Saturday, May 12, 2012

To Maricopa We Went

 I was propositioned last week. Plant sale? Ok. Can you drive? Sure, where is it? Maricopa. Maricopa? Um, OK, bring a snack for the ride, lol
 The drive didn't feel too long. We took the freeway and 4 lane highway. It look completely civilized. Then we turned a corner, left the cookie cutter houses and boom, we were out in the middle of nowhere.
 Amber waves of grain kept running through my brain. Out in the middle of the Arizona desert to boot!
 Barrel of herbs and succulents? I like how the higher half, facing south,  provides much needed shade for the succulents.
 An example of square foot gardening. In this case a lattice was laid over the planting bed providing a visible grid. One plant is planted per square foot.
 Hay bale gardening. This is super cool and easy on the back as it's raised to the height of the hay bale.
Here the hay bales are arranged in the desired formation. These appear to be secured in place. Spread a layer of soil and set your plants in. The roots grow through the soil and hay bale. The hay absorbs and holds water and nutrients.
Garden as labyrinth. Mental and physical exercise, covered. Cool idea, huh?
 Onion envy. Marker envy too. I have yet to find my idea of the perfect marker for my herbs and plants. Time to stop being envious and make my own. As soon as I can find a glove that slides over my finger, I'm going to give it a try.
 Yum, yum, cilantro! I had to photograph the bushiness of this one. My cilantro doesn't look like this. After some reading, I discovered that it's recommended to plant one after another in successive weeks to achieve this look.
After working on my tan at the plant sale, we headed home. My Partner in Crime has some babies in her front garden. Curved Bill Thrasher chicks nesting in a cholla. I was surprised how low to the ground the nest was. It was no more than 40" inches off the ground. Turns out the ground beneath was peppered with cholla buds. That's plenty of thorns to keep any critters away. Smart mama bird!
Marissa

2 comments:

  1. Loving these gardening shots (hay bales- who knew?) and look forward to implementing some of these tips. And like always, loving the great, great pics.

    BB2U

    P.S. Hope your finger heals quickly; cuidate.

    ReplyDelete
  2. baby birds have flown the nest - hope they made it safely away!

    ReplyDelete