Tag Archive for: fuss free

An Up Close View of the World’s Largest Rosebush

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Do you love roses?

I do.

For those of you who have been following me for any length of time, you know that my love affair with roses is something that I like to share with others. For that reason, on a lovely day in May, I made a visit to the Old West town, Tombstone, Arizona.  

Old West town, Tombstone, Arizona.

This historic town has two different attractions that appeal to me and my husband. He loves old westerns, and walking along the main street and seeing where the famous gunfight took place is something he enjoys. While it’s fun to explore the real-life places from long ago, my favorite destination lies just a block off of the main street…

World's Largest Rosebush museum

At first glance, you would never know that a famous plant resides beyond the front door of this historic inn that is now a museum. However, it is in the backyard of this building, the “Rose Tree Inn”, which lies the “World’s Largest Rosebush“.

Due to my love of roses, and having heard of this famous rosebush I am excited to see it in person.

World's Largest Rosebush museum

As you walk into the little museum, you feel as if you have stepped back into time within its rose-scented interior. As I venture toward the back where the rosebush is, my first impression is of a beautifully shaded patio area.

rosebush create dappled shade.

Over the patio, the outer branches of the rosebush create dappled shade.

As you make your way toward the main part of the rose bush, the sheer enormity of its size begins to be evident.  

twisted trunk of the rosebush.

In the center of the branches, you can see the large, twisted trunk of the rosebush.

It is really hard to get the scale of how big it is from pictures – but look at how small the door looks off to the right side.

World's Largest Rosebush museum

Now, see how big it looks with me next to it in the picture, above. Note – I am fairly tall at 5’9″.

shady underneath World's Largest Rosebush

The trunk is approximately 12-feet around and very shaggy with strips bark falling off. It definitely looks old.

This photo is taken with a flash, which lights up the area considerably. In actuality, it is very shady underneath.

rose bush story

Even when you stand right next to it, you can’t quite believe the enormous size.

This rosebush is not only the world’s largest – but it is also very old. For that reason, the history of the rosebush and how it came to be in Tombstone is quite interesting.

World's Largest Rosebush museum

History

Then the rose came from Scotland in 1887, which makes it over 130 years old. A young Scottish immigrant and her husband moved to Tombstone in 1885.  Her family sent their homesick daughter a box filled with cuttings of her favorite rosebush from home.

She gave one of the cuttings to her friend, Amelia Adamson. Together they planted the rosebush in back of Amelia’s boarding house where it has obviously flourished in its new surroundings.

Years later, the rosebush began to get attention with its large size. Consequently, it was declared the world’s largest in the 1930’s.

Now, the Tombstone rosebush reaches over 8,000 square feet!  

view of the rosebush

To get an overall view of the rosebush, you walk to the other side where there are steps to climb. Because the only part you see underneath the patio are its branches, the view from above is quite different. As a result, you have a clear view of the lacy foliage and flowers in the spring.

World's Largest Rosebush museum

Can you imagine how beautiful this would look in bloom? It is said that roses absolutely cover the entire upper part of the rosebush with fragrant, white flowers…

Lady Bank's rose

This is a close-up of the flowers from a different Lady Bank’s rose.

World's Largest Rosebush museum

As you can imagine, holding up a rosebush this large isn’t easy. Therefore, metal rods form a checkerboard pattern that are large wooden posts hold up.

bird's nest on World's Largest Rosebush

I spot a bird’s nest within the branches.

After I finish with my photos, I stroll back into the museum where I notice row of small rose bushes.

cutting for sale of World's Largest Rosebush

Above them is this sign…

World's Largest Rosebush museum

Well, I don’t describe myself as an ‘impulse buyer’,  I just have to buy a cutting from this historic plant.

World's Largest Rosebush

I do have a good spot for it where it can grow up on the wall in my side yard. Because it can’t climb without support, I will provide a trellis for it to grow up on.  Lady Bank’s roses also make great ground covers.

Although this rosebush was an impulse buy, it requires less maintenance than more traditional roses. I certainly can’t wait to grow a piece of the world’s largest rosebush!

Colorful Plants, Spiky Pots, Snakes, Roses and the Prom!

From Trash to Treasure: Unique, Fuss-Free Container Plantings

When trying to decide what to fill our containers with, most people gravitate toward colorful, flowering annuals. For those of us who live in the Southwest, we are equally likely to fill our pots with cacti or succulents, which thrive in our dry climate.

However, did you know that plants aren’t the only thing that looks great in containers?  In fact, what many people would consider ‘trash’ can actually transform the look of a container and your outdoor space.

Fuss Free Container Plantings
 

Dried plant material can add a unique and striking look to the landscape when showcased in a pot.

Besides decorating your outdoor space, they aren’t particular about sun, shade and are perfectly happy without any water or fertilizer.

In this particular case, I had a lovely blue container in my front entry that had stood empty for longer than I would care to admit to.  The opening was too small for most plants and it sat in the shade for most of the day making it difficult to grow colorful annuals.

Fuss Free Container Plantings

On a recent visit to a client whose home was surrounded by the natural desert, I found some dried plant material that would soon find its way to my house.

