Ahhhh, Life in Palm Springs. How I love our desert environment. I've been keeping up with blogs of friends across the country, many of whom are sharing photos of their gardens, flower beds all newly planted and full of the promise of spring and the anticipation summer. I thought I'd share a few photos of plants in and around my garden, some of which I took at unusual angles to make them more interesting. I call this post "Growing Things in Palm Springs". Take this cactus for instance. It is sitting in a pot on the edge of the hot tub and pool. I just liked the contrast of the cool blue water behind the cactus.
above: this "organ pipe" style cactus is nestled between two palm trees. I remember planting this guy when he was just in a five gallon pot!
above: this Sago Palm is quite happy...even though it isn't really a palm tree.
above: this Madagascar Palm isn't really a palm either, but it sure is fun. Just don't touch the stalk part, it has spines all over it. Ouch!
above: I think this is in the agave family, but it has a huge stalk growing in the center that resembles an asparagus spear!
above: a very large barrel cactus, I like these guys
above: more baby cactus lined up to be planted soon.
above: we have hedges of Oleander shrubs, in red, white and pink. Oleander are very very common in Southern California, but I like them because the bloom year round.
Hope you enjoyed this brief tour of Growing Things in Palm Springs. Have a great day.
-Rick Rockhill
Dems some purty plants and stuff growing out there yonder in that desert I say. The hot HOT temps are just around that corner I reckon.
ReplyDeletethey are lovely but i must say with all those prickles and spines gardening looks a wee bit more hazardous in the desert!
ReplyDeleteNaomi should love seeing your cactus! Beautiful pool, etc. Ours is beginning to look like no one lives here.
ReplyDeleteLoved the tour. Not home enough to do any gardening here, so I can live vicariously through yours.
ReplyDeleteOleander is pretty when it blooms, but watch out, it's poisonous!
You may recall as I think I've mentioned this numerous times om my blog that gardening is far from being my thing. I tend to kill, not grow, stuff, or so it seems. But that doesn't mean I don't like seeing beautiful blooms of all types and your tour today really does show the beauty in desert-type plants! Great post, Rick! Really beautiful!
ReplyDeleteAmazing. I love the major differences between, say, where I live in the Pacific Northwest and where you are. The climate changes, the temperature differences, the rain difference. It creates such a dramatic change. I love it!
ReplyDeleteBet you don't have problems with rabbits eating those cacti! I wonder if I planted oleander, they'd eat it??? !!!!
ReplyDeleteif that one with the stalk is what i think it is, it's a century plant and after that stalk blooms the plant dies and makes a new baby...
ReplyDeletesmiles, bee
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
I love the desert and how different the flora and fauna are. I remember how amazed I was by all the flowers. Irrigation must be a way of life. And it was all so fragrant. Would that be the Oleander?
ReplyDeleteMany of those plants are what work so well for us here in Tejas. We've become pretty attached to our sagos, yuccas and agaves.
ReplyDeleteI love this post! I thoroughly enjoyed this tour of Growing Things in Palm Springs! XO
ReplyDeleteAs you may recall, my whole garden is Cactus and Succulants...I LOVE THEM! They are like "living sculpture". to me....That Madagascar Palm is known as a Pachypodum...Their Beautiful flowers smell like Plumeria's...I think they are an Exquisite plant!
ReplyDeleteAnd by the way....that "stalk" that look like an Asparagus? Your plant is "flowering"...it will take a while longer but eventually you will see some flower pods coming out on all sides at the top---The Humming Birds will LOVE this...Then, eventually, that plant will die--(Whenever agave's Flower, it means they are dying...) BUT, it will offset lots of Babies around the bottom of the plant....!
BEAUTUFUL Garden Rick.
P.S. I just read what Empres Bee said, and that is not a "Century Plant"---A so called Century Plant is only one type of Agave...and what she said is true...as I said, also, after they flower they die.
ReplyDeleteThere are so very many types of Agave's....this one is interesting because of the shape of the leaves...And it never grows as nig as the much larger so called Century Plant, which are a Beautiful shade of Blue, by the way....I don't mean to be a "know-it-all", dear Rick...Just wanted to correrct that in the interest of Accuracy....There are whole books about Agave Plants, and the Variety is so fantastic, you could have a WHOLE Garden of just those....! Do show us more of your BEAURIFUL plantings, my dear.