Folks have been asking whether the elk have been back through the property yet.  The herd of about 40 head roam through around the equinoxes each year, so they might seem a tiny bit late.  Otherwise, pretty much on cue, the elk have appeared for their closeup.

Elk at Westwind

I used the new Imovie, a software which is by far the worst software i’ve ever used.  it was on the closest machine and i was hoping it would be quick.  so here it is, silent, with horrible cuts, as the software enforces.

My friend, Jean Ann Van Krevelen, is the author of Grocery Gardening.  Her book has been at #5 on the Amazon gardening list — with a bullet!  She did a commercial for the book that was shot here at Westwind.  Enjoy!

JeanAnn talks about Grocery Gardening for Coolsprings Press

Last week was all muscle in the greenhouse.  Ismael, Jose and I were moving large shrubs, trees, and prickly pear cactus into either a tropical environment or a desert environment. We have half of the greenhouse filled with lovely sandy loam soil and are able to plant these beasts right into the ground.

Desert Garden Installation, March 2010

The desert look includes st. ynez prickly pear cactus, masquerading as saguaro looking things in the pic. Aeoniums dot the foreground in their winter burgundy, which will turn black in the summer.  We have no idea how large they will grow in the ground, but we’ll keep you posted.

The background is filled in with a deadly vareigated brugmansia.  It should get really big, so keeping it away from people seems good.  Sticks of fire, Euphorbia tirucalli, will fill out the foreground at 3 feet tall.

The look will be completed with a patch of agave, a lovely 5 year old totem cactus (slower growers, those) and a very tall corn plant that doesn’t really belong, but doesn’t fit anywhere else.  Besides, it looks kind of yucca in this spot.

The tropical look is more dense, but should be much more lush by June.  It includes our faithful holy meyer lemon, a schefflera, random dracenas, ferns, fuchsia, a bird of paradise and a creeping succulent that will take over the ground around the lemon. My guess is that we will lose the begonias in the summer, so I shouldn’t even mention them.