Gardening on the Moon ( GOTM )

Written by Jeff

Follow Jeff on Twitter for daily garden tips and news!

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  Here are some very helpful tips for designing a garden. No time like now!

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  Designing a garden with color in mind; hints, tips and guidelines

http://birdsandbloomsblog.com/2012/01/13/garden-design-using-conrasting-colors/

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  Garden Design using cool colors

http://birdsandbloomsblog.com/2012/01/11/garden-design-cool-colors/

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  The Xerces Society is a nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. Pollinators need you to grow these plants!

http://allthedirtongardening.blogspot.com/2012/01/pollinators-need-you-to-grow-these.html




• Garden Design using warm colors

http://birdsandbloomsblog.com/2012/01/09/garden-design-warm-colors/

Gardening on the Moon, www.gardeningonthemoon.com, originally published this post

Written by Jeff

Follow Jeff on Twitter for daily garden tips and news!

© Jeff Ross and www.gardeningonthemoon.com, 2000-2075. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts of 50 words or less and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jeff Ross and www.gardeningonthemoon.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

As I have mentioned in prior posts and tweets, this has been a relatively mild winter our corner of the Sonoran Desert and all around the United States from what I can tell by watching the national weather forecasts.

This has produced some interesting results. We have plants in flower and bud at least two weeks ahead of previous years. Although I don’t think it has anything to do with the weather, we were excited to see our Agave murpheyi send out its floral spike (panicle) which should produce yellow-green flowers followed by bulbils.

Interestingly enough we didn’t notice the panicle until it was 45 inches tall as in the picture above

The picture below was taken approximately one week later. It grew more than 11 inches (to nearly 56 inches in height) in that week. I can’t wait to see how tall it gets. I will continue to post pictures as the “spike” continues to grow and mature.

Agave spikes can become very large. Here is a photo of a mature spike getting ready to bloom at the Mariott Hotel near the Desert Ridge Mall in Phoenix.

To get a sense of the size, here is the same plant with a car in the foreground.

They are very impressive and some people leave the spikes on the dead or dying plant for a long time to add interest and drama to their landscape. I know the birds appreciate having such a nice elevated perch!

Gardening on the Moon, www.gardeningonthemoon.com, originally published this post

Written by Jeff
Non-GOTM pictures credited by hover notes – move cursor over image

Follow Jeff on Twitter for daily garden tips and news!

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  Seed Starting 101 – Start with Part II and if you want to learn about selecting seeds and the difference between Heirlooms and Hybrids, look at Part I

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  Many elementary school students learn the importance of trees in helping to provide more oxygen and clean air. This post provides an interesting look, via NASA Map, of those areas of the US with the greatest density of trees. It was a bit surprising to see how relatively few areas have a great quantity of trees. Check the link supplied in the article for a better look!

http://inthegarden.marthastewart.com/2012/01/17/seeing-the-forests-for-the-trees/

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  Cold-Weather Compost. Keeping the compost cooking through winter in any region. When living in New Jersey, this was a problem I had to confront. Make sure to check out all parts via link at the bottom of each page!

http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/cold-weather-compost

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  Find out where Fine Gardening (Magazine/Web Site) and staff will be visiting this January, February and March. Some topics are listed for your consideration as well.

http://www.finegardening.com/item/18242/fine-gardening-on-the-road-2012-edition

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  The folks at rodale.com recommend several foods to avoid. Click the link in the upper-right side of the page to go to the next tip. While I can’t say “never” eat these foods, some very good questions are raised and I am sure most of us do eat some of these apparently less-than-healthy foods as explained in the article (some of the time it is the packaging and not the product).

http://www.rodale.com/7-foods-you-should-never-eat

Gardening on the Moon, www.gardeningonthemoon.com, originally published this post

Written by Jeff

Follow Jeff on Twitter for daily garden tips and news!

© Jeff Ross and www.gardeningonthemoon.com, 2000-2075. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts of 50 words or less and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Jeff Ross and www.gardeningonthemoon.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

I am continuing my discussion to the winter garden in the Sonoran Desert. I began the discussion here.

One of the plants that does very well in this area is the Pansy. They enjoy the cooler weather and because we will most likely receive only a light frost or none at all, they should do well until next spring.

Another winter winner in this area is the decorative kale. In the picture below, we use a green bottle as a sun catcher to help add color to the garden.

Here we use the pot-on-pot technique to keep the kale out of the reach of rabbits and javelinas.

The Desert Botanical Garden (DBG) uses kale in their winter displays too. Here is a picture of a lacy variety against a wall.

Kale also does well in a planter arrangement as seen at the DBG.

Pansies can be used quite effectively with kale as long as the colors coordinate.

For the holidays, appropriate ornaments can be used in conjunction with kale to add to the festive atmosphere.

Some of our “garden standards” continue to do well because of the higher than normal temperatures. The double purple Datura continues to produce flowers, but they are not as robust as the summer blooms. I think we will remove the plant and rejuvenate the soil for next year’s plantings.

Gardening on the Moon, www.gardeningonthemoon.com, originally published this post

Written by Jeff
Non-GOTM pictures credited by hover notes – move cursor over image

Follow Jeff on Twitter for daily garden tips and news!

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  An Appropriate New Year Wish from Water When Dry

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  2011 Garden Photo Contest Winners. Some real beauties. Click on the small pictures to enlarge them. [ Picture shown above was NOT from the contest and NOT a winner.]

http://www.hortmag.com/gardens-and-gardeners/2011-garden-photo-contest-winners

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  Happy New Years Rehash 2011 – Some interesting garden ideas from former posts that may have been missed. This post is definitely worth another look.

http://www.faroutflora.com/2011/12/31/happy-new-years-rehash-2011/

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  An interesting hummingbird camera. Mostly they sit and preen, but still interesting. Mom visits nest. Ignore the chat in sidebar which often has nothing to do with the streaming pictures. [ Link via http://birdsandbloomsblog.com ]

http://phoebeallens.com/

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  From Chiot’s Run – Good looking and good tasting popcorn. Who knew growing your own could look this good?

http://chiotsrun.com/2011/12/31/enjoying-the-fruits-of-our-labor-2

http://www.finegardening.com/item/21712/the-one-essential-thing-to-know-when-pruning-climbing-roses

Gardening on the Moon, www.gardeningonthemoon.com, originally published this post