Diane's Baja Desert Garden Blog

New Garden - Contrast

2007-12-19T10:32:00.000-07:00

The new garden is looking great! We planted most of it in July right before we left for Central America. It grew well during the summer and survived this summer's hurricane with no problems.

Native Garden

2007-12-19T10:29:00.000-07:00

I reserved this area for native plants, or at least those from Mexico. The blue flowers are a local species of morning glory, and they are truly glorious!

Vacation Rental - Website

2007-12-19T10:14:00.000-07:00

We've been working frantically to finish every detail to prepare our new house for our first guests who arrive Christmas Day. A friend recently said that being in the house is like living inside one of my paintings--that's how I feel too. Check out our new website: El Encanto de Cabo Pulmo to see what we've been up to. We're driving back to Costa Rica after Christmas for 9-12 months in Central America. Our capable friends, Karl and Kim will manage the house in our absence.

I'm Back!

2007-10-06T14:33:00.000-06:00

Just arrived back in Cabo Pulmo after a two month road trip to Costa Rica. We've moved out of the old house and into our new one, next door. It has a new garden! I hope to have a bit of time to wander around it and photograph to post here. The new house will be a vacation rental starting around Thanksgiving. For more info, take a look at:

http://vrbo.com/150158

P.S. I'm seeing lots of those wonderful green baby spiny-tailed iguanas around the garden and I don't know how to get rid of this underlining!

New House Project

2007-03-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I haven't posted to this blog very often is that we are consumed with building a new house (and garden!) next door. I started a blog to let friends and family see what we're up to. Here's the link: http://newcabopulmohouse.blogspot.com/

I plan to start a new garden blog about the new garden, since this blog is so large that it takes a long time to load and the formatting has gotten weird and Google doesn't respond to my inquiries on how to fix it. I'll post the new link here. I suspect I'll be able to start planting in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned....

Friends for Juan Angel

2007-02-09T07:53:00.000-07:00

We went to Guadalajara to shop for the new house we're building. We were thrilled to find more junk mariachi sculpture. Juan Angel is our original mariachi fiddler. I'll post more photos of the other friends later. We got a little carried away....

Format Weirdness

2007-02-05T16:59:00.000-07:00

After much posting today I looked at the finished blog and to my horror, discovered format weirdness. Ahgh!! Maybe it will fix itself. I'll check again later.

Kalanchoe

2007-02-05T16:08:00.000-07:00

Blooms in December and January. The spent flowers look interesting too.

Winter Garden

2007-02-05T16:07:00.000-07:00

White Crowned Sparrow

2007-02-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

They migrate down here for the winter.

More Drama!

2007-02-05T15:34:00.000-07:00

After watching the hawk, we saw bird feathers on the ground, then noticed this quail hiding in the corner under the window. I took the photo and we went in. About 10 minutes later we heard a ruckus when the hawk swooped in and snatched the quail. The hawk must have dropped the quail when it first hit the window.

Another View

2007-02-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

More Desert Drama

2007-02-05T15:27:00.000-07:00

We first became aware of this hawk (maybe Cooper's juvenile?) when we heard a big thwonk on the north window. When we went out to investigate, we found this hawk in a nearby tree. We thought it must have been the hawk hitting the window since the thwonk was louder then when doves hit it. It seemed rattled hung around in the tree recovering.

Another Fave Book

2007-02-05T15:24:00.000-07:00

You might think that since it is written by a Brit that it wouldn't be relevant to desert gardeners--Wrong! Full of inspirational photos and good design ideas.

True Bug on Jumete

2007-02-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

Tarantula Hawk on Jumete Flowers

2007-02-05T15:19:00.000-07:00

???

2007-02-05T15:15:00.000-07:00

Found this guy in the kitchen on a tile.

Aloe Flowerbuds

2007-02-05T15:13:00.000-07:00

Goldfinch/Housefinch Party

2007-02-05T15:11:00.000-07:00

Barrel Cactus

2007-02-05T15:05:00.000-07:00

These Ferocactus latispinus bloom every January.

Milkweed

2007-02-05T15:03:00.000-07:00

Asclepias curasavica. Butterflies like the nectar of this perennial.

Northern Mockingbird

2007-02-05T15:00:00.000-07:00

Prickly Pear Seedlings

2007-02-05T14:50:00.000-07:00

A tuna (prickly pear fruit) must have dropped near the base of this plant and the seeds germinated.

Aloe thraskii

2007-02-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

I'm crazy about this beauty from South Africa. It is supposed to grow into a tree!

Transitional Iguana

2007-02-05T14:43:00.000-07:00

This Spineytail Iguana still has a bit of juvenile green and is exploring our woodpile, looking for hiding places.