06/14/13

Rose Mermaid on June 13, 2013

Rose Mermaid has had a spectacular spring bloom this year. Said to be Monet’s favorite rose (thanks for the tip, David Clemons), I’ll just say Monet had good taste in roses. ;-)

These images show Mermaid on one day, with various phases on the one bush I have.

This is a bloom just barely opening in the morning. They open in the morning, and the petals are gone by the next morning.
The long golden parts are the stamens, the pollen bearing part of the male plant reproductive system. The center part is the stigma, the visible portion of the pistil, the female plant reproductive system. The stigma is sticky and catches the pollen.
Even barely unfurled, Mermaid, to me, is gorgeous.

rose mermaid

Bloom beginning to unfurl early in the morning

Close up of the stigma (the visible portion of the pistil in Mermaid). It looks very other worldly.

rose mermaid

Stigma of Mermaid

On the right is a bloom starting to unfurl. The spent bloom in the lower left has just lost its petals. The one in the middle is about 48 hours old. I cannot tell how old the one in the lower right is.

rose mermaid

Spent blooms of Mermaid

These are actually on two different branches – one with the buds, one with the spent blooms.

spent blooms and bus of Mermaid

Spent blooms and buds of Mermaid

Mermaid was awarded the ARS Victorian Award (best old garden rose with unknown date of origin or introduction in or after 1867) this year at the Albuquerque Rose Society Spring Show. She won Best of Show in 2006 and 2010, but this year she did not hit her peak until after the show. The glory of Mermaid for me is in the garden! Sharing her with others at shows is fun. Any awards are just a bonus for this beautiful rose!

06/5/13

Rose ‘Mermaid’

Rose ‘Mermaid,’ Part 15, the Saga Continues

The Old Garden Rose, ‘Mermaid,’ has long been one of my favorites. Regular readers here are aware of my love for this hybrid bracteata, introduced in 1918, which was also the year of my father’s birth. I planted the rose in his memory after he died.

Although known for being somewhat tender, the rose grew huge, climbing up the fireplace within a couple of years. After the 22 inch snow that fell in late December 2006, with thawing, freezing, thawing, freezing, etc., the weight of the ice tore ‘Mermaid’ and its trellis off the wall of the house, and it had to be cut off at ground level. I was sure it would not recover.

Recovery was very slow, but ‘Mermaid’ did recover to virtually her old self by the spring of 2010.

This spring, 2013, has been an exceptional year for ‘Mermaid,’ as the following images demonstrate:

old garden rose 'mermaid'

Buds on ‘Mermaid’ in early spring

old garden rose 'mermaid'

Spray of ‘Mermaid’

rose 'mermaid'

‘Mermaid’

rose 'mermaid'

Old Garden Rose, ‘Mermaid’

Is it any wonder that the Old Garden Rose, ‘Mermaid,’ is one of my very favorite roses? :-)

06/3/13

Rose Arrangements from the 2013 Albuquerque Rose Show

Arrangements from the 2013 Albuquerque Rose Show, June 1, 2013

Debi Harrington – Best in Show

Roses ‘Candy Cane,’ ‘Golden Showers,’ ‘Moondance,’ ‘Gourmet Popcorn’
ARS Royalty Award, plus Best in Show in Arrangements

rose arrangements

Roses: ‘Candy Cane,’ ‘Golden Showers,’ ‘Moondance,’ ‘Gourmet Popcorn’

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Lauren Toth
Roses ‘Candy Cane’
ARS Duke Award

rose arrangements

Roses ‘Candy Cane’

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Pat Jeremia
Roses ‘Wild Blue Yonder’
ARS Princess Award

Roses 'Wild Blue Yonder'

Roses ‘Wild Blue Yonder’

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Pat Jeremia
Roses ‘Julia Child’
A Modern Arrangement

rose arrangements

Roses ‘Julia Child’

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Juanita Ortega
Roses ‘Fragrant Cloud’
ARS Artist Award
(This is a Transparency)

rose arrangement

Roses ‘Fragrant Cloud’

