It's Still Only March

Well, it's the last day, anyway. April starts tomorrow. 

It's still March today and with the sustained record breaking warmth there has been way too early growth. I haven't been outside at all -- it's hard to navigate on the knee scooter and I've only been out to the patio and to the driveway to maneuver into the car for appointments.

But I can see the redbud is in full bloom, and the viburnum too, although the viburnum and the crabapple both leafed out well before any flowers, so the effects are odd. 

When I did finally roll out the kitchen door today to look at the pots by the table I was amazed. 

The bush clematis has exploded.

I want to tie the floppy canes to the shepherd's crook pole to keep it from dragging its pretty flowers on the ground, but I can't get to my bench where the orchid clips or ties are.

I can't even get the scooter up on the raised stone by the door to tie anything.

All of April I will still be on the scooter, and . . . 

     . . . I need to let things go. All of it.

I need to look away. The plants will do what they do. I'll fix things later, in late May or June.

I want to divide the Black Adder agastche -- it's coming in now in its pot. But that will have to wait. 

The Radio Red salvias, still in their black plastic nursery pots, need trimming and re-potting. That will have to wait too. 

The sedum in the terra cotta pot is filling out. That was supposed to be divided and planted out along the moss rock border. That won't be done.

This is the hardest part -- the small jobs that need doing, the minor adjustments, not the canceling of my big planting plans and new installations. 

All I can tend to now is watering, and after dry and warm conditions all of March, there is a bit of rain (maybe a quarter inch) forecast for tomorrow. Jim has hooked up the hoses and has been watering, but it's not much, it's not everything, and the oaks in the field aren't getting anything.

I need to look away and just let things be. Let them be. I have over a month to go before I can tend to what needs doing. I can start weight bearing in May, and by late May and June I can get out there to fix things.

It's still only March.

Salvia Hardiness Confusion

This winter and spring was incredibly warm for very long stretches. We never got down to 0° or even close. It's unclear what my hardiness zone is now. Some sources say my zip code is in zone 7 (lowest temp 0°), some say zone 6 (lowest temp -10°).

That makes a difference for some of the salvias I now have. I can keep zone 7 plants through winter if we don't get a really hard cold snap below 0° for long. But zone 8 is another matter.

The tender ones - rated for zone 7 . . . or 8?

The tender (or too tender?) ones

Salvia greggii - Autumn sage 'Radio Red'

> Consistently rated a zone 7 plant. 

My favorite and I have 2 in the ground and four still in their nursery pots. I'll plant one and re-pot the other three in larger containers to keep by the deck.

Salvia farinacea - Mealycup sage

> Rated zone 7 by High Country Gardens, which sells it, but it's rated zone 8 by other sources.

So far they have come back for me in these past two warm winters.

 

Salvia microphylla - Hot Lips

> Consistently rated solid zone 8, even by High Country Gardens, which sells it.

Last summer I bought three salvias at Lowe's labeled Salvia greggii but they were mislabeled. They are actually Hot Lips microphylla and it turns out not hardy here. 

I tossed all three.

The hardy ones

The hardy ones - rated for zone 3 - 6

Salvia darcyi 'Vermillion Bluffs'

> This is a cold hardy one consistently rated for zone 5

Salvia darcyi x microphylla 'Windwalker Red'

> Hardy in zone 5, although some sources say zone 6

Salvia nemorosa 'Midnight Purple' and 'Perfect Profusion'

> Rated to zone 3.

 Midnight Purple is tiny, compact.

 

Perfect Profusion hasn't done anything yet, I need to see it grow.

 

Salvia x sylvestris 'May Night'

> Hardy, down to zone 4. I'm planning it for the circle garden.

All of this concern about hardiness is a moot point if we continue to have such warm winters. 

But the zone 8 Hot Lips plants are gone now.

Rosemary 'Arp'

I am going to take out this rosemary this spring when Jeronimo comes. 

It's very healthy but getting misshapen from being pruned for too tight a space and being sited up against the wall. 

