As promised the desert dome in the Mitchell Park Conservatory (The Domes) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin conversation continues. Despite the temperature in the dome being close to the cold outdoor temperatures we spent a fair amount of time in the desert dome. There is just something about arid plants that appeal to me perhaps because they are just so exotic. 
Graham's Sage
Graham's Sage (Salvia microphylla [in US Salvia grahamii]) is a low growing perennial, evergreen shrub indiginous to southeastern Arizona and the mountains of eastern, western, and southern Mexico. It is a member of the dead-nettle Lamiaceae family sometimes referred to as blackcurrent sage. There are numerous hybrids and cultivars since the 1990s because the plant easily hybridizes. It is favourved for conservatory cultivation due to its long flowering season of up to 9 months outside and all year indoors. The flowers are arranged in whorls, with a wide range of color (magenta, red, pink, rose) depending on the cultivar. Unfortunately the Graham's Sage was not in bloom during our visit.
Palms
I fell in love with palm trees our first visit to Las Vegas that lined the streets and graced most landscaping. That love was reinforced through a few trips to Florida but my gosh where I really started to appreciate them was in Key West. The palms waved in the wind making a rustling sound while providing cooling shade in the heat of the sun. In the evening hours the shadows created by the palms were amazing then at night listening to the rustling in the deep darkness it was easy to believe the local ghost stories. Perhaps the local ghosts were actually visiting us!
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Yesterday I posted on a bit on the desert dome at the Mitchell Park Conservatory (The Domes) in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I took a fair number of pictures so will be sharing some of those with you over the next couple of days. Cacti can be grown successfully indoors in northern climates in a sunny window. It is amazing to see the variety of cacti available, some more suitable to growing indoors for the gardener than others.
Cleistocactus
A nice feature of conservatories is many of the plants are labeled with their common and scientific names. If this is a plant you are interested in trying your hand at growing then take a picture along with recording the tag information. This will help ensure you get exactly the plant you are looking for.
Cleisrocactus (Cleistocatus hyalacanthus) [note a typo on the card] is a columnar cactus that is hardy to USDA Zones 10 and 11. This tall, fuzzy cactus grows to 4 - feet in height with small pink or pale red diurnal flowers about 1.6 - inches long. 
Welwitschia
Welwitschia (front bottom) is a low sprawling, sideways growing plant that grows from a short, thick, woody trunk. Two leaves continuously grow from their base for the entire lifespan (1,000 years or more) of the plant. These leaves split to form several strap-shaped sections disguising their origin. Welwitchia has a long, thick taproot.
Variegated Elephants Bush (Portulacaria afra variegata), just behind the Welwitschia is a small branching succulent shrub. It resembles a small variegated jade plant. This plant can make a fabulous indoor or outdoor container plant. If growing outdoor it is hardy to USDA Hardiness Zone 10. Indoors treat as would other succulents such as jade. Be careful to not overwater. Variegated Elephants Bush has tiny pink blooms but these are seldom seen under cultivation.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Living in Ontario, Canada I don't have a lot of experience with cacti other than the few I grow on my windowsill. My little cacti seedlings are coming along nicely and while they are about double in size they sure take a long time to grow! I can fully appreciate how long it takes for a cactus to get to any appreciable size. Mine are now 3 years old and aren't even big enough to transplant. I'll have to remember to post an update :)
Most think of the desert as a hot, dry area and it it but it is surprising how very cold the desert can get! We've been in the Mojave Desert several times. While the temperatures can be stifling hot as high as 134ºF in Death Valley during the day the low can be as low as 8ºF at night. The Desert Dome of the Mitchell Park Conservatory (The Domes) was really on the cold side not much warmer if any than outdoors when we went through. Coats were a must!
Aloe Vera
I took a lot of pictures in the desert dome. Despite the cold it was quite enjoyable. Understated yet rustic accents like a cattle sculls were scattered randomly throughout the dome. Once again the dome was set up with plants bordering the perimeter of the dome with a well planted central region containing a small pond and a meandering path with benches to sit and enjoy.
I immediately recognized the aloe vera plant in the lower left corner. Aloe vera is a must have plant in any home. It is low maintenance with healing benefits especially for kitchen cuts and burns. I love the natural looking landscape showing this wonderful plant in its natural environment.
Golden Barrel Cactus
The Golden Barrel Cactus (Echinocactus grusonii) is a Mexican native that is a protected species even though it is a popular cultivated species especially for houseplants but also in landscaping in suitable areas. This cactus lives to to be several hundred years old. The spines provide shade yet help catch rainfall directing it to the base of the plant. The accordion like folds expand and contract depending on the amount of rainfall the plant absorbs. One myth is the barrel cactus is a reservoir for fresh water but this is wrong even though moisture can be squeezed from the pulp.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2006-2010
Sorry for the lack of posts recently. The reality is the gardens in our new home are proving difficult at best. I'm dealing with horrible soil that is mostly clay mixed with a lot of stone and rock along with inclimate weather. The gardens are at the point where I look at them then get frustrated because I simply don't know where to start. The problem is we really are still in the tearing out phase of an over planted and poorly planted property yet we have to take our time because we want to see what is where in case we want to keep it. So the past few days have involved more tearing out and minimal planting. As long as I can get the existing beds straightened around and my herbs planted this year, I will be a very happy gardener!
