Home & Garden

Landscape Maintenance


Just because we are retired does not exempt us from chores. There are plenty of little maintenance jobs around our retirement home to keep us busy.

The creosote bush above needed to be trimmed. This particular bush grows faster than the others on the property since it is located near the irrigation for the citrus trees directly behind it. It also got a couple of deep watering events during monsoon season; it is located next to the drainage ditch west of the house.

Thick creosotes attract small desert mammals that need a place to nest. That, in turn, attracts predators like rattlesnakes. You can understand why we needed this bush to be cleaned up.

The image above is a Flash™ slideshow. Click the image to advance the show from before to after and your humble landscape worker.

Gerbera Daisies

Gerbera Daisies

Today was grocery shopping day and, as usual, I bought some flowers for the vase in the great room. These colorful Gerbera daisies bring home some of the fall flower colors to the house. Click on the image to enlarge.

The Chief Photographer

The Chief Photographer

I got this photo of Damsel coming back from one of her photographic missions a couple of days ago. She gets a lot of really great photos, many of which are posted here, but the majority go into the archives and maybe on facebook or something. Click on the image to enlarge.

Community Cactus Garden

Community Cactus Garden

At the entrance of the unpaved road that leads down to our house, there is a community cactus garden. A sign next to the garden declares that this is Casandro Wash, a Maricopa County flood control project. I love the cacti and I love their spring flowers even more. Click on the image to enlarge.

Pink Oleander Flowers

Pink Oleander Flowers

The house down the road had a bunch of oleander border plants. I was out walking the dogs when I noticed the pink blooms on one of the bushes. I walked back to the house, got my camera and headed back to take this photo of the pretty pink flowers. Click on the image to enlarge.