I thought about asking Jeronimo to transplant it to the new garden by the fence. I originally planned upright flowering perennials there -- a salvia, an agastache, a Rocky Mountain penstemon and a dwarf goldenrod.

All lovely, and I even ordered the plants before having to cancel everything with my foot injury. Would the visual weight of the rosemary be better?

But of course the new space in front of the fence is barely wider than where the rosemary is crammed now.

I had A.I. show me what it could look like there. I think it's too much and would create the same problem in this strip.

It's evergreen, and a nice looking evergreen in winter, giving me something to look at against the fence from inside the house. The perennials would be a complete nothing in winter, dormant at ground level. But I think not. I'll ask Jeronimo to remove the rosemary and discard it, not transplant it.

I'm totally confused about how big rosemary 'Arp' was supposed to get. I didn't think it would be this big in the gravel strip by the house wall. 

So I asked A.I. about that -- I'm learning I can have actual conversations with ChatGPT with back and forth brainstorming and a clear explanation of the logic behind its answers. 

In fact, here's the whole thing, starting with my conversational request for advice!

> Me (I attached a photo of my rosemary):

What is the mature size of rosemary 'Arp"? Nursery sites selling 'Arp' are all over the place, some say 5 feet wide, some say 2 feet wide but 6 feet tall. Some say 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide. What is your best advice on the eventual size growing in Santa Fe conditions in gravel against a sunny stucco house wall? Here is a picture of mine in a too small space. What do you think? I know I need to move it but how big will it get?

> The response:

Great question—and your photo helps a lot.

Short answer:
In Santa Fe conditions (high desert, full sun, reflected heat from stucco, gravel mulch), rosemary ‘Arp’ will most realistically mature to about:

• 3–4 feet tall
• 3–5 feet wide

…but the width is what usually surprises people.

---

Why nursery sizes are all over the place

You’re seeing conflicting info because ‘Arp’ is:

• Climate-responsive
  In milder, more humid climates it can stretch taller (even 5–6 ft).
• Cold-hardy but compact in stress
  In colder, drier climates like Santa Fe, winter dieback and low humidity keep it denser and broader rather than tall and lanky.
• Strongly influenced by pruning
  Light trimming = fuller, wider shrub.

---

What yours is telling us

Looking at your plant:

• It’s already vigorous and upright
• Growing in a heat-reflective microclimate (stucco wall + stone path)
• Has room to expand outward toward the path

👉 That combination typically produces a broad, mounding shrub that leans outward, not a narrow upright column.

---

What to expect in your exact spot

Given your setup:

• Warm wall = faster growth
• Gravel = excellent drainage (rosemary loves this)
• Sun exposure = maximum size potential

Realistic outcome:

• Height: ~3–4 ft (maybe a bit more in a mild winter cycle)
• Width: 4–5 ft, possibly wider than tall

And importantly:

It will likely encroach heavily onto that flagstone path within 1–2 growing seasons.

---

Do you need to move it?

Honestly—yes, and sooner is easier than later.

Right now it’s already:

• Too close to the wall for airflow
• Positioned where its natural shape will spill into the walkway

If you leave it:

• You’ll be forced into constant pruning (which it tolerates, but it ruins the natural form)
• The interior may get woody and sparse on the wall side

---

Better placement guidelines

If you relocate it, give it:

• At least 3 feet from walls
• 4–5 feet of lateral space
• Full sun (what you already have is perfect)
• Same gravelly drainage

---

If you don’t move it

You can manage it, but you’ll need to:

• Lightly shear 2–3 times a year (never cut into old woody stems)
• Keep it off the path early before it hardens outward
• Accept a somewhat flattened, one-sided shrub

---

Bottom line

Your plant is healthy and happy—and that’s exactly why it’s a problem in that spot.

👉 In Santa Fe, think “wide shrub first, tall second.”
👉 Plan for ~4 feet wide minimum, likely more than the space allows.

---

If you want, I can suggest a replacement plant for that exact narrow space (something with similar Southwest character but a tighter footprint).