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Juanita Ortega
Rose ‘Fragrant Cloud’
ARS Oriental Award

Roses 'Fragrant Cloud'

Roses ‘Fragrant Cloud’

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Shirley Tetrault
Roses ‘Tropicana’
A Modern Arrangement, specifically a Transparency

rose arrangements

Rose ‘Tropicana’

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Shirley Tetrault
Roses ‘Double Delight’
A Modern Arrangement

rose arrangements

Roses ‘Double Delight’

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The rose arrangements in the 2013 Albuquerque Rose Show exhibited a remarkable range of creativity. Beyond that, the growing season had not been particularly good this spring, and the timing for the show was also not particularly good. That these and the other arrangers could put together these designs is a tribute to their skill and creativity.

On the Rose Arrangement page are images of arrangements at various shows in the Pacific Southwest District in the 2004-2007 time frame.

06/1/13

Albuquerque Rose Show, 2013

The Albuquerque Rose Show was held today, June 1, 2013.

In spite of very warm weather back in April, followed by a couple of freezing night temperatures later, people managed to pull together some nice roses and some very nice arrangements, to make a good show.

albuquerque rose show

Albuquerque Rose Show, 2013

The work of a lot of people is required to have a successful rose show. Here are some images, in no particular order, of some of the Albuquerque area people who helped to make today’s show a success. (In another post, I’ll show some of the judges for today).

Charlene Bacchus keeps the Rose Garden running, which is a year-round job. For today’s rose show, she was in charge of the classification table, making sure entries were correctly named and placed in the correct classes.

Charlene Bacchus

Charlene Bacchus

Jack Ortega was Judges’ Chairman. He and his wife Juanita are outstanding exhibitors.

Jack Ortega

Jack Ortega

Jody Ifversen took reservations for photographs; served in classification and placement for photographs; and was the blue ribbon runner for the show.

Jody Ifversen

Jody Ifversen

Beth Baker was busy helping exhibitors in the morning, and then visitors later in the day. She took out just enough time to allow me to photograph her.

Beth Baker

Beth Baker

Rose friends in the Pacific Southwest District probably know Carroll Sue Wagner quite well. She has been both a Horticulture and Arrangement Judge (now Emeritus in Arrangements), Consulting Rosarian, famed pruning lecturer at the pruning demonstrations in the spring, and is another person who worked hard on the 1998 National Convention.

Carroll Sue Wagner

Carroll Sue Wagner

Debbie Butcher did whatever needed to be done. She is also the treasurer for the Albuquerque Rose Society.

Debbie Butcher

Debbie Butcher

Pat Jeremia has become a wonderful arranger since joining the Albuquerque Rose Society. For years she worked at the shows putting extra roses into bouquets and arrangements for sale, which helped as a fundraiser for the local society. Here she is shown before the show, working on what became her award winning arrangement. She won the Princess Award for an arrangement of all fresh roses.

Pat Jeremia

Pat Jeremia

Pat Stone had been a member for some time before I joined the Albuquerque Rose Society. For those of you who remember the 1998 National Convention in Albuquerque, Pat, along with her husband Hal (“Stoney”) contributed much to that convention. Pat has worked hard every year that I have been a member.

Pat Stone

Pat Stone

These are just some of the people who helped to make the 2013 Albuquerque Rose Show a success.

In the next few days, I’ll post some images of some of the judges, and separately, some of the winning arrangements and more roses.

03/20/13

We Are Moving

Thanks for seeking “Southwest Desert Gardening!” I appreciate the loyal readers over the years. We are moving to a new server, and there will be a little down time as all the photos get reattached to the proper posts. We should be back soon!!!!

Please stay tuned!

07/11/12

Another Lesson in Solar Cooking

Solar Cooking

Solar cooking was put on the back burner, so to speak, while Albuquerque experienced several wonderful days of afternoon and evening rains at the beginning of our 2012 monsoon season. I am very grateful for the rains!!!

