I couldn't imagine, so I took the road less traveled.
Posted on 03/11/2018 5:24:56 AM PDT by SandRat
Spring just arrived, some of the Mexican poppies are starting to bloom and the alyssum that had self-seeded itself under the chairs in my outdoor seating area has been blooming for some time and so have the violets.
Now I see the yellow blossoms of the Angelita daisies, so pretty.
Many years ago at one of our High on the Desert Gardening and Landscaping Conferences, happening this month, I bought one of these little beauties and planted it in the front of my house.
My front yard is kept very natural and wild, mostly planted with native plants or desert adapted plants. Here the Angelita daisies feel right at home and have naturalized nicely. There are little clumps of it all through the yard. It is such a happy-looking, pretty plant forming a neat round clump of green, grass-like foliage that stays evergreen, topped with daisy-like yellow flowers, but very petite.
This plant is a perennial native to the dry and high mesas and rocky slopes of Arizona, Colorado and Mexico. It is also found around the rim of the Grand Canyon.
Angelita daisies have a long taproot that ensure their survival in droughts, but that makes them very hard to dig up. The plant is best propagated by seeds.
In our climate the daisies have a long blooming season and are showy from spring till frost. In areas with warm winters the plant will bloom all year long. The yellow flowers are carried on single stems, elevated from the green tufts of leaves that remind me so much of Armeria (seadrift).
It is a small plant, about eight inches high and one foot wide. Plant it in full sun. The plant is drought-tolerant but some irrigation ensures best blooms.
Angelita daisies are not fussy about soil or need to be fertilized, at least I never have, but they demand good drainage.
The flowers come in spurts and after they fade, I shear the empty stems off to make the plant look tidy and ready for the next bloom. This is about the only maintenance I give them.
If you want to add these plants to your garden, check out Ace Garden Center, Mountain View Koi and even Lowe's and Home Depot.
The plants in most big box stores are usually hybrids and somewhat larger and maybe more showy, but not as enduring and not as drought tolerant, and they demand much better soil to keep them looking good.
Angel Rutherford is a Cochise County Master Gardener, a member of the Sierra Vista Area Gardeners Club, a board member of the Huachuca Art Association, a member of the Sierra Vista Arts & Humanities Commission. Her artwork can be seen at the Tombstone Art Gallery on Allen Street, at Ray's Antique & Art Mall & Restaurant in Huachuca City and at the Huachuca Art Gallery on Paseo San Luis in Sierra Vista
yep
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Use your imagination. ;<)
I couldn't imagine, so I took the road less traveled.
Nice!
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