Gardening in the desert Southwest is full of challenges and rewards. Although this site will focus mainly on roses (I love them!), most people who grow roses also grow other things: trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials, and bulbs to enhance the landscape. The decision to grow anything in the desert is not without controversy, and some of those controversies will be discussed here. While many of the articles will focus on the area in and around Albuquerque, New Mexico, it is important to understand that gardening here is very different from gardening in Phoenix or Tucson, or in Flagstaff or Santa Fe. Within Greater Albuquerque, growing conditions vary from along the Rio Grande River to the Northeast Heights to the foothills of the Sandias to the North Valley to Corrales to the West Mesa. Within my own very small yard there are several microenvironments, with different planting and care required in each.
Part of the joy of gardening is in sharing information, photos, and horror stories with other people who love to garden. I hope you will visit often and feel free to leave comments for discussion.
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Today was the day to begin harvesting the peaches. How do I know? A little bird told me!
As soon as the peaches almost reach ripeness, the birds begin to sample them. Some people cover their fruit trees with netting to protect the fruit from being eaten by the birds. I find [...]
Once the risk of a hard freeze is past, the tiny peaches need to be thinned if you want to get large fruit. Otherwise you will get a whole lot of small, but very tasty, fruit. A shame, you might be thinking. That would all depend upon what use you intended to [...]
This weekend I am in Tucson, located in the Sonoran Desert of the southwest, rather than the high Chihuahuan Desert in which Albuquerque is located. Many years ago I lived here for seven years, and although many things about the city have changed, the plants have remained pretty much the same. Palm trees, which do [...]
Here in Albuquerque, the first things to bloom in my yard in the spring are bulbs and the dwarf peach, Bonanza. I have grown this peach tree in a 3/4 whiskey barrel since the late 1980’s. No matter how cold or how warm the winter, it has never failed to bloom. This year, after the [...]
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