Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Home & Garden

The California Garden

We’re back at Casa Grande* for Easter weekend. When we arrived yesterday, we were surprised at how well the garden was doing with virtually no attention for over a month. The poppies were going crazy with their bright orange flowers and the artichoke had produced these wonderful flower buds, one of which we’re going to steam early next week and eat it for lunch. Click on the image to enlarge.

chokes-daisies.jpg

* We’re now in to referring to the 2700 square foot two story house in California as Casa Grande (Big House) as opposed to the little Arizona home which we now call Casa Bonita (Pretty House).

22 Apr 2011 by California Food & Dining Home & Garden

Spring Cactus Flowers

Spring has sprung in the desert! The high temperatures here over the past several days have been between 80 and 95 degrees and the cacti flowers have been popping open like crazy. This slideshow is a sample of the flowers that I have photographed over the past few days. You can pause the slideshow by rolling your mouse over the images and resume by rolling out.

21 Apr 2011 by Arizona Home & Garden Photography

Planting the New Cactus

A week ago we bought a cereus cactus and brought it home. Today, we finally got it in the ground in front of the house. We are really looking forward to seeing the flowers bloom. Click on the blue play button for a slideshow of getting it into the ground.

16 Apr 2011 by Arizona Home & Garden Retirement

A New Cactus

new-cactus.jpg

This is the newest addition to the landscaping in front of the house. We will be planting this cactus within the next couple of days. We think it’s a cereus, but we’re not sure of the variety. I wanted to get it here right away since it will be getting three new flowers real soon now. Click on the image to enlarge.

14 Apr 2011 by Arizona Home & Garden Photography

Serrano Pepper

The first things to appear in the Arizona garden this year were the tomatoes. Today, I photographed a tiny Serrano chili pepper in front of a pepper blossom which will soon be another pepper. These tomatoes and peppers are likely to be ingredients in salsa or a Tex-Mex recipe this summer. Click on the image to enlarge.

serrano.jpg

10 Apr 2011 by Food & Dining Home & Garden

Beavertail Cactus Flower

beavertail-bud.jpgLast month, we transported several of our California cactus collection to Arizona. My beavertail cactus (opuntia basilaris – thanks Crotalus 😉 ) was among those we brought. Today, the first of several flower buds opened.

According to Desert Tropicals, beavertail is a smaller prickly pear cactus, and it will often start blooming when it has only two pads. In the wild, its principal range is limited to the Mojave-Colorado desert. The cactus ranges in the southwest USA (Arizona, California, Nevada) from 200 to 3000 feet elevation.

We will get this cactus transplanted into the rock and cactus garden next week. Meanwhile, enjoy the pretty flowers. Click on the image to enlarge.

07 Apr 2011 by Arizona Home & Garden

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