Garden Calendar for July 2023

July and summer’s heat is upon us.  Luckily for us humans – there is not too much to actively do in the garden this month.  Unless you want to.  Then here are some things to consider. Irrigation Don’t let your plants become “drip sip” junkies. Instead of a little bit of water every day, water less often but for longer time, so the water sinks in two or even three … Read more

April 2023 Garden Tasks

This weekend April will begin, so here are some garden tasks you can think about getting out and doing.  Check your last frost date before some of these April tasks. Prune Check your last frost date – and if it is past then go ahead and prune frost damage off bougainvillea, lantana, autumn sage, and other summer flowering frost tender perennials. Avoid pruning spring-flowering shrubs until bloom period is through.  … Read more

Hummingbirds Love Spring

Spring flowers are beginning to bloom and hummingbirds are zipping around, collecting nectar and a few insects while they are at it. Entice the Hummingbirds Hummingbirds need more than just sugar-water feeders. Like most animal life, they need a balanced diet of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. This means that they do need some flower nectar. More than Just Food Every living thing on earth needs food, water, and a place … Read more

March Garden Tasks

March can be a busy month in the garden. Here are some of the things to get done this month. Weather Repeats Itself Just like hsitory.  You my hear people complain about this “odd” winter we are having in the Southwest – but they haven’t been here long enough. Cold, windy, dry at first, and then late rains. This all happens every 50 years or so. Last time was 1968, … Read more

You Can Grow A Colorful Garden in the Desert

Colorful flowers in the heat of a desert summer? Sure! And without spending tons of water either! Color Most of the folks reading this article enjoy color in our life – in the gardeners sense of the term that is. “Color” is the term for flowering plants that the Green Industry uses (nurseries, landscape designers, and the like). Color in the landscape provides us with something bright and cheerful to … Read more