Among a pile of yard debris mixed in with cut tree branches and branch clippings were several dried yucca flowering stalks that had been pruned away and were waiting to be put in the trash.

Now most people would probably walk right by this pile of discarded plant material and understandably so.  But, I was on the lookout for items that the homeowner could use for a walled in patio, which was quite bare and received hot, reflected sun for most of the day.

Fuss Free Container Plantings

My thought was to add colorful, glazed containers in order to bring welcome color to this space and fill them with cacti.

yucca

However, once I saw the dried yucca stalks, I decided that they would make a striking filler for a container.

Fuss Free Container Plantings

The homeowner, who enjoys designing the interior of her home, saw the potential right away and selected three stalks.

soaptree yucca (Yucca elata)

The flowering stalks came from a magnificent soaptree yucca (Yucca elata) that they had growing in their front yard.

Fuss Free Container Plantings

The homeowners graciously offered to give me a few of the stalks to take home.

blue container

I knew that my empty blue container would make the perfect home for dried yucca stalks.

Fuss Free Container Plantings

While I love my new dried yucca stalks – they are just a few natural items that can be used in containers.

Fuss Free Container Plantings

This large, dried flowering stalk from an agave would look fabulous in a container and displayed in the corner of an entry or patio.

Fuss Free Container Plantings

Discarded canes from an ocotillo that would otherwise be headed toward the landfill can find new purpose as a filler for containers.

Fuss Free Container Plantings

A saguaro skeleton would make a dramatic statement if ‘planted’ in a large container.

Fuss Free Container Plantings

On my recommendation, this client gave up trying to grow flowering annuals in her shady entry and add colorful containers with bamboo poles.

Do you have a location where you’d like to have containers, but whatever you plant there dies?

Do any of the following situations where you’d like to have containers apply to you?

– Too much shade or sun

– Access to irrigation is limited

– You are gone for long lengths of time and can’t care for container plants

– Worried about staining the concrete or tile underneath the container from mineral buildup from watering

– You tend to kill anything you plant

If you are dealing with one or more of these situations you may want to look at adding dried plant material to your containers for a unique and fuss-free look that will add beauty to your outdoor space.

It’s All About the Leaves: Creative Container Plantings

Underused White Flowering Beauty – Little Leaf Cordia

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There are some plants in the landscape that are underused through not fault of their own.

This can be for a number of reasons, one of which, is that it isn’t stocked at local nurseries.  Customers often walk into their local nursery without any specific plant in mind and choose from what is in stock.

nursery container

Another reason is that many southwestern natives aren’t all that impressive looking in their nursery container, where their root growth is restricted.   However once they are planted and roots begin growing, they really take off and transform into a beautiful plant.

little leaf cordia

One underused plant in the southwest garden is little leaf cordia (Cordia parvifolia).  

There are so many reasons to love this underused, native shrub…  

– it is evergreen in zones 8 and above

– thrives in areas with full, reflected sun

– is drought tolerant

– needs no fertilizer

– rarely needs to be pruned

– and perhaps most importantly, it has beautiful, white flowers!

little leaf cordia

I recently wrote about little leaf cordia for Houzz.com and how to grow and use it in the landscape.  

My hope that this underused shrub will soon become a much-used shrub in the southwestern landscape.  

Great Design Plant: Little-Leaf Cordia Handles Desert Extremes

**Is there a plant that you think deserves a more prominent place in the southwestern landscape?  Please share it in the comments below!

Downsizing Is A Good Thing – But Not Always….

Great Southwestern Plant: Baja Fairy Duster

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Do you like red-flowering plants?

I do.

baja fairy duster

Many of the landscape plants in the southwestern landscape tend to be found in shades of purple and yellow.  As a result, I tend to include plants with red flowers whenever I create a design to help balance the purple and yellows in the plant palette.

Baja Fairy Duster (Calliandra californica) is one of my favorites because it has such unusual flowers.

They do look like ‘fairy-dusters’, don’t they?  The unique shape of the flowers is due to the fact that the showy part of each flower is actually a bunch of stamens grouped together – you don’t see the petals.

You can learn more about this beautiful, drought-tolerant, low-maintenance shrub including what zones it will grow in, in my latest plant profile for Houzz…

 
 

Which red-flowering plants is your favorite?

Plant Palette for New Landscape Area: Trees and Shrubs

Fuss Free Plants and TV Taping

What if you could have a landscape filled with beautiful, flowering plants that needed pruning only once a year?

Fuss Free Plants

Better yet, what if these beautiful plants needed little to no fertilizer and thrived in our desert climate?

Would you want to include some of these plants in your garden?

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked by the producers of Sonoran Living, a locally produced lifestyle show, to show some ‘fuss free’ plants suitable for fall planting.

I shared a few of my favorites in my previous post, “Fuss Free Plants for Fall Planting”.

Today, I would like to show you the plants that I profiled on the show…

Coral Fountain

Coral Fountain

Coral Fountain (Russelia equisetiformis) has a lovely cascading form and produces vibrant red flowers spring through fall.

