When my neighbor invited me into her pickup truck for a big plant spree at Watters, you can be sure I jumped at the chance. Yes, I had already bought several 6-packs of annuals at KMart. But, though Watters is pricey, it's beautiful, fascinating, tempting -- and, yes, I always spend more there than at Sears' ailing Big Box.
What's hot this recession year? The veggie department was the headliner as soon as we stepped out of the truck. A huge variety of big, ready to bear tomatoes, plus a scattering of other popular items. I bought a small container of strawberries to fill the holes left remaining in my big strawberry pot, which I've decided to devote to berries for a change. Also up front: a fine selection of herbs, if that's your schtick.
Perennials are completely covered -- no problem of frying under the hot June sun; annuals are at the back of the lot, presided over by two gigantic butterflies. Both sheds were pleasantly cool, thanks to a breeze today.
Flowers, all sorts of flowers. I'll start with two on my taboo list. Unfortunate, but French marigolds (above) are a favorite food for grasshoppers. I bought red and purple petunias last week at KMart; the snails absolutely stripped the reds and are now considering the purples.
Don't know the specs on the white-tipped red number above; the yellow guys are gazanias, an annual which will sometimes over-winter here in Prescott.
A semi-double rose, somewhat like those wonderful Austrian coppers at the Sharlot Hall museum rose garden. Below, the hanging basket department. Twenty-five bucks a pop, but they sure would look beautiful along our streets downtown. If a small Alaska town
can afford hanging flower baskets, why can't Prescott?
Handsome ornamental grasses are among the less common goodies to be found at Watters...
...as well as the occasional palm or big, beautiful pot. Wish I could afford those!
One major feature not for sale -- the H.U.G.E cottonwood in front of the annual greenhouse. Those succulents above are not hens-n-chickens; no, those are 5-gallon containers sitting in front of a trunk that must be a good 5 feet in diameter. It is next to impossible to get a proper image that demonstrates just how wide the canopy of this venerable giant. It definitely spreads beyond the 48 or 60 foot span of the greenhouse!
The back room at Watters -- I'd never seen where they store the junk and gear needed to keep the customer areas beautiful, but the gate was open for a change. Even this part of the nursery is tidy, however.
In case you were wondering what I dropped roughly 50 bucks on, here are two, both natives. Above, desert marigold, usually found at 2500-4000 ft. elevation, and, below, wild zinnia, which grows on a couple of small buttes near SR 89A, just before the highway enters the mountain headed up to Jerome. Also in my cart: a well rooted blue flax, an unusual yellow-orange gallardia, a small pot of portulacas plus the above-mentioned strawberries. Tomorrow I make holes in the ground and fill more pots.
And so I set out on another short neighborhood walk. Good reasons this time: first, to see what the unusual, slightly damp weather has wrought amongst the plants and, second, to take a look at progress on the old house that was gutted, then sat for several weeks with nothing happening. I did get a chance to talk to one of the owners who explained that the venerable structure had always been in her family. At last, the new addition is moving along expeditiously and should at least double the size of the building.
A discovery which had been in front of my nose all along -- another old brick structure with bolts, tho these might have to do with holding the garage roof up. Further along this alley: a basket of artificial flowers adorning a utility pole.
Which is not to deprecate green, growing things, which, having received more May water than they were expecting, have responded with gusto. Here, a volunteer hollyhock on the alley, with buds ready to burst into flower.
The wild four o'clock along the alley are lush with blossoms -- very early. But much, much earlier is the lone aster below. Poor thing must think that it is August, which is when asters are scheduled. (Even my wild asters that get regular watering wait until the proper time of year to produce flowers.)
This neat little garden belongs to one of the little cottages that fronts on the alley.
The neighborhood vines are thoroughly greened out and looking for new territory to climb and conquer. The grape (above) has, to my knowledge, never set fruit, though it blooms every year. On the other hand, a Virginia creeper (below) is about to flower; this vine always sets those big dark berries that consist entirely of one big seed.
More vines: in this case, wisteria, with one lone panicle, tho if you look closely below, you'll see that the expanding vine is ready to grab any unwary passers-by.
Yet one more vine: honeysuckle. Unfortunately, it is still not possible to capture the fragrance electronically. Surely the bright boys and girls of Silicon Valley should be able to remedy this shortcoming Real Soon Now.
On Park Avenue, there stands a small tree, possibly a locust. Today I realized that this was not a single tree but five or six twined about one another. Strange! And, below, my final botanical note of the day: the Spanish broom is abloom and quite thoroughly covered with brilliant yellow pea-type flowers. Quite as fragrant as the honeysuckle, but headier.
I close with trees of a mineral sort: manganese "trees" on a small slab of granite that I've seen many times but never Seen.