Okay, wow - that was good information, clearly laid out, and presented in a reasonable way. (I did have it suggest replacements, but didn't like the suggestions.)

The Hose Corner

The system

My hose system at the corner of the kitchen has worked well. I have a straight hose connected to a coiled hose and together they are long enough to reach the field across the driveway, the dining room window garden, and all the way to just behind the deck.

But it's a lot to wrangle.

When I'm being tidy, I loop the straight hose and hang it on the little stand, and then stack the rest of the corkscrew hose on an upright rod next to that.

But mostly I hang the straight hose but leave the coiled one lying on the ground, although I try to tuck it under the rosemary. 

That's a crowded little corner that is the only passage through the yard. The rosemary crowds the walk further despite some pretty aggressive pruning last year.  I really need to do something with this corner to open it up.

Nice when smaller, lovely in bloom

The Arp rosemary was a nice accent when smaller, and I love the plant. I take cuttings for drinks and cooking, I love the brief show of lovely blue flowers, and it anchors that corner.

But. 

It is way too big, even with my pruning last summer. I need to prune it again, and can't while laid up. And constant pruning to keep it in bounds isn't feasible any more.

So . . . I will ask Jeronimo to take it out when he comes in early May to start the irrigation (and make repairs where it's broken by the fence.) 

It's not a job I could do myself and now, unable to do any gardening, I might as well hire out a task or two.

There is an emitter in that spot and I need something at the corner, but what to put there? Maybe just a small perennial or two or even a ground cover.

The chair + a pot  -- uncluttered look

Then stage a watering station right there to better manage my hose system and keep the area open for passage. 

I could move the black plant stand there -- instead of by the kitchen door. 

I'd leave the chair by the door, and put a container next to it with something, like I had at one point with the blueberry in the white pot. 

Something similar, a simple uncluttered look at the door. Or maybe several small pots to echo the collection right across at the garage door.

Around the corner, in the open spot I can set the plant stand, keep the hose hanger, but then use the stand to lay the coiled hose over rather than laying it along the ground. Something like this rough idea:

This is A.I. but the general idea

I don't want a storage box hiding a hose, or a wind up reel contraption or a bowl to coil the hose inside -- I've tried those and they don't work for me. And nothing attached to the wall.

I like the simplicity of the plant stand. A ground cover or low perennial below the stand, or nothing, a watering can staged nearby, add the wire vegetable basket . . . it could look okay and be useful. And it opens up the corner to get by easily.

Or maybe no structure or plants at all, just keep the hoses there at the corner, out of the way and not impeding the walk, but visible. I'd need to move the in-ground holder for the straight hose over to fill the empty area.

Also A.I. and a little stiff looking, but this is simple

Home Depot sells a Melnor coil hose with a U shaped metal pipe to store it on, but it requires something to mount it on (I won't screw anything into the stucco). It's really the same idea as the vertical metal rod I have in the ground.

Or this could be fun -- just lay the coiled hose out in a cute little wagon. I won't do this, but I like the idea!

You can still buy Radio Flyer wagons

Yes, I've decided I am going to have Jeronimo take out the rosemary. I think I like best the idea of the plant stand, a watering can, a ground cover and the hoses.

Record Heat

The scorching March heat that has spread across the west for a week is record breaking, bringing 100 degree plus heat to Arizona - way too hot way too early in the year.

Here it has been pleasant, in the 70s and up into the 80s in the afternoons. Also record breaking for March. Nice, but also too hot far too early. 

The aspens are still leafless, the Virginia creeper vine is still an ugly brown, and sitting outside to enjoy the nice air is unsettling if you look at the garden.

Unlike some of the bare trees, the crabapple is leafing out, well before any flowers. It has bloomed some years and others not very much, but the flowers come out before the leaves, usually in late April. 

This is still March.

Other things in the ground are greening up and it's too early for them.

The extreme heat will break, but who knows if we'll fall back to more normal temperatures in April and May, when historically we've had nights below freezing and cold days at times. Sometimes even snow.

