Arizona

A New Plant in Our Garden

Jeff

This year we decided to try a new plant in our late winter desert courtyard; Stock (Matthiola). I had seen this plant and known about it for quite some time, but I had never used it. I wondered how it would do in the very sunny southwest. I am happy to report that it has served us well as a full blooming, fragrant courtyard resident. It has been in bloom for weeks and with proper dead-heading, I think it will stay in bloom for some time to come.

It does have a tendency to set elongated seed pods so I snip them from time-to-time and cut back the dead flowers when a stalk is nearly spent. The picture below shows one pot against our faux brick wall near the front door. There is a twin pot on the other side of the door as well.

Stock in the Arizona Courtyard

There are many references to this plant on the Internet if you care to find out more. Here is the Better Homes and Gardens contribution about Stock.

Have you ever grown this plant? What do you think about the form and color?

Taming the desert rain!

Jeff

After our 2007 relocation from the east coast to the Phoenix Valley, we were surprised to learn that we were in a flood plain! This was soon apparent within a few months when a monsoon storm hit, and a large portion of our “top soil” (aka “sand”) ended up in the adjacent property. We decided to construct a “wadi” (a gully or streambed in northern Africa and southwest Asia that remains dry except during the rainy season) and ordered approximately six tons of “rip rap” (fist sized stone) from a local rock yard. Landscape cloth and pins were used as a weed barrier, and then each rock was carefully laid over a period of several weeks. The wadi is approximately 70 feet by 10 feet (average) and runs diagonally across the southeast corner of our 1.5 acre parcel. It has dramatically decreased soil (sand!) loss. A year after installation, we opted to construct a wall at the wadi’s headwaters comprised of eight large boulders that have served to further diminish the rapid flow of monsoon rains. Occasionally, debris must be removed from the rocks, and it is interesting to speculate on the origin of plastic wrappers and plush pet toys that meander downstream with the rains!


Building a Wadi in the Sonoran Desert
This is the corner that was washed out after the first heavy rain

Building a Wadi in the Sonoran Desert

We started constructing the wadi by the base of the trees where the water first enters our property.

Building a Wadi in the Sonoran Desert
On the right-hand side are several boulders we purchased to add interest and further slow the flow of water.

Building a Wadi in the Sonoran Desert
The project moved along as we developed the protocol for laying the weed barrier, sandy gravel and the rocks.
Building a Wadi in the Sonoran Desert
Here is an approximately east-west view near completion of the project.