust just starting to leaf out.
We got the tomatoes and squash in early and had to protect the lettuce and other greens from quail and other birds.  The birds were a bit of a problem in that we provided the perfect nesting area - the arbor for the nest, feeder for seeds and and lettuce, etc for roughage.  The back porch was de-crappified as well.
The cactus patch got thinned out over the winter.  All the new cacti seem to have made it. I think I am going to have to be a little more proactive when it comes to thinning and water a little less.   The wildflower bed is looking pathetic.  Unintended consequences of providing a bird habitat.  The quail just love rooting around in this bed.  The only things left are day lilies,  one yarrow some sea hollies. The day lilies look pretty bad.  Last year all the leaves turned yellow -  the result of an iron deficiency in the soil.  Turns out Nevada soils are famous for that.  Last winter I spread a lot of pelletized iron which may or may not help.
This yucca puts out very large blooms.  They don't rise over the top like Adam's Needle does, but tend to stay sheltered in the plant.
My favorite problem child still has a problem.  This  Russian Olive has struggled every year since I planted it, despite more water, some ground cover and lots of vitamins.  This new configuration is one I haven't seen before.  I'm not going to bother pruning it this year and see if that helps any. My Silver Stripe hedge is slowly taking shape.  An interesting thing about this bamboo is that I did not take out the old canes last winter, and some of those old canes started sprouting new growth three and four feet  up the canes.  This bamboo is supposedly cold tolerant down to only 15 degrees F.  I think it is a lot tougher than that.
Moving out back, this rather large Opuntia Basilaria sp. didn't do much of anything last year. It has three or four new pads starting.  It is going to be interesting to see how this actually grows - if it has a spreading or more upright habit.   The baby Crab out in the Indian burial ground still hasn't grown in height at all, but is leafing out nicely.  I'm not kidding -  I have been trying to get something to grow here for close to ten years.  This is the start of year two for this little guy.
The Contorted Filbert is always one of the last trees to leaf out and  because of that it is perhaps one of the smartest.  I had to prune several feet off the circumference last year to clear out a path way.   The Cholla from Haiwee Reservoir down south has been going gang busters  this spring.  I noticed the dogs steer well clear of this guy.  Must have had a minor run-in or two.
Other than one major underground leak, the sprinklers came through without difficulty.  None of the risers launched when water pressure was applied, which brings me to a major gripe.  You know the pvc cement the large home repair stores usually have on sale in the spring?  This is the clear glue that normally comes packaged with a primer.  It comes in a goldish colored can.  Don't buy it.  It will not hold up if exposed to sunlight.  Buy the Hot Stuff glue.  It has not failed yet. One day I asked a salesman why the clear stuff failed with astonishing regularity.  He more or less said that only an idiot would buy the clear.  Anyone who knew what they were doing always bought the Hot Stuff.  Why then did they sell the clear glue?  Because it is a big seller.  Must have a nice profit margin, not to mention the repeat business for the Hot Stuff glue which is rarely on sale. On the right is one alive and one dead Prairie Fire.  I replaced the dead one with a small crab from my tree nursery, formerly known as the Oregon patch.   The mother tree sends out all kinds of suckers into the wild flower bed.  I have found a pretty good method for turning those suckers into trees:  Sever  the root the sucker is growing on closest to the mother tree out about six inches or so from the sucker.  Let it sit in the ground for a month or so and see if it dies.  If it doesn't,  sever the root on the other side of the sucker about six inches out and let it sit for a week or so.  It will die quickly if it hasn't started growing its own roots.  If after a week it still looks healthy, water it real well and then shovel it out into a pot, being careful to keep the roots surrounded by soil.  Dig a hole and plant the tree, pot and all in an area which has some protection.
Desert Peach in Bloom	Spring blooms  that 'look' like dandelions
Planting out the pots always requires supervision - whether you asked for it or not.
Darlow's Enigma looks to be an awesome rose bush this year.  I was looking for something to fill the space and boy , it sure has. On the right is the 'white' side of the English Hawthorne.  A very strange tree.  I have it coming up as multiple trunks and some trunks sport pink flowers and the others white.  Don't ask me.
And as is my opinion with most May's.......... Easy Come............................................................Easy Go.

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