Desert Flora

My little backyard is narrowest outside my bedroom window; it is maybe four feet from window to fence. On the other side of the fence is an alley; on the other side of the alley is a horticulturally-minded neighbor, who has planted a little garden along my fence. I believe it is part of the work of my neighborhood association--and I entirely support it.

Okay, I support it with a couple of caveats. First, the neighbor that tends this little garden likes to water in the morning. At about dawn, actually. And today, according to scientific calculations, the sun rose in Tucson at 5:19 am. Now, those of you that know me well, know that I'm a morning person--that I do, in fact, rise early. And that I rarely wake to any kind of alarm, except in the dead of winter when I'm getting up before the sun. However, being woken at 5:20 am or so by what sounds like a full-force spray hose hitting my fence is frankly, a little much.

Which leads to my second caveat. Um, hi. This is the desert. And yes, it's hot. But by golly, there are plenty of heat-tolerant plants that are indigenous to the area that don't require daily watering. (The state's Department of Water Resources has several useful publications on their web about low-water usage plantlife.) If I could be assured that my neighbor was using only reclaimed water to keep her plants alive, I probably wouldn't be so bothered by the water use. Yet...the desert ecosystem has been profoundly impacted by the introduction of non-native plants. And the allergens that are introduced--the very ones so many people sought to escape from other climes by relocating here--have profoundly impacted the people in the area.

Truthfully, my own backyard is pretty much a wasteland at the moment: when I moved in, it was pretty weedy...and it took me a while to get those cleared out. There's but a single globe mallow growing in the corner, and a couple of potted plants. In the fall, that will change--in part because I won't be traveling, but also because the growing season is pretty wacky here. But it's wacky in a way I can take advantage of: I plan on growing my own tomatoes this winter, and probably some peppers, too. And of course, I'll add some desert plants to the landscaping--most likely in large pots, so that they will be portable when I eventually buy a home, and so that I can do concentrated watering without excess use.

And really, there are some gorgeous flowering (and non-flowering!) desert plants. Ultimately, I think it's about embracing where you are.