WELCOME ...A new resident ? Love the desert? Gardening a passion? Live in Borrego Springs? Thought you could not have a garden in the low desert desert? Ever wonder what desert living is like? READ ON !

Raised Vegetable Beds

Raised Vegetable Beds
Raised Vegetable Beds Resting Until Fall Planting Season

Palo Verde

Palo Verde
Desert Native, Blue Palo Verde

A River Runs Through It

A River Runs Through It
View Through A Wet Window

Thursday, July 1, 2010

An Enhanced Native Landscape

Still harvesting vegetables, melons, zuccini, yellow squash, last of limas.  Am pulling out tomatoes ( they won't produce fruit after night temperatures warm up...and they have! ) Two nights ago, we had our first over 80 degree night.  It's time to say good-by to the pole beans and tomatoes. The melons are getting bigger and bigger and ripening fast.  Found our first white flies, but not to worry, the harvest will be over before they can do their damage.  Thought summer would be a good time to talk about native landscape.

Outside our  garden walls are about two acres of enhanced native landscape. Enhanced, in this instance, meaning some areas with irrigation and others with non-irrigated native vegetation.  Building sites in Borrego vary greatly in make-up of soils and plants. In our area, around 800' elevation and very close to the foot of the San Ysidro mountain range, the soil is granitic, coarse and rocky- a part of Hellhole Canyon alluvial fan.  Native plants on our plot included cheese weed, burro bush, cholla, indigo, ocotillo, creosote, coyote gourd, desert lavender, beavertail cactus and chuparosa. None of these require any irrigation.  To these, we added other natives to the region, including barrel cacti, fish hook cacti, brittle bush, an ironwood tree, filifera palm trees, desert agave, yucca, teddybear cholla, prickly pear, santa rita, cow's tongue, (opuntias), blue palo verdes, baja palo verdes, mesquite trees, Sonoran palo verdes and a desert willow. .  Of these, only the trees require some irrigation.  The other plants, once established, require no irrigation.

Outside our area, to the east, the soil differs greatly.  There, you find sandy soil, brought to the area over time - deposits from from Coyote Creek...especially during flood stages.  This soil is richer in composition, as evidenced by the many citrus groves , nurseries and tree farms below Coyote Canyon.  Roadrunner Country Club, on Palm Canyon Drive, at about 600 ft. elevation has this sandy soil .  The residents grow beautiful vegetables in the community plot. Gardens in this lower elevation are more likely to experience freezing during cold snaps.  As you can see, there are microclimes within the greater Zone 13!
The Borrego sink is the lowest part of the Borrego basin at 455 ft.  Storm water run-off collects there.  A basin truly describes Borrego, surrounded by higher elevations,with the sink being the drain ! If you realize where you are situated within the various areas, you will be able to plant your garden accordingly. Over the years, I have seen many bouganvillas die of frost at the lower elevations, where the cold seems to collect.

The sink:  455 ft.
Air Ranch:  575 ft.
Montesoro: 700 ft.
Park Visitor Center:  around 800 feet

Sunset Garden Book defindes low desert, zone 13 as ranging from below sea level to 1,100 feet.  As you can see, from the above elevations, we are definitely in that category!

When our construction site was chosen, only one plant had to be moved, an ocotillo. Only the house site had to be bulldozed.  The driveway was laid out with native plants left intact as much as possible.  We removed deadwood from the curbside and replaced it with native agave and mesquite trees. We put in PVC underground water lines along the perimeters of the lot...across the front, along each side and across the back.  From these, laterals were put in as we added other low water use plants. 