In fact, here are two posts from last year documenting snow and cold in April.

April 5 last year

Mid April last year.

I do wonder what the rest of spring will bring! I can't manage any garden maintenance this year, but I do get the scooter out on the upper patio to sit in the warm sun at times.

No Interference

Salvia greggii

I typed into A.I. my distress over the long weeks I'll spend non weight bearing and unable to even get into the garden much less do anything. 

All my garden plans have been canceled, and while I am coping one long day at a time and this will all be over by the end of summer, I just felt so sad and abandoned and I asked A.I. to say something calming to me about it.

This is what the stupid computer came up with -- as part of a longer and quite soothing conversation about coping.

While you can’t be out there digging or pruning, this is a unique window to observe your garden’s architecture from a distance. 

Gardens aren't just about the work we put into them; they are about the life that happens when we aren't interfering.

I read that again. I think I cried.

Gardens aren't just about the work we put into them; they are about the life that happens when we aren't interfering.

That is what I need to cultivate in my mind every day for the next three months. I am forced not to interfere in any way. The garden will get watered, and I'll get some help to tidy things up later in spring, but otherwise it will grow without me. All season. I can't get the scooter down off the elevated patio to trim the vine (which needs it badly every week) or to deadhead anything.

It will become untidy and some things will fail, the emitters don't reach every plant and this is a tough environment. I'll watch it happen. I won't have a clean look or be able to save the failures. But some things will survive. Some parts will grow. 

The garden will change without me.

Heat in the Morning, A/C in the Afternoon

After an incredibly warm winter, March is even weirder. For a week daytime highs will be in the low 80s!

 

The mornings are still cool, in the 40s, so the heat comes on but by afternoon, with no leaves on the trees for any shade, it gets hot. 

In Phoenix the temperatures are forecast to be well over 100° for several days. It's a heat dome over the southwest and even L.A. will be in the 90s.

Very unusual . .  and record breaking for this time of year.

Garden Season Canceled

I had hoped my recovery would follow a standard 6 weeks of non-weight bearing, some limited walking in a boot for a month after that, and almost normal function at least by late May. 

If I had that recovery schedule, with lots of help watering things, I could still plant all my new stuff before June and tend it through summer.

It's not going to happen. Everything I had meticulously planned and researched all winter is simply not going to occur. I have canceled the High Country Gardens and Bluestone orders. 

My recovery will be at least 8 weeks from the start of non-weight bearing, so into early May. Then a month of partial and gradual weight on the foot, so all of June before I can be weaned into a stiff soled or orthopedic shoe and walk in July. 

I know I can get help from Andrea in the garden and Jim will help water and I could even hire garden labor. I could make my plans work somehow. But I'd really gone all out this year with new designs and spent over $900 at Bluestone and High Country Gardens on mail orders for 50 individual nursery plants needing care and installation. 

The High Country Gardens order, 2/3 of the plants, was scheduled to arrive around the 20th of this month, just over a week away.

I've never ordered that much at once for planting. This was an overenthusiastic revamp of my spaces.

The fuss and space to keep 50 nursery pots going til planting, the watering, the eventual placement and tending in the garden is too much. Too much to hire even, with all the detailed little things I was planning to move and install to make my gardens just so.

And the joy of the project would be utterly diminished if I hire it out. It's a relief not to even have to think about it now. Talk about "letting go".

It's a total scratch. I actually feel so much better about the cancellations -- I'll get refunds, and I can take the worry about how to manage it out of play while I figure out how to tend what I have already, which is no small need in itself.

Even the Gambel oaks and things I was trying to grow in the field are going to have to fend for themselves -- my vision there wasn't taking hold anyway.

And you know what? My plans were too much. 50 new plants! Total redesign! What was I thinking? 

I don't want a busy labor intensive garden, I just want a fuller more cohesive one. Let the stuff grow on that I already have, and I'll start my vision all over in 2027.

Which will probably change in a year anyway.