Joshua Tree Day Trip

One of the highlights of our time together is getting out on the desert to look for wildflowers, and Joshua Tree National Park is a prime destination. Here the Mojave and Colorado Deserts converge. My folks and I checked the Wildflower Viewing link on the Joshua Tree National Park web site, and learned that the best blooms were near the West Entrance (WE) Station. We packed our lunch bag, cameras, binoculars, maps, and flower guides into the car, and headed up highway 62 toward the park. The day was overcast and slightly cool.

Joshua trees with few blossoms

We stopped at the Joshua Tree Visitor Center on Park Boulevard, just off Highway 62 near Joshua Tree, for maps and recommendations from the park service staff. The Visitor Center was teaming with like-minded people, all eager to see beautiful flowers! Our tip was correct – the West Entrance of Joshua Tree NP had the best blooms!

A good showing of yellow Desert Asters

Mohave Aster

Apricot Mallow

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We didn’t see the mass displays of some years, but we found a scattering of blooms representing many different flower types. This was a happy surprise, and we added many new flowers to our plant list—Paper bag Bush, Mojave Aster, Indigo Bush, and Desert Pincushion to name a few.

Joshua Trees suffering from lack of water, but still producing new sprouts

Still, the plants are suffering from the extended drought. The Joshua Trees had few blooms, and the blooms they had were small compared to previous years. Some of the Joshua Trees were slumped over from lack of water, with their arms draped to the ground. We were intrigued with the conservation strategies plants use–few blossoms, miniature plants and blossoms, or even no blossoms (the usually faithful Brittle Bush had no blossoms yet).
 

Keys View of the Indio Hills and Coachella Valley

From Keys View, at 5,185 feet elevation in the San Bernardino mountain range, we could see Interstate 10, the San Andreas fault, and the communities of Palm Springs, Cathedral City, and Palm Desert. Mount San Jacinto in the distance was snow topped from the recent storm. The hills were very dry, but I love seeing that sweep of land and sky. Toward the south, we had a fairly clear view of the Salton Sea (toward Anza-Borrego Desert Park). This got us thinking about a return trip to Anza-Borrego - maybe next year!

Desert rat

Cholla skeleton

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We strolled through the Cholla Cactus Garden. Chollas are very appealing - they look almost soft in the desert light; in reality their strategy is to drop their pups, which hitch a ride on any unsuspecting person or animal that gets too close! The Chollas were close to blooming. A little desert rat scurried boldly among the Cholla pups, and lizards stretched out on the rocks.

Exploring the Cholla Cactus Garden

We had a great day together, exploring the desert floor, snapping pictures, and catching up on family news and history.
 

Snow Blossoms

Earlier this month I made my annual trek to Southern California to meet up with my parents, who flew down from Alaska. We all look forward to our time together, and enjoy heading out to the desert to see spring wildflowers (see Mill Creek and Apple Preserve for past reports). Southern California has been in a severe drought for the past three years, so we are never sure what to expect in the way of blossoms. That is OK with us, because we are fascinated to see how plants survive these harsh conditions, and to compare how our favorite destinations change from year to year. We keep records in the form of photographs, journal entries, and notes, so we can draw on them for easy comparison.

Snow covered orchard at Los Rios Rancho in Oak Glen, CA

We like to drive home from the airport by way of Mill Creek, and stop at a bakery in Oak Glen to stock our lunch bag. It is usually warm and pleasant, with orange trees in blossom at lower elevations, and apple trees newly leafed out at higher elevations. This year we encountered rain and then snow! In no time, Oak Glen and the surrounding hills were covered with a blanket of snow. At 4734 feet elevation, snow in Oak Glen can happen, but in April?



The Los Rios Rancho bakery and general store promised warmth and goodies.

We made a quick stop at the Los Rios Rancho bakery to make our purchases, but bypassed the picnic tables, and ate our applesauce cookies and turnover in the car with the heat cranked up. The apple orchards were in full bloom, with beautiful pale pink blossoms. We wondered whether the snowfall would damage the apple blossoms, but concluded they would be fine, since the temperature hovered around 32 degrees and the snow would melt quickly.

The softly falling snow and hush over the picnic tables did not lure us out of the car.

The unexpected rain and snow also had us speculating whether the moisture would benefit our blossom viewing over the next week. The flowers would have to act quickly!

