False Spring or Just Crazy Tucson Weather?

First poppy of false spring

If you strolled past my yard yesterday morning, you might have caught me outside in my pink housecoat. On our sporadic cold winter days, I love to hang around the house bundled in my cozy robe. Who would have thought that I would be inspired by the sunny 57 degree weather to snap photos of the wildflowers sprouting in our rainwater harvesting catchment basin! I just had to capture a photo of the first poppy of False Spring.

The term 'false spring' refers to a period in late winter or early spring when temperatures become unusually warm, before suddenly growing cold again. The warm weather tricks the seeds that are waiting for spring to sprout prematurely - just be frozen again. I'm not sure whether that the term "false spring" really applies. Our weather this past year has been all over the place. For example, it snowed twice late last February and early March - when it rarely snows in Tucson. As the snow melted, our yards filled with wildflowers last April. Looks like it's gonna be another spectacular year for wild flowers! 

Poppies filled our basin last April

After an excruciatingly long summer with the most days over 110 degrees in Tucson's recorded history, it actually hailed in our back yard wreaking havoc on our poor agaves. After suffering from the brutal "non-soon" we are getting plenty of rain this winter. While the rain is a welcome relief, I'm afraid it isn't a good sign for the coming monsoon. I found out from a meteorologist at the Southern Arizona Heat Planning Summit that a wet winter means a dry monsoon. Doh! We are grateful to have cisterns to collect some of this winter rain to help us get through the dry summer ahead and desert trees that can handle these extreme shifts in the weather.

In the meantime I am enjoying seeing our basin green up - a sign of the wildflowers to come. #lovemyrainbasin  What else can I do?

It's fun to see the globe mallow springing back with all those leaves! 

I can't wait for all the orange flowers to bloom!

Globe mallow last April

One of the neighbors who caught me in my pink robe invited me over to take some of the succulents that had overgrown in her yard. (Of course I changed into my street clothes first! lol)

I planted a couple of agave in the right of way basin (leaving plenty of room for them to grow.) Thanks, neighbor!

So... False Spring or just crazy Tucson weather? You decide.

More poppies February 23rd

The life cycle of a Mexican poppy:

https://www.sustainablelivingtucson.com/2023/04/the-life-and-death-of-california-poppy.html

The life cycle of a Mexican poppy

I've always wanted to draft a blog on wildflowers, but some other feat of nature - like rain or even snow in the desert - inevitably grabs my attention...  

A while back, I did highlight a few wildflowers in my timely "Good Weeds vs. Bad Weeds" blog.  

But this season we've been blessed with some really spectacular wildflowers - nourished by, not one, but two days of SNOW in our desert town!

Thanks to Jared from Spadefoot Nursery for identifying this native Lacy Sleepy Daisy that is growing along our sidewalk.

The native globe mallow is really showing off it's (orange) colors in our jujube basin! 

Here's how it looks before it flowers - so you don't mistake it for a weed and pick it....

But I'd say the true star of our neighborhood has got to be the Mexican poppy... So I thought I'd do a quick blog about it while it's still around to enjoy!

If you see this plant in your yard, leave it. It's not a weed. 

It won't be long before your Mexican poppy starts to bud...

Please, don't spray Roundup on it... 

like the neighbor who sprayed Roundup right next door

 to the cute toddler who gathers flowers in the neighborhood. 😒

Does this look better than a flower?

Or the bees that I saw pollinating the poppies in my yard! 

If you leave them pods will grow....

Soon after pollination, the petals and stamens fall off, leaving the central cylindrical pointed seed capsule. It elongates as it fills with seed, turning from green to tan with maturity. Pods open explosively, splitting longitudinally and ejecting the seeds up to 6 feet away from the mother plant. 

How fun is that!?

Then the birds eat the seeds and spread them through the neighborhood...

Can't wait for next year to see all the pretty poppies. Well... not in that one neighbor's yard... Oh, you know what I mean!

FYI I just learned from Spadefoot Nursery how to tell a Mexican poppy from an Arizona Poppy...