A Special Spring, Two Desert Wildflowers

On April 26, I wandered outside to take pictures of two wildflowers I had been watching closely. Prickly Gilia and Ratany...both fairly inconspicuous plants you would hardly notice during most years. This year, however, was different...we had seen a comparable bloom only one time before...in 1991! Conditions probably were alike...adequate rainfall following a few dry years. It is difficult, if not impossible, to to guess all the factors involved, but to us, it was a sight that reminded us of our early days here, in Borrego.

Prickly gilia ( Gilia pungens tenuiloba ) is in the Phlox family - a tiny flower, but, this year, the vacant lot east of us was covered with it, resulting in a hazy lavender veil floating above the soil. The entire scene looked etheral as the mass of bloom seeemed to float about a foot over the rough desert base and move in waves like a field of wheat in the breeze.

The other desert bloom that was extra spectacular this year was ratany. ( Krameriaceae family ) This is a shrubby but dense plant which is a partial root parasite of nearby plants, although, it seems to allow nearby plants to continue growth with no visible damage. This year, the shrub was completely covered with the small magenta flowers seen only during spring. The rest of the year, the plant just appears like a leafless cluster if spiny stems. This spring, perhaps due to the masses of flowers on each plant, I discovered something new about it! Each time I approached the vicinity of the plant, I experienced such an exotic, elusive fragrance, I could hardly believe it! As I would distance myself, the scent would grow faint. As I again approached, the lovely scent would waft through the air. I have never heard of ratany perfume, but if you could bottle it, you would make a fortune!

These two desert specimens are certainly something you should search for...just remember, they don't choose every year to put on their show!

Spring Cleaning in Summer

Vegetable garden update: Decided to pull the Chandler strawberries. The hot days have dried out the fruit and it would take too much water to keep the plants alive during the summer. When you weigh the cost of the water against the cost of new plants next fall, it seems to make more sense. Will water and cover the bed with plastic to sterilize the soil and let it rest.

Squash, melons and beans are very prolific. It's hard to keep up with them, Picked three melons and five summer squash yesterday. Will harvest more today. The afternoon winds are hard on all the plants in the garden. They must be watched carefully during this time of year. We thought our palms looked a bit desiccated and when we checked the irrigation valve we discovered the wire had been nipped off at the base. Rabbits and rodents are extremely active now and are out seeking food. A wire just might look like a tasty twig to them!

You may have noticed, I have not posted much, lately. That is because we are in the midst of our first summer project...painting the entire interior of the house! I can barely keep ahead of the painter and have found out that spring cleaning is sometimes mandatory, even if it starts in summer!

The Silent News Network

Not all the news appears in the Borrego Sun! Borrego Springs must have one of the most efficient silent news networks in California. Many phone conversations often begin with..." Have you seen? - Have you heard about? - Did you know ?" The Park , Abdnha, the Foundation and other organizations all send frequent e-mail and every night you can hear coyote spreading his news from one end of the basin to the other!

But the bulletin boards of Borrego are unique. I have used them all, since I volunteered to be an ABDNHA poster distributor for a few years. The most difficult board I encountered is located at the Center Market. During the season, it's almost impossible to find a space on it. The market requires a date on all materials and, I suppose they toss them if they are too old, but I have spent a lot of time rearranging items on THAT bulletin board! Sometimes, your notice would mysteriously disappear and have to be replaced. I can honestly say that I have never permanently removed anyone's notice before its "time".

Another bulletin board is located on the side of the old grocery store at the Circle. I don't think many people stop to read it because no one parks there. The store has been closed for years. The smallest bulletin board is at Ace Hardware. It is the hardest one to reach and the hardest to find enough space. The Post Office is a close second. Of course, there is a bulletin board in the Library...for meetings and other community interests. ( No" FOR SALE" items on it! ) The marquee in front of the Center is a bulletin board of sorts...just VERY important events are listed there and someone else has to post them.

The windows of Kendall's and Tumbleweed also make good places to post items. ( Permission required )The Palms at Indian Head, Borrego Valley Inn, Palm Canyon Resort, Club Circle, The Springs and Roadrunner Club all have places to display events of interest, as does the Post Office fence, the inside bulletin board and even the glass entrance, which, unfortunately, usually informs us of the loss of a dog, cat or a person. No good news on THAT door! And that notice is read by each of us, usually daily. Oh, I must include the Chamber of Commerce...You just walk in, hand the notice to a Volunteer and ask THEM to find a place for it!

So the secret is out! Now, you know how we stay so well informed!

The Hooded Visitor

Everyone rises early in Borrego...some of us before sunrise. ( The best time of day. ) Lately, I have been looking out the window at the Tecoma, now in full bloom. It seems, I'm not the only one loving the bright orange-yellow blooms. Orioles have been visiting it like clockwork...5 AM, to be exact!