I was anxious to try the solar oven for a third time, however, and the forecast for today was for a lessened chance of rain. The morning was actually supposed to be pretty sunny. I had purchased some chicken tenders on sale, and planned to cook different things in each of the two pots. I thought I would cook some plain, to use to make chicken salad tomorrow. I thought I would try a recipe for bbq chicken in the other pot.

A day for solar cooking of chicken

A day for solar cooking of chicken

I had the oven out and preheating starting at 8:30 am, a little earlier than the two previous times I have tried solar cooking. By 9:30 am the temperature in the oven was 230 F, which was great. There were a few clouds in the sky, but nothing that looked like rain (or even close!). It is pretty clear to me that I am going to be learning things about solar cooking for a long time to come!

Acceptable temperature for solar cooking

Acceptable temperature for solar cooking

At 9:50 am, I put the two separate pots of chicken in.

Chicken ready for solar cooking

Chicken ready for solar cooking

The temperature almost immediately fell to 150 F, which is what has happened before, so I did not think much about it. At 10:30, however, when I went out to see if the temperature had begun to rise, I was a little horrified to find the temperature back to what the thermometer registers at room temperature. That I was not comfortable with! As long as the food stays above 140 F, I’m pretty comfortable, but food should not be below that temperature for prolonged periods. So, I brought the two pots of chicken in and finished the cooking in the electric oven. I thought that perhaps the temperature variation from previous attempts was due to the scattered clouds.

Continue reading →

07/7/12

Jalapeno Peppers

Jalapeno peppers, and peppers of all kinds, are a staple in the Southwest. This year I decided to try growing a couple of varieties of jalapenos because

    I love the flavor they add to all kinds of dishes, and
    I prefer the milder ones to the hotter ones.

That is, I like flavor, which to me is lost if the heat burns.

One jalapeno pepper I am growing this year is ‘False Alarm Hybrid.’ Burpee describes ‘False Alarm’ this way:

Very mild 3″ long sweet jalapeno for small pots and gardens; bears heavy yields on 18″ tall plants. Excellent flavor.

'false alarm hybrid' jalapeno pepper

‘False Alarm Hybrid’ jalapeno pepper

I have to say, I agree completely with that description. These peppers have a nice thick wall; the plant produces abundantly; and these jalapeno peppers are mild but tasty. This is a jalapeno pepper I imagine I will be growing year after year. It is pretty to look at and tasty to eat. I may have to try some stuffed jalapenos this weekend! :-) (I’ve already had nachos.)

The other jalapeno pepper I tried this year is ‘Sweet Heat Hybrid,’ described by Burpee as

A perfectly calibrated blend of sweetness and heat. . .13″ tall plants bear 3.5×1.5″ fruit.

'sweet heat hybrid' jalapeno peppers

‘Sweet Heat Hybrid’ jalapeno peppers

As you can see, this compact little plant is a prolific producer. It is early in the growing season, and I’ll revisit what I am about to say here later in the fall. I will say now I do like the flavor of this jalapeno. The plant is nice and compact, sets fruit even at days of 100 F, and appears to be very healthy. The one thing I do not like is that the peppers are very thin-walled. Again, I am hoping this improves as the season progresses, because there are many nice things about this pepper.

Jalapeno peppers – these small ones can be a very nice addition to container gardening in the desert Southwest.

07/5/12

Solar Cooking Day 2

Solar Cooking Day 2 – Pot Roast

Solar cooking or cooking with a solar oven requires sunshine. Last week I cooked pork chops, and this week I wanted to try a pot roast. I am cooking with the SOS Sport solar oven.

This summer has been very hot and dry, making for a very bad wildfire season in the Southwest. But, last weekend, the forecast for this week called for monsoonal flows to begin on Wednesday (July 4), and perhaps last into the coming weekend. In looking at the forecast, it appeared that Tuesday (July 3) would be the best day of the week to try the pot roast.

