Working in my heavily frozen garden across from the Gila Bend, az., Post Office, I have meditated while doing so, that such freezes have positive effects, for one, they kill insects or their eggs.
Too as you clear out dead foliage, you bring into view other areas that can now be planted with more flowers.
I have noticed that the color yellow seems more radiant in wintertime, so I am going to plant yellow open face (no markings in bloom) large flower pansies.
There are large flower pansies, medium sized ones, and then violas with yet smaller blossums, ALL do well in cold weather here in the desert. If the tops do freeze as did the electric blue lobelias, you merely trim off the old to welcome the new.
Also the freeze and the pruning will force them to grow larger root systems for yet more flowers, that and removing dead flowers frequently. Last yesr, I had a Johnny Up viola that had THOUSANDS of flowers, because of my special fertlizer solution and this deadheading procedure.
GO TO: www.geocities.com/jbarta00
/SECRETFERTILIZER .
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Yesterday, I did something that changes and will the whole balance of my yard, on the right side of my cottage is a 5 ft. ht. Santa Cruz Hibiscus, beautiful in spring months with its large single lavender flowers, which cease in the heat of the summer and on the left was a 5 ft. ht. blue potato vine tree whose small lavender flowers bloom continously!
So I transplanted it to underneath, attached to the other, which will create a stunning flower effect all year long, barring bad freezes.
Now on the left side, where it was, from the front is a clear view of that side and across the sidewalk there.
So tommorow, I will travel via the Ajo transportation bus to the Avondale Home Depot and purchase yellows for all, pansies?, calendulas?, dont care, yellow it will be wonderful!
And in the summer, gazanias to live through the heat.
Visit my garden at
1#108 W. Papago st. or
www.geocities.com/jbarta00
/OUTLAWPOETGARDENER .
10. unprinted.
Sometime ago. I met a Gila Bend resident who has a remarkable idea for Arizona as well as Gila Bend.
She wants to have a huge project to be called BIBLELAND, a religious amusement park. It is projected to cost a billion dollars. She certainly has a stronger faith then I, humble gardener.
She asked me one day, what plants would be appropiate for the Garden of Eden?
And I thought and thought for months, and like a vision, appeared in my poetry, which I write continously,
the idea of a huge round or oval theater designed similar to the big new stadium in Phoenix.
Inside, the audience would view a complete circle around them of film screens (and in certain moments on the ceiling as well), separate presentations of all the major religions of planet earth.
In my humble opinion, God has given us choice, the decision is ours.
Now around the structure would be a huge circling wide greenhouse, which the people would enter the theater in four choices of entry on its four sides, through The Garden of Eden.
With plants from all over the planet earth
SO! If you know anyone or any group or corporation,
that would be interested in such an endeavor that could attract people from over the planet,
call Linda at Gila Bend Realty, 928-683-6000.
Me?, I'm just a humble old gardener.
My garden is at 1#108 W. Papago.st., across from post office.
11.
Recently, I went to the Avondale Home Depot garden center, and marched right into its cold depths, god! was it cold. But that didnt bother the large flowered clear face (no markings in blossum) yellow pansy, nor the 1 gallon cans of full grown stocks fragrant with their cinnamon ($3.27), or dozens of sparkling multi colored violas, or a new vine for me, called bower, which can take down to 30 degrees ($4.97). It has petunia like pink flowers with red markings inside the blossum.
What joy to have the funds to do that, then back on the Ajo transportation rural bus to Gila Bend, for only $3.00!
Back home, I spent the rest of afternoon plantng them in my experienced manner of color cooridination, which follows certain self made rules. One, I dont do straight lines without breaking up the main color
with another that accents the first.
Or I plant the straight line two rows thick, and spot occasionally within that other accenting color.
Now lets say at the end of the row, I want to plant a third color, within two plants at the end, I will plant one of that, then one or two of the first, then planting,
letting the third color begin its domination of the line
into the now established line, thus this can go on indefinitely, creating a fluid sense of color motion.
Visit that effect at 1#108 W. Papago st. or go to:
www.geocities.com/jbarta00
/OUTLAWPOETGARDENER .
12.
Last column I gave a way, I personally have developed to give flowers a feeling of color motion.
Linda's residence at 305 Jeb Stuart st. has that effect, except with dozens of more flowers that I can, in my limited postage stamp sized garden.
Then too inside or around the above formula one can plant for the English cottage effect, which is even more complex, putting in an assortment of colors next to each other that accent but not clash like cymbals.
Unless you want an element of surprise!
In this montage, herbs can be introduced, grasses, shrubs, all for a total effect like the symphony orchestra.
The Beatles should
thank God, I am
not a musician,
or even Yo Yo Ma, or they
would be out of a job.
Dont underestimate the large garden versus the small, both or either can be eye commanding, invoking a sense
of visual pleasure.
Visit my garden at 1#108 W. Papago st. or go to,
www.geocities.com/jbarta00
/OUTLAWPOETGARDENER .
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My Ecquadorian bronze grass's foliage all froze to brown. And now I've been
pruning and reshaping them,
though leaving some at bottom for my outlaw siamese cat to burrow in.
It wanted inside, nope, I said, you have to be an outlaw just like me. Glen Birchfield made me one, I had to appeal outside of town to do a gardening column.
ACTUALLY, I automatically became one, the first year, I moved here across from the post office, planting a 20 foot fence in Heavenly blue morning glories, later finding out amidst the effect being applaudeed,
ITS ILLEGAL TO GROW MORNING GLORIES IN ARIZONA!
At fault is the state not too swift legislature who assumed that like the field pest, a wild type, all were bad. Wrong.
I had a devil of a time locating the grass at any nursery, finally!., I spied them at a KMart, and they entered my garden as of course outlaws. One gallon size, they grew swiftly using my www.geocities.com/jbarta00
/SECRETFERTILIZER ., to 6 ft.
Now I am going to let that ht. of brown foliage remain, forcing it to grow up out of that to, maybe 8 ft. to shade my cottage in summer heat. At one point their bronze grew little bronze coloring but after a cup of gypsum applied, they resumed the bronze. Buy a bag, its cheap, the sulfur in it will improve your plants as if magic.
