Green Thumb: What happened in your summer garden?

This summer was too humid; too hot; too much rain; not enough at my house! Some gardens became jungles with sprinklers going off simultaneously with heavy rain and the weed population soared!

As always our good friend, Les Hayt, of Greenbelt Nursery will be on hand at our first seminar to sort out the season just passed.

But wait! There is a bigger question on our minds. And that is “why?” Why, after 28 years of providing us with great citrus and fabulous roses, Les and Suzanne have opted to close, to retire, to cease the endless drive from Tucson. Could it be that travel beckons? After all, their son now teaches in Eugene, Ore. - a charming college town where you can pick apples on your way to class. Certainly worth a visit in the fall.

In 1985, when Green Valley Gardeners began work on the Arid Garden (which was a rock heap left by developers) Les Hayt was pivotal in helping with “what to plant?” He worked with Dora McIlhenny, and the late Helen Corbett and Ned Netherton on a master plan for the garden. He then donated plants through the years so that the garden would develop its arid theme.

In an interview with the G.V. News, Les said that it had become a major problem to find and train good workers and that although they loved the nursery, they disliked the constant hunt for reliable employees. In a seasonal retirement community, that CAN be a headache. They are relieved, they say, to have finally made this decision and will put the property up for sale before the end of this year. They will be missed!

Back to summer weather and our gardens. Among the happy scenes were the Texas Rangers’ bloom in response to each rain - in all colors from white to deep purple; of the many flowers that continued to put out bloom such as the salvias, santolina, yellow bells and shasta daisies.

The severe winds blew over many trees (many of which were young Mesquites that had been over-watered and not supported adequately.) Most of the flattened-out prickly pears became plump again, now bearing a huge crop of fruit. Frogs found many swimming pools, and the culmination of all these events was a million-or-so yellow caterpillars that came to town in late August.

Some of the evening storms produced spectacular lightning and thunder with rains that made the Santa Cruz and various washes navigable by Ford pick-ups and small Hondas.

Fall is on the agenda but only the cottonwoods, Arizona Ash and Pistache will have autumn colors here. Later, after the first frost (Thanksgiving) the ocotillos will turn a golden yellow, making Camino del Sol true to its name.

Join us for our season opening, Thursday, Sept. 11, East Center, 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Coffee is on at 9 a.m. and the Master Gardeners will be there to answer questions about gardening.

Green Thumb articles are written by Green Valley Gardeners with assistance from seminar speakers.