I did the shopping on Monday, because I’ve already read enough to know that if whole meals, such as I am trying to prepare, are going to cook successfully in a solar oven, everything needs to go into a preheated oven no later than 10:00 am. Cross rib roast was on sale, as were red potatoes, carrots, and sweet onions. Great! That seemed auspicious.

By 9:00 am on Tuesday, I had the SOS Sport solar oven out on the patio, preheating. Inside, I was doing the food preparation.

Beef pot roast ingredients for solar cooking

Beef pot roast ingredients

Because of the quantity of food involved, I decided to split the ingredients in half and use two pots. Some recipes suggest cooking the meat in one pot, and the vegetables in the other. But part of what makes pot roast so good is the flavor of the vegetables cooked in the beef broth. So, I put half the meat and half the vegetables together in each pot. I brushed the top of the meat with Tamari and then added fresh-ground pepper. That was the only seasoning I used, because I was pretty liberal with fresh garlic and a lot of sweet onion. This is what the pots looked like at the end of prepping.

Ingredients ready for solar cooking of pot roast

Ingredients ready for solar cooking of pot roast

The oven was up to 235 F.

Oven preheated for solar cooking

Oven preheated for solar cooking

The first time I used the Sport oven, I had a hard time with the clips used to fasten the lid to the oven. I thought it was just my hands. In reading, I found a lot of people had trouble with them, and someone suggested the large paper clips (clamp style). So, I decided to try that, and I cannot begin to say how much easier that made things!!!

Solar cooking with SOS Sport, using paper clip clamps in place of clips

Solar cooking with SOS Sport, using paper clip clamps in place of clips

Continue reading →

07/4/12

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day to everyone in the United States! What a great Holiday here in the middle of summer.

The Southwest remains gripped by extreme drought, although the monsoons are said to be upon us. Albuquerque has had spot rains on July 1 and 2, but the rain was extremely spotty. The afternoon of July 3 I got 3/8″ at my house, for which I am extremely grateful! The forecast is for more rain the remainder of this week.

The extreme drought really does make the use of fireworks for celebration unsafe for celebrating Independence Day, here in this part of the country. 2012 has been a terrible year for wildfires in New Mexico (the largest ever in the history of New Mexico, the Whitewater Baldy Complex is about over, but it burned 297,000+ acres [the largest previous was last year's Las Conchas fire at 156,000+ acres]); in Colorado; in Utah; and elsewhere.

Last year, on July 4, a gladiolus bloomed that I thought had all the spirit of fireworks. I do not know the name of that gladiolus, but much to my delight, it is blooming again just in time for the 2012 Independence Day celebration! I will give it the nickname, ‘Independence Day.’ This photograph was taken July 3, 2012. I hope you enjoy the beauty of this gladiolus.

gladiolus for indepemdemce day

Happy Independence Day! Bright gladiolus in place of fireworks this year!

And I hope you have a safe and joyful Fourth of July, celebrating our Independence Day!

07/2/12

PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris Winner 2012

PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris Winner 2012

This is the image that was a PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris Winner 2012. ‘Lily’ was awarded a Bronze Medal (third place) in the category “Nature.”

PX3 Prix de la Photographie Paris Winner 2012

PX3 Winner of the Bronze Medal in “Nature” – ‘Lily’

I was very pleased about this PX3 award for several reasons:

    The winners were chosen from thousands of entries from 85 countries;

    My mother grew this lily;

    As I was photographing this lily, my mom held things for me so I could get a “clean” image.

It is a photograph to which many memories are attached.

I have been using this image for note cards; it just seems to lend itself to that purpose. While it is available for purchase on regular photographic paper, this is an image that looks best on fine art watercolor paper. This image (and others) are available for purchase at Susan Brandt Graham Photography.

You may see all of the winning entries at PX3.

June 2012 was a very good month for me for international photography awards. My image ‘Instruments 3′ was a 2012 Black and White Spider Awards Nominee.

The winning image in the 2012 Black and White Spider Awards may be viewed here.

‘Instruments 3′ is available for purchase here.

Thanks to the jurors in both competitions for selecting my images for awards!