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plants and landscape (xeriscape) adapted to an arid environment

Why I Garden #22

Woods' Rose in bloom

A Woods' Rose in bloom. After several years living in our garden, this native perennial has finally bloomed. This rose has slowly grown and spread each year, but hadn't bloomed until this year. I'm not sure what combination of events brought on the flowers, but here they are. And the Woods' Roses smell great despite their compact size.

More Info:

PLANTS Profile - Rosa woodsii Lindl., Woods' Rose

In Just Ten Minutes a Day...

Nate Downey signing 'Harvest the Rain'

'Can I have a minute of your time?' Have you ever heard those words from a stranger, probably holding a clipboard, on the street? Did you stop for a minute or walk by more quickly? I consider my time precious and often walk past. In 'Harvest the Rain' author Nate Downey boldly asks for 10 minutes of your time every day to spend on catching, directing and using rainwater. After reading his book I'm not sure he asked for enough.

Native Plant Day in Santa Fe

Native Summer and Fall Flowers

What: Native Plant Day, promoted by the Native Plant Society of New Mexico.
When: All day Saturday, August 15th
Where: Agua Fría Nursery, Payne's Nurseries, Santa Fe Greenhouses, and Plants of the Southwest

Powerful Thirst - Future of Water in the Southwest

Rio Grande near Albuquerque, NM at Sunrise

The local newspaper recently ran an article headlined 'Water experts: Southern N.M. has ample supply'. That headline is grossly misleading and is contradicted twice within the first 4 sentences of the article.

Greening up the Works in Santa Fe County

Santa Fe County Public Works - Vehicle Wash Building

When you think of sustainable architecture, energy efficiency and environmental awareness do you think of your local government? The Santa Fe County Board of Commissioners were thinking ahead to rising energy and building maintenance costs and departmental growth when they requested designs for a new Public Works Facility. The new Santa Fe Public Works Facility is a result of forward-thinking public servants and a sustainable architect coming together to build a campus designed for the long run.

DIY Carbon Offsets

Planting a Bare Root Seedling

Looking for a way to offset your carbon footprint? Instead of paying someone else to offset your CO2 emissions you could create your own carbon sequestration system. In other words, you can plant trees and perennials at home. The New Mexico State Forestry Division wants to help you reforest your acre of the planet with the Conservation Seedling Program. Starting December 1st, anyone owning 1 acre or more of land in New Mexico can purchase seedlings from 53 varieties of trees and shrubs for spring planting.

Happiness is a Full Rain Barrel

Rain Barrel overflowing with rain water

I love living in the Desert Southwest. We have hundred-mile views, low-humidity and 300 days of sunshine per year. But, the other side of all that sunshine is an average of 14 inches of rain per year. Unfortunately, the rains come mostly during the late summer monsoons, not evenly throughout the year. What little rain we do get is precious and worth saving. The easiest way to harvest our irregular, seasonal rains is with rain barrels.

Bluebells of Scotland in New Mexico

Bluebells of Scotland ~ Harebells

We found these Campanula rotundifolia a.k.a. Harebells or Bluebells of Scotland while camping recently. They were scattered throughout an open meadow in the mountains of Northern New Mexico. One of our local plant nurseries carries Bluebells of Scotland seed and I think these would be a great addition to a cool shady spot in our garden.

More Info:

Wikipedia - Campanula rotundifolia

Why I Garden #9

Morning Glory in Bloom

The garden can be full of surprises. An interesting vine sprouted a few months back. Although I didn't recognize it, I decided to let it grow. My theory is that with as many wildflower seeds as I've sown I try to give any new plant a fighting chance to prove it's not a weed. My bet paid off with a Morning Glory.

Stay On the Trail

Blooming Cholla Cactus

Here's another plant that serves many purposes in the desert Southwest. Cholla (genus Cylindropuntia, family Cactaceae) grows in the plains and foothills across the Southwest. It's a native species, closely related to the Prickly Pear, that grows in thin soil and on hot, dry sun-baked locations.

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