Yes! You can grow flowers, fruit and vegetables in Pahrump
by Patti Babcock
Old time gardeners and many newer arrivals have the
product to prove you can grow flowers, fruit and vegetables
in the Pahrump Valley. A star example is Alice Boni, a
Pahrumpian who can grow nearly everything she decides to.
She grows a wide range of flowers including ones that
"don't grow here" like white and blue flax from Colo]'ado,
Bearded Tongue dug from the mountains, and starts and
seeds gathered during numerous trips. When she is intrigued
by a plant in a catalog, Boni orders it. Some aren't supposed
to thrive here, but when she plants them, they grow.
Boni' s garden is her testament to what it's possible to grow
when you just do it. She stands next to a 12 to 15 ,oot high
tree heavy with blossoms. About six years ago, she planted
some nuts left over from Christmas. This tree sprouted from
a holiday almond. It's a beautiful tree she says, but the fruit
is kind of odd. Some years it's a lot like an almond. Other
years it's more like a peach. None of the years is it enticing
enough to eat.
The fruit from her other 30 or so fruit trees is edible. She
has planted some of these from seed including a nectarine
and a jujube(ziziphus jujuba). She also has peaches, plums,
apricots, apples and pears. She has many other trees, too.
Her Mountain Ash and a Texas something that aren't
supposed to grow here, do.
The flowers Boni grows include iris, oxalis, poppy,
snapdragon, larkspur, peony, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths,
sedum. Truth is we'd need a catalog to list all her flowers.
She grows her plants from seeds, from pieces of other plants,
from nursery and catalog stock. Boni still finds new plants
to try every year and thinks that's part of the fun.
Rose bushes, mostly Hybrid Teas, are carefully labeled.
They are at home in myriad flower beds accessed by
pathways winding throughout the 2.5 acres.
Vegetables, the standard fare and anything else that intrigues
the avid gardener, grow in three foot wide beds in a protected
fenced area.
Native Mesquite trees provide some protection for plants.
By augmenting the natural trees with more trees, bamboo
and perpetual mulching to protect and enrich the soil, Boni
has created a mico-climate friendly to her diverse plantings.
Boni learned to appreciate the wonders of mulch when she
planted her first trees in Tonopah. A few elms and not much
more grew in the town when Boni moved there in 1947. That
changed when a sister brought her some small pine trees
from Oregon.
Planting and nurturing the trees was the beginning of
Boni' s addiction to growing. Water was eight cents a gallon,
so she carried the bath and wash water out in buckets to
water the trees. Dirt was scarce in the rocky soil so Boni
carried buckets of soil back from the fi'equent fishing trips
she took with her husband. Horse manure was plentiful and
free so she used it liberally.
The pine trees thrived, so she decided to plant a fruit tree.
She ordered a Lincoln dwarf pear tree from Gumey's
catalog. It's still growing and producing pears in Tonopah.
Thrilled with her success she phmted peach trees and
produced a crop of first year peaches that s eighcd m at mc
pound each. Zinnias. cosmos and an increasing t|lr.ty ol
flowers provided food tk)r the soul. Her success encot, raged
neighbors to phmt trees, tlowers and gardens. The water
company was impressed enough to offer a special summer
rate to gardeners.
Boni utilized her hard won desert garden expertise to
develop her Pahrump garden when she decided to live here
full time in 1984. Her garden, like all living entities, changes
continually. One year the roses take center stage, the next
year lilies. The fruit trees welcome spring with abundant
blossoms, but the flowers don't always become fruit. The
vegetable garden provides tasty, healthy crops every year,
but the star crops vary with climatic conditions.
What is certain in Boni' s Pahrump garden is that every year
will be a growing year for an appealing variety of flowers,
fruit and vegetables.
HOMEGROWN IN PAHRUMP-With enriched soil, deep watering, a smiling sun and a plenty of TLC most vegetables will
grow in desert gardens.
photo Patti Babcock
Versatile Vines--A new twist for your yard
Tired of the same old static landscape? Add a new twist to
your yard with vines!Whether you want privacy, fragrance,
color or beauty, there is a vine to meet your requirements.
Try a vertical approach to landscaping with these hints from
the American Association of Nurserymen (AAN).
Arbors and trellises are traditional vine growing backdrops,
but just about any vertical feature in yot, r landscape will
suffice. Fences, utility poles and even tree stumps are good
places to grow these creative climbers. Brick or concrete
walls are more pleasing when accented with greenery. Ivy
is a popular choice, but it can be destructive to mortar.
Climbing hydrangea is a great choice, with the added
summer bonus of large, creamy white flower clusters. A
trellis positioned against the wall will bear some of the
weight of the plant and keep roots from getting too tenacious
of a hold in crevices.
The yellow blooms of Carolina jessamine make mailboxes
come alive with color in spring. Clematis, slower growing
but worth the wait, is another beautiful selection for the
mailbox or a chain-link fence.
The benefits of climbing roses or wisteria are three-fold;
they hide ugly views while providing fragrance and color.
Wisteria is so vigorous it can be trained to Ibrm a fence
between yards. Brightly colored trumpet vines are hardy
and attract humming birds. Once established on arbors,
grape vines delight birds and humans alike with their fruit
and shade.
While most gardeners plant vines to grow upward from the
soil, you might allow them to cascade from the top of a wall
or window box. Consult your garden center professional for
planting instructions. For vines suited to our area, refer to
the recommended plant list for Pahrump in this garden
section.
