Watercress

Today I spent some time thinning plants in the streambed that runs between two of our ponds. I constantly battle a rather invasive cloverlike plant that appeared out of nowhere, forms huge root mats that require considerable effort to extract from under the rocks, blocks the flow of water until the riverbanks overflow, crowds out more desirable plants, and in general makes a nuisance of itself.

The watercress in the picture above is a nicer plant. Although I have to periodically thin it out, it doesn't form root mats like the clover, and stays out of the deeper water where my water lilies are. Maybe we ought to start eating our thinnings, according to this article. Watercress sandwiches, anyone?

Revamped pond

Here are two views of the reimagined upper pond and streambed. This one is the view from the gazebo with the new spillway. In the original design, there were plantings of plumbago which blocked the view of the pond when we were sitting in the gazebo. The additional spillway gives us a better view and also allows us to  better hear the sounds of the flowing water. The two trees are an early-fruiting peach on the left and a dwarf nectarine on the right. We're in the process of adding water plants to the new stream bed now- watercress, yerba mansa, and other small plants. Hopefully I will be able to keep the "evil four leaf clovers" at bay! The second view is from the side patio of our house. The bare tree on the left is an apricot, and the one on the right is an Asian pear. The green one in the background is Thevetia peruviana (yellow oleander). Mike loves these treelike shrubs as much as he hates bouganvillea, but I'd like to take this one out and plant more fruit trees. There's a kind of cherry that can supposedly be grown in the desert, but you need two varieties (Minnie Royal and Royal Lee) and I think this would be a good location for them. We planted three varieties of strawberry in the bare-looking raised bed in front of the pond, and a few of them have started to come up.

Pond plants

As you can see, the small clump of watercress we got from Paul, the Pond Gnome, has been fruitful and multiplied. The pickerel weed he gave us has also put up a spike of blue flowers.

The large bush is a potato bush, which has attractive blue flowers, but is not the right plant for this location. It's a good plant for our area which does well in hot weather, but it's too large and we need to keep pruning it back so that it doesn't block the view of the waterfall. It would be better suited to the area behind the waterfall, where it can grow to its full size and function as an attractive screen for the concrete block wall.

Pond remodel progress

Here is the original (but remodeled) spillway into the streambed. The plants Paul gave us have really taken off, particularly the watercress. We're still working on the second (new) spillway which comes off the gazebo side of the pond.

The tree on the left side is a dwarf nectarine and the one on the right is an Asian pear. At the base of the pear is a plumbago and some invincible Mexican petunias that return like zombies no matter what I do to them. The dead branches in the upper center right belong to a thevetia which was frost damaged this winter. We haven't cut them off yet because (a) it would be a hassle, requiring the use of a ladder on an uneven surface and (b) Mike keeps hoping it will continue to green up.  The marigold in the foreground came from seeds I snagged while deadheading elsewhere and then played Johnny Appleseed in various locations in the yard.

Asian pear tree in bloom

Our Asian pear tree is loaded with blooms this year. Last year, it didn't produce a single pear. It is my understanding that some fruit trees bear heavy crops in alternate years. Maybe we will get some this year!

I noticed the first bachelor's button flowers open this morning, and a few of the larkspur as well. There are also blossoms on many of the citrus trees, and their fragrance is beginning to fill the air. We had a nice dinner last night of roasted asparagus and steamed sugar snap peas, and today I will need to pick them again.

We found the pond plants Paul gave us Saturday new homes in the streambed. The larger ones look a bit droopy, but the watercress wasn't fazed by its abrupt relocation.