Maintenance: Prune back in March, removing frost-damaged growth.

Hardy to 15 degrees.

Plant in full sun or in light shade.

Desert Ruellia

Desert Ruellia

Desert Ruellia (Ruellia peninsularis) is a medium-sized shrub with light green foliage and purple flowers that appear spring through fall. This shrub is a great alternative for Texas Sage because it does not grow as large.

Maintenance: Prune back to 1 1/2 ft. in early March.  Avoid repeated pruning during the year.  Allow it to grow into its natural shape.

Hardy to 25 degrees.

Plant in full sun and allow room for it to grow to its mature size of 4 feet wide.  

'Phoenix' Bird-of-Paradise

‘Phoenix’ Bird-of-Paradise

Phoenix Bird-of-Paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima ‘Phoenix Bird’) is the yellow form of Red or Mexican Bird-of-Paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima).  Gorgeous yellow flowers appear all summer long on these tropical shrubs.

Maintenance: Prune back to 1 ft. in winter.

Hardy to 15 degrees.

Plant in full sun, along a bare wall.

Blue Bells

Blue Bells

Blue Bells (Eremophila hygrophana ‘Blue Bells’) is a relatively new plant introduction.  Gray foliage is covered with blue/purple flowers off and on throughout the year.

Maintenance: Little to no pruning required.

Hardy to 17 degrees.

Plant in full sun and pair with shrubs with dark green foliage such as Valentine (shown below).

Fuss Free Plants

Valentine (Eremophila maculata ‘Valentine’) is a superstar in the landscape.  The reason for this is its red flowers that appear all winter long and into spring.  Better yet, the foliage is evergreen.

Maintenance: Prune back to 1 1/2 ft. high and wide in late spring, after flowering finishes.  Don’t prune more then this or flowering will be reduced later in the year.

Hardy to 15 degrees.

Plant in full sun in groups of 3 to 5 for best effect.  Pair with yellow flowering plants such as Angelita Daisy or Brittlebush.

Fuss Free Plants

Gopher Plant (Euphorbia rigid) is a uniquely shaped succulent that produces chartreuse flowers in spring.

Maintenance: Prune back flowers after they dry in late spring.

Hardy to -20 degrees.

Plant in groups of 3 around boulders.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of my favorite ‘fuss free’ plants.  

What are some of your favorite low-maintenance plants?

Baja Fairy Duster: Unique and Red

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Baja fairy duster shrubs up close

Baja Fairy Duster is Hummingbird Food in the Native Garden

Baja fairy duster (Calliandra californica) is a must-have for the desert garden.  There is so much to love about this shrub.  

My favorite attribute is that it flowers off and on all year.  Its red flowers are shaped like miniature feather dusters.  Also, this plant attracts hummingbirds, is low-maintenance, drought tolerant and great by swimming pools because of its low litter.

Baja fairy duster has a vibrant red flower, which is often a color missing in the desert plant palette.  The majority of flowering occurs spring through fall, but some flowering can occur in areas that experience mild winters.  

It is native to Baja California, Mexico and is also called red fairy duster by some.  It is evergreen to 20 degrees F.  During some unusually cold winters when temperatures dropped into the high teens, I have had some killed to the ground, but they quickly grew back from their roots. 

Baja fairy duster flowers

Landscape Uses for the Red Blooming Shrub

This shrub grows to approximately 4 – 5 ft. High and wide, depending on how much you prune it, so allow plenty of room for it to develop.  

It makes a lovely screening shrub, either in front of a wall or blocking pool equipment, etc.  It also serves as a colorful background shrub for smaller perennials such as damianita, blackfoot daisy, Parry’s penstemon, gold or purple lantana and desert marigold.  

Baja fairy duster can take full sun and reflected heat but can also grow in light shade.  It is not particular about soil as long as it is well-drained.

Baja fairy duster shrub with green leaves

  Baja fairy duster in the middle of a desert landscape, flanked by desert spoon to the left and ‘Torch Glow’ bougainvillea to the right.  Red yucca is in the foreground.

Baja Fairy Duster Maintenance

As I mentioned before, this is a very low-maintenance shrub.  Some people shear this shrub, which I DO NOT recommend.  This removes most of the flowers and takes away from the natural shape of this shrub.  However, it’s size can be controlled with proper pruning.  Pruning should be done in late spring and should be performed with hand-pruners, NOT hedge clippers.

Baja fairy duster does require regular irrigation until established but then is relatively drought-tolerant.  However, proper watering is needed for it to look its best and flower regularly, which is what I do.  

Other than adding compost to the planting hole, no other amendments or fertilizer is needed.  Most native desert plants have been adapted to growing in our nutrient deficient soils and do best when left alone in terms of fertilizing.  I tell my clients to fertilize only if the plant shows symptoms of a nutrient deficiency.

So, go to your local plant nursery and get some of these beautiful shrubs for your garden.  Then, while you sit and enjoy its beauty, you can debate what you love most about it….the beautiful year-round flowers, the hummingbirds it attracts, it’s low-maintenance, or come up with your reasons.