Each summer we see the birds and often I have tried to capture them on film. They never stay in one spot for very long and seem to move around in jerks and quick jumps from branch to branch. I think they like the palms in our garden ( they often make nests in palm fronds ) but, now, I am wondering about why they seem attracted to this particular plant. Could it be the color? Or, perhaps, the nectar from the flowers? Hooded orioles feed on insects they find on leaves and from flower nectar. I guess this plant offers both!

They also seem to love ocotillo flowers, as do many other species. But, the Hooded oriole is such an eye catcher...a flamboyant vivid flash that almost takes your breath away. We just love to have him as a visitor. In the past. I have cut oranges in quarters and strung them from a wire in a tree. They are attracted to those juicy slices, too.

The photo in the blog was taken through two panes of glass...both dirty, but this time, at least, I got a picture of that "wont sit still a second" bird! And speaking of dirty windowpanes, Borrego recently lost a beautiful person who captured all our hearts...a sweet soul and a good friend to many of us. She operated the village window washing service and, oh, how we miss her!

Help! Red Ants in the Bed

Today is the first day it felt like summer. Will it continue - or will the recent pattern prevail ? Picked my first zucchinis today and found thousands of red ants in one raised bed eating bush beans. Another new phenomenon... I didn't think ants liked beans! I picked all the beans and will pull out the plants tomorrow. Put covered ant traps in that bed and hope the ants will feed on them. Also in the same bed are melons, zucchini and the last of the leeks. We have been grilling the leeks and they are so sweet...just cut in half, brush with oil and sprinkle with salt. Grill over high heat , cut side down, with lid closed , seven or eight minutes. Brush with balsamic vinegar, put halves together and wrap in foil. put back on grill and move away from direct heat for ten or twelve minutes. ( recipe from Foodnetwork.com recipe cards ) The recipe suggests using bacon drippings in place of oil. I'll bet that tastes good, too! I left about two inches of green leaves on the leeks. Note: Cleaning leeks is more difficult than you might think...I have no idea how the sand and dirt works its way between the leaves...I found pulling leaves apart under running water is the easiest way to remove the grit. When cooked, the leeks have caramelized and are delicious!

If the heat continues, I intend to harvest the last of the tomatoes and bring them inside to ripen. Green tomatoes ripen nicely in just a few days. The birds have gone wild this year and have been pecking a single hole in every red tomato they see, so I have been picking them before they ripen. The crop has been adequate but I feel I should have removed the plants after the freeze. ( Remember, I just pruned off damaged stems? ) The plants have struggled because of the damage and are not as happy as they were last year. The red onions have been harvested, chopped and frozen in 1 cup and 2 cup amounts.( I figure one cup equals a medium sized onion.) The onions absolutley kept gophers away from the lower raised bed, this year. After the tomatoes are pulled, nothing will be left in that bed. It will be watered, covered with plastic and given a much needed summer vacation!

As always, in a garden, the plants are the teachers, the gardener, the student! (JGP)

A Spiny Specimen

Every desert garden should contain a few specimen plants that invoke some fascinating story. Herschel Larrik's garden is an example of a garden which contains many stories, sadly untold, because Herschel has long since left his beloved garden. Luckily, the people who bought his home are avid gardeners, with the same love for his carefully collected Baja native plants. He started collecting when it was not illegal to do so and he related to me many stories about his trips and how carefully the plants were brought back in his old pick-up truck and camper! The new owners will host next March Gardener's Club meeting. What a treat!

We have favorite specimens in our garden, too. Our huge Madagascar palm (Pachypodium lamerei) was found at Home Depot...a six inch high plant I found in the cacti section. It cost less than two dollars. We thought it was a cactus because of the spines and planted it in a small pot which it rapidly outgrew. It was transplanted many times into ever bigger pots. Finally it grew to be roof high...a large trunk , with top heavy single tuft of foliage. A windstorm toppled it and broke off the entire top, leaving a bare stump. Next season, the stump developed arms and became the gorgeous specimen in the photo.

It became so heavy that help was required to transplant it to it's present location. It has proven to withstand light freezes ( drops leaves ), hot summers and requires just moderate water. While dormant, hardly any water. It has been a safe nesting area for cactus wrens and for hummingbirds. This plant grows rapidly and always elicits oohs and ahhs from visitors. Ours has not bloomed, yet, but older plants will display clusters of white tropical looking flowers! WOW! In the time since I wrote this post, our plant BLOOMED !!! ( Did it guess I was writing about it? )

A word of warning: These spines are treacherous. Do not plant near walkways.