If you notice native vegetation, you will see that it arranges itself  with lots of space between plants.  If you follow this pattern on your own land you will be following nature's clues resulting in a garden that belongs and thrives in an arrid environment !  Try to keep the native plants you find ...they are adapted to the area and offer shelter, food, and nesting sites to native wildlife...another reason to think carefully before removing any plant from your lot.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Thankyou, thankyou for this wonderful blog. The pictures are gorgeous and the writing is fascinating, friendly, and helpful

What about bulbs? (have just put onion set in the bottom refrig drawer). Also, what about wise watering? - currently, for the summer, I have my system set for 30 min at 5am & 5pm every third day.
MHP

A New Borrego Garden Path

A New Borrego Garden Path
New Path Under Construction, Indian Head Ranch

Pathway

Pathway
Easy to Maintain Garden Path

It's a Boojum...

It's a Boojum...
Not an Ocotillo

Boojum

Boojum
Captivating Top Knot

Colorful Vine

Colorful Vine
In a Hidden Niche

Bees and Flowers

Bees and Flowers
Mexican Lime- Bees at Work

Citrus Blossoms

Citrus Blossoms
Exotic Aroma

Ocotillo

Ocotillo
On a Cloudy Day

Four Raised Beds, October

Four Raised Beds, October
Vegetable Garden

Desert Gardening

Desert gardening...what a pastime. Natives anxious to attack with thorns, stickers or burrs - earth always thirsty - critters always a step ahead of you - dainty moths turn into hungry caterpillars - coyote eats up part of the irrigation system - birds sample one fruit at a time - gopher pops up unexpected . Yet the first carrot, pea or tender piece of lettuce, the first lime or lemon of the season, the first cactus bloom , the first bright green mesquite sprig, the first bud on a plant...all give such a feeling of delight and satisfaction. Not to be traded for anything else! (JGP)





Super Addiction

When I started the blog, I thought a few words now and then would suffice...WRONG!

A strange pattern is emerging. Seems that guilt has stepped up to bat. Now, if I don't post every few days I FEEL THAT I HAVEN'T HAD MY FIX! I wonder if other bloggers have noticed this same phenomenom.

Beavertail

Beavertail
Close-up

Borrego Dragon

Borrego Dragon
Huge New Sculpture

The Borrego Dragon Fable

IN THE EARLY DAYS, coyote walked many paths. One day, as he was pursuing his travels, he came to a very wide valley. Others warned him as he approached the valley, " You must not enter this place...NO ONE who has entered has ever returned. It is a bad place, guarded by a giant dragon, who kills all who try to pass through. To continue your journey safely, we strongly advise you to go the long way...around this evil place." Well, coyote listened, for he was very smart and often heeded good advice. However, coyote was also lazy and was often prone to use shortcuts. He figured the valley would save him a lot of time on this particular journey. He looked carefully and saw nothing much to alarm him. He decided to enter and pass through the valley. At first, he noticed nothing amiss. However, as he traveled deeper into that still, quiet place, he thought to himself, "This IS an unusual valley, for sure...I see no movement of any type and I am getting to feel a bit strange about this place." He did notice, however, some tall straight trees which had lost all their leaves and made the place look barren, indeed. OH,NO...he also noticed, under the trees, piles of old BONES... and the more he looked, the more bones he saw. He said, " I sure see a lot of bones, but I don't see any dragon...I'll bet he no longer lives here." And, with that, he heard a thunderous voice which echoed over the valley..." HAH, COYOTE! You should have listened to the advice...You are in my mouth, which IS the entrance to the valley!" Oh,oh, caught in a trap. But coyote is smart and moves quickly...as he heard Dragon's first words, he raced to one of the dead trees and, with a mighty yank, pulled it from the earth. He wedged the tree between the Dragon's jaws and as he did this, many animals of all kinds came running forth...pumas, bears, mountain sheep and more...even the smallest animals, gnats, flies, tics, bees and more...lizards, snakes, toads, salamanders and more...all ran from the Dragon's depths to freedom. Coyote watched as Dragon's jaws closed upon the sharp tree stake. He soon died and from that time to this, many of those same animals live here, in this place...and from time to time, many of the old bones and pieces of the dead trees are found here, in this very valley!

Senita Cactus

Senita Cactus
Plump and Happy

Outlaws

Outlaws
Riders View Borrego's Wilderness (photo by Jeff Divine )