The delicate pink apple blossoms are so appealing - here they are snow blossoms!

Soil Building in the Americas

Soil in the Amazonian rain forests is notably infertile. The continual rain leaches nutrients out of the soil, carrying the runoff downstream to the ocean. A notable exception is the fertile soil—called terra preta—found all over the Amazon basin in large patches near ancient population centers. Farmers till these soils today, producing crops without fertilizers.

With Amazon rain forests being cleared, evidence is emerging that leads archeologists to think that large civilizations have managed the rain forest for the last 11,000 years. In 1542 Spanish explorer Francisco de Ornella traveled the length of the Amazon River, and reported large, sophisticated civilizations inhabiting the land all along the way. Later explorers found the river barely populated except for hunters and gathers living in primitive conditions, which cast doubt on the accuracy of Ornella’s reports. Today archaeologists are considering that the Amazon area may have supported as many as 5-6 million people in the 1500s. European diseases may have wiped out these large population centers leaving the area barely populated. They are also challenging the idea of a "pristine rain forest."

Nutrient poor soil (left) and rich terra preta soil (right) - photo by Bruno Glaser (Creative Commons) 

How could such a large population be supported on such poor soil? Fascinating to me is the discovery of black soil, or terra preta near population centers. Thought to be anthropogenic, the soil is dark and oily, and composed of organic matter, small bones, unfired pottery chards, and ash and charcoal from earth ovens (called biochar). The result is fertile soil that does not break down, and does not require modern fertilizers. The Kuikuro Tribe people, living in the upper Xingu region in Brazil, create this earth today. They toss organic waste behind their homes, and in three years the soil is very fertile. Scientists are also interested in the soil because biochar takes carbon out of the atmosphere, and puts it to work improving soil nutrition. More interesting ideas to consider from American gardening history.

Terrace Farming in the Americas

Terrace farming is another interesting gardening history topic from the Americas. The Wari and Inca civilizations of Peru provide fine examples of using this technique for large scale food production in challenging dry conditions. Terraced farming was mastered 1,500 years ago in Peru, and continues today as archeologists reintroduce farmers to this old technique.

Terraces at Tambomachay, Peru. Photo by McKay Savage. Creative Commons.

Steep mountainsides are cut back in large steps, and rock retaining walls, up to eight feet tall, are built forming a raised bed. The base of these steps are typically clay soil, topped with layers of gravel and sand, and up to a yard (or meter) of top soil. The rocks heat during the day keeping the soil warmer at night, enabling crops to be grown at high altitudes. Additionally, the layers of gravel and sand ensure drainage of water down to the next terrace, with the base layer of clay retaining some water. Archeologist Dr. Ann Kendall, who has studied terrace farming near Cusco, Peru, reports that soil is still moist six months after irrigation. Organic matter breaks down in this damp environment and is recycled upward, so that no fertilizers are needed. Typical crops include potatoes, maize, beans, barley, and quinoa.



Terraces at Ollantaytambo, Peru. Photo by Bernard Gagnon. Creative Commons.

Dr. Kendall formed the Cusichaca Trust in 1977 to educate modern farmers to the ancient techniques of terrace farming and irrigation, and restore Incan agricultural practices throughout Peru. This is another brilliant idea for sustainable farming in harsh conditions, worth considering as the world fills ups and innovative solutions for food production are needed.

Early Botanical Gardens in the Americas

It is fascinating to read accounts by Spanish explorers about the gardens they encountered in Mexico in the 1520s. We have descriptions by Hernán Cortés in a letter to King Charles V in 1520; by Bernal Díaz del Castillo (1492-1580), one of Cortés's foot soldiers from 1519-1522; by Fray Bernardino de Sahagun (1499-1590), a Franciscan missionary; by Diego Duran, a Spanish chronicler; by Francisco Hernandez, a natural historian sent by King Charles to document resources and collect plants; and by many others. They describe complex irrigation systems bringing water from far off mountains; white-washed palaces and buildings gleaming in the sun; and lush gardens filled with local trees and plants and specimens from all over Mesoamerica.