Path
Much of the perimeter of our property is lined with evergreens of some type with very poorly planted flower beds. Bordering most of the flower beds are rocks but some of the beds have the black plastic edging. We are ripping out most of the rock and all of the plastic edging. The primary reason for doing so is aesthetics. I really don't like the look of plastic edging and I prefer soft lines over the hard lines of rocks.
The rocks along the side walkway were actually creating a problem by forming a sloped hill that drained towards the foundation of the house. The garden beds themselves are tucked under tall cedars so they don't get a lot of light. The soil (before) was mainly covered with decaying wood chips providing the perfect breeding ground for the huge centipedes that find their way indoors. There were also a lot of mis-plantings and in spots gravel as well as flat shale stones throughout the beds. I made an executive decision that the only way to control the earwigs and centipedes was to slope the bed away from the house foundation and remove some of their habitat. So the bark chips were raked up and all the larger rocks were removed. A fair amount of soil had to be removed as well to get the soil level below the sidewalk.
One problem we have that will have to corrected is indicated by the arrow. A portion of the sidewalk has sunk as a result of erosion from water running from the garden bed towards the foundation combined with a downspout that was allowed to direct water directly to the foundation. While it does add a bit of character, correcting the water problems are our first priority. This water issue combined with current serious sewer issues means I will not be doing a lot of planting in the larger side gardens in case right away in case we have to dig up the sewer line.
Tulips & Daffodiles
Scattered throughout our property are lovely clumps of tulips, daffodiles, crocuses and narcisses. This is one good reason for not disturbing the garden beds below surface if you move into a home before seeing what is in the garden beds. The garden beds here are loaded with these beautiful spring flowers. I was rather surprised to not find any hyacinths! At any rate these are all bulbulous perennials so the rule of thumb is when the flower dies off, leave the greenery. It will slowly turn brown at which time you can then remove it. If your crocuses or other bulbulous perennials break through the grass, do not rush with that first grass cutting of the season. The reason for doing this is the leaves are feeding the bulb for next spring's display of colour.
Revamped Bed
Our house is earth bermed meaning it basically is built into a slope. This makes it very energy efficient to heat but diverting water away from the foundation is critical. I quickly found out that what looks like a flower bed and was planted as a flower bed is not a flower bed. Such is the case of this small bed that originally had two unkept boxwoods and dead rose bushes. A feeble attempt at digging revealed that this area is actually meant as foundation drainage so filled with a few feet (yes feet) of gravel with soil on top. What I wanted here was colour so I settled on creeping thyme with shallow roots that will fill the bed with maintenance free colour while not interfering with the intended purpose of the area.
I dug this bead out about 2 inches below the level of the sidewalk, lower than the iron bar that indicated where the brickwork starts on the house. Then I added fresh top soil and leveled out the bed. I put in three solar path lights that will help light the side of the house then I sprinkled on McKenzie creeping thyme. This is the first time using this product so I will make a complete post on it as soon as I see the results. Creeping thyme is a low growing ground cover that can handle being stepped on, ideal for the location. Once grown it should soften the edge of the sidewalk without being invasive. Unlike English ivy, it is low growing so will not provide a habitat for field mice, something we have had problems with here.
So, that's what has been happening in our gardens. Yesterday one of my kids removed three evergreen bushes and a dilapidated euonymus bush for me so I'm off to work on one of those spots. I'll post about it shortly.
Happy Gardening!
Garden Gnome
©2007
Cactus Seedlings
I brought home a cute cactus starting kit from Las Vegas on our recent trip. This was an ideal solution since I thought trying to transport cactus plants on the plane or through Canadian customs would be problematic. The kit came with the soil, a seed packet that could contain upto ten varieties of cactus (including saguaro, prickly pear, cholla, fire barrel, fishhook barrel and hedgehog), a small plastic pot, a clear plastic dome lid and instructions. I followed the instructions but planted only about a quarter of the seed packet on the 25th of January. Today I noticed two small sprouts. It has taken longer than the low estimate of 3 days but that's ok. Once the seedlings develop tiny spines the dome top can be removed. I'll report back as they grow.
Happy Gardening
Garden Gnome
© 2007
Our winter vacation was spent in Las Vegas, Nevada. We stayed at the Golden Nugget on Fremont Street in the downtown core area. While the main attractions in Las Vegas are entertainment and gambling, the area offers so much more. As always we rented a vehicle for sight seeing.
Las Vegas lies in the northern region of the Mojave Desert, a desert that is hot and dry with little precipitation, influenced by the Great Basin Desert to the north and the Sonoran Desert to the south. Although my husband insisted on wearing his famous Hawaiian shirt, shorts and sandle combination the week was really jacket weather. It was warmer than here in Zone 6A more like our later March weather but blissfully dry. The vegetation in the area always amazes me. The primary natural vegetation include: creosote bush (Larrea tridentata), Joshua trees (Yucca brevifolia) and yucca (Yucca spp.) however at higher elevations like Mount Charleston there are pine and alpine forests. Cooler winter temperatures limit cold intolerant species like cactus. We have seen a surprising number of cactus on our travels through the area. Their size can be very impressive!
Joshua Trees
