My home landscape is under renovation and so have no time to grow things from seed .. I've been excavating for cement .. installing a sub surface drip system ( Netafin ) .. and getting ready to plant under my Oak .. maybe some Aloe .. Cactus .. and "plant" some boulders.

At work finishiing up a turf reduction program and recently assigned to Acacia park ... just started checking out the demonstration garden.

Saw a wonderful Opuntia basilaris today in flower .. the color was out of this world. Very cool.

Good Day ...

Opuntia basilaris are beautiful when blooming.

Sounds like you are very busy at home and at work. Where's Acasia park in Vegas? Your yard sounds like it'll look wonderful when you finish it.

My seed growing didn't work out as good as last year-sad to say. Barely got tomatoes growing. I stupidly left the other vegetable & flower seedlings outside one day and forgot about them...between the sun and the winds kicking up--they died. (I was leaving them out for an hour at a time...getting them used to the outside world. Opps.)

Today I have to get the the nursery and buy some mulch to put over the vegetable garden. The weather is ugly again and the winds aren't doing the vege garden any good. It's snowing in Mt. Charleston but I doubt we'll get any rain here.

B.

That's funny you two are talking about this cactus. We've been making our back yard very deserty and we put one in. I was quite surprised at all the buds and the size of the flowers. This bud just opened up today and it is quite something. Love those leaves too. They are almost velvety looking but quite nasty when touched.

My vegetable gardening is quite pitiful this year as I'm waiting to put the new veggie patch in where we are going to have a cement truck deliver the foundation of our chicken wall so it is on hold. However from a previous place I did have some peas planted last fall and I've been eating on those for a week now. You just can't beat the tast of fresh peas right off the vine. Oh, and there are purple onions and fennel too.

Beca, I too grew tomatoes and peppers from seed. Your right about the wind. My little guys are in pots outside too. I'm almost afraid to look at them after the last couple of days.

I'm planning on going to the CCSN nursery first thing Sat., probably going to be too early for you but there should be a lot of people and stuff going on so I know you'll like it.

Happy Gardening, Maria

Hi Maria

I doubt we will be at the CCSN tomorrow. Dan hates crowds so we'll go another day. Your beavertail cactus looks beautiful!!! Thanks for sharing your photo.
I am so amazed that alot of my plants did okay with these stupid winds. I did have a couple of irises buds (?) break off...so I quickly put them in a water vase and "wala" they bloomed. A gorgeous deep purple color. My roses are looking really good again with buds all over them. One got really badly blown around so it is slowly starting to recover today. These winds were severe this time.

Anyway...have fun tomorrow.
Beca

We didn't make it to CCSN as early as we wanted as there was a son to drop off for a church trip but we did go around noon. There were still quite a few people there even though it was a bit late, in fact we had to park at the library. Norm Schilling was there speaking on desert gardening with a lot of good advice, he's the arborist/landscaper who does the KNPR desert bloom segments.

They were already out of Penstemon Baccharifolius which I would have loved another plant of. I can never find that plant, maybe it's time to figure out how to take cuttings without killing them. I was so excited that I did find something I've been looking for for two years, Dalea Greggi. Why that plant has been so hard to find I'll never know but they had some and We got three to plant around a small soaptree yucca (Y. Elata) we have in our back yard.

The winter seems to have killed desert milkweed (asclepias subulata) here so we were able to find a replacement there and a new experiment abutilon palmeri. It's going in our blast furnace of a back yard so hopefully it is tough.

Happy Gardening, Maria

We never got there to the CCSN...sigh...(does driving by it count-LOL?)...we did get to Plant World yesterday. Had to run into Las Vegas to get something so I made sure we went to Plant World. I wanted some fushias for my sunroom and they were in :):) Also bought a half flat of petunias and a hanging wave petunia.
Did you ever find that tree you were looking for? Glad you found what you did at the CCSN. Your yard will look spectacular when you are all done. I love your photos BTW.
I would love to find a penstemon virens (blue mist beardtongue). Found a photo and fell in love with it (I think it's the blue color, of course).

Geez...this latest cold snap has done a number on my vegetable garden. I am hoping the replacement plants are ok...but they might die. Kinda hard to keep the vege beds warm with these dang winds...just couldn't think of anyway to do that so I allowed Mother Nature to do her thing. I shall see what made it through this latest cold snap in the next or so.
Next week we should get into the normal warmer weather!! Feels like we are in June gloom weather in California-LOL.