Dahlias in bold colors originated in the Americas 

Moctezuma I, and his grandson Moctezuma II, created a botanical garden at Huaxtepec, working from 1467 until Cortés arrived in 1520. The climate was warm and subtropical, the soil moist and fertile. Here the Moctezuma rulers assembled trees, herbs, shrubs, and cultivated plants—such as cacao, magnolia, and vanilla—from all over the empire. Medicinal plants were grown, and used in a busy "health products" industry. Rare plants were brought in tribute, typically with their roots wrapped in cloth. When Cortés arrived, the gardens spread over seven miles in circumference, and held around 2000 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees. Cortés describes the garden:

“A very pretty rivulet [stream] with high banks ran through it from one end to the other. For the distance of two shots from a crossbow there were arbors [shady spots] and refreshing gardens and an infinite number of different kinds of fruit trees; many herbs and sweet-scented flowers. It certainly filled one with admiration to see the grandeur and exquisite beauty of this entire orchard.”

Bernal Díaz del Castillo describes the garden at Huaxtepec as “the best that I have ever seen in all my life,” and of the garden at nearby Iztapalapa:

“...we went to the orchard and garden, which was a marvelous place both to see and walk in. I was never tired of noticing the diversity of trees and the various scents given off by each, and the paths choked with roses and other flowers, and the many local fruit-trees and rose-bushes, and the pond of fresh water. Then there were birds of many breeds and varieties which came to the pond. I say again that I stood looking at it, and thought that no land like it would ever be discovered in the whole world...”

Contemporary archaeologist Susan Toby Evans, and historians William Prescott (1796-1859) and Francisco del Paso y Troncoso (1842-1916), propose that the Aztecs developed the world’s first botanical gardens, and that European botanical gardens (such as those created in Italy in the 1540s) were inspired by the great Mesoamerican gardens. I love this idea, which turns western gardening history on its head. Plants and ideas were on the move all around the world, as humans explored the planet.

Learn More:

• Mexicolore Website: http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/aztefacts/aztec-pleasure-gardens
• True History of the Conquest of New Spain, by Bernal Díaz del Castillo (written in 1560): http://chnm.gmu.edu/worldhistorysources/unpacking/travelanalysis.html
• General History of the things of New Spain by Fray Bernadino de Sahagun: The Florentine Codex. The codex includes twelve volumes: http://www.wdl.org/en/item/10096/#q=florentine+codex&qla=en
• Florentine Codex, Book XI: Natural Things: http://www.wdl.org/en/item/10622/

Garden History – The Americas

The book 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, by Charles C. Mann, got me thinking about garden history in the Americas. Recall we last studied Renaissance gardens, which emerged in Italy in the late 1500s, and had an impact on garden design in Europe. Traditional western garden history after the Renaissance typically focuses on England and the events leading up to the Landscape Movement. But, what had been happening in America leading up to the same time period? I decided to depart temporarily from the traditional line of study, to see what I could find out. Instead of reaching for Christopher Thacker and The History of Gardens, I turned to other sources for information. This includes reading accounts by post-Columbian priests and adventurers, and writings by Penelope Hobhouse in The Story of Gardens; and taking a look at the archeology and culture of past and present North, Central, and South America.

In 1491 we learn that gardens in the early Americas did not survive, but we do have information from eye witness accounts and histories that indigenous Americans were creating beautiful gardens; cultivating plant species for beauty, food, and medicine; gardening in innovative ways, often in challenging terrains and climates; and terraforming the land to suit their needs through activities such as purposeful burns; large earth moving projects; and construction of aqua ducts and water basins.

Chinampas - picture from the Floating Object Database. Creative Commons License.

The chinampas (or floating gardens) of Lake Xochimilco in Mexico is a great example of gardening in the Americas. Around 1000 AD, indigenous peoples invented a gardening technique to increase food production. In shallow areas of the lake, they layered juniper branches, mud from the lake bottom, and soil, to create an elevated, or “floating" mat, on which to plant crops. Farmers continually added organic material, nutrient-rich mud from the lake bottom, and soil to build up the mat. Small trees and woven cages around the edges provided stability. Fish and fowl produced natural fertilizer, and water from the canals wicked into the soil like a drip irrigation system. A single bed could produce seven harvests a year. As the mats grew thicker, a series of canals developed between them providing a natural transportation system for moving crops to market. The Aztec government was using this practice when the Spanish arrived in the 1500s, and the practice continues on a limited basis today.

This is a great example of a self-sustaining system for producing crops for a large population center, and of New World resourcefulness and technical mastery in agriculture and food production. Chinampas are designated as a Xochimilco World Heritage Site.