Native Bee in Burrow
Walking out in my yard the other afternoon, I was staring at the ground looking a small plant when a movement caught my eye. As I looked closer I came to realize it was something completely unexpected and intriguing; the sight of a native bee, hard at work building her burrow. Read the rest of this entry »
Lily of the Valley with Silver-leaf Sage
This Mediterranean native bulb commonly known as Lily of the Field or Winter Daffodil provides a brief but fabulous bit of color in the fall xeriscape. The large, deep yellow, six petaled flowers appear suddenly in late September here in Santa Fe’s high elevation, short season Zone 6 climate. (They bloom later in warmer areas.) Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: bulb, bulbs, dwarf silver leaf sage, high elevation, sternbergia, sternbergia lutea, xeric groundcovers, zone 6
Fall Planting
This Saturday at High Country Garden Stores in Albuquerque we are offering a free seminar on planting Trees and Shrubs.
Fall is for planting! Find out why and what shrubs and trees to plant this fall. Go to our Events page here at The Xeric Gardener to get directions and a map to our store location.
Presented by Curtis Smith, Horticulture Specialist, NMSU.
Tags: albuquerque, fall seminar series, high country garden stores, planting trees and shrubs
Grow your own Grapes at Home
As part of our Fall Seminar Series at Santa Fe Greenhouses David Salman will explain how to grow delicious, healthy grapes and raspberries and which are the best varieties to grow in your New Mexico Garden.
Check our Events page here at the Xeric Gardener for a map and directions to Santa Fe Greenhouses. We look forward to seeing you there.
Presented by David Salman, President and Chief Horticulturist, Santa Fe Greenhouses.
Tags: garden, grapes, growing, raspberries
Agastache Ava with Sorghastrum Nutans
Many years ago when I first became interested in ornamental grasses, I didn’t understand how to use them as a component of a landscape design. Now I use ornamental grasses all the time and have discovered how to combine them in the landscape with other plants. This seems to create a wonderful synergism that accentuates all the attributes of grass and non-grass. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: bouteloua, companion plants, flowering perennials, high country gardens, native grasses, native ornamental grasses, native shrubs, ornamental grass, panicum, prairie grass, sorghastrum
Zauschneria garrettii Orange Carpet®
One of my favorite native genera is Zauschneria, also know by its common names such as Hummingbird Trumpet, Fire Chalice and California Fuchsia. (To botanists and botanically informed gardeners who read this blog, you’ll note that I have refused to lump them into the Fireweed genus Epilobium) Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: california fuchsia, fire chalice, high country gardens, hummingbird trumpet, hummingbirds, orange carpet, zauschneria, zauschneria garrettii, zauschneria mountain flame, zauschneria wayne's select
Salvia reptans West Texas form close up
Fall is in the Air
I look forward to my gardens this time of the year. Many of my favorite native plants and ornamental grasses come into flower as the summer transitions to fall. Living and gardening at an elevation of nearly 7, 000 ft. here in Santa Fe, you can already feel a hint of fall in the air. Night temperatures are dropping into the lower 50’s and the light is starting change as the sun moves toward its fall equinox pathway. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: furman's red, high country gardens, sage, sages, salvia, salvia azurea, salvia greggii, salvia raspberry delight, salvia reptans
Agastache Garden Combo
It’s no surprise that gardeners across the country are bringing Agastache plants into their gardens. Some of these new hybrids are worthwhile while others appear to not be anything really exciting. Never-the-less, I’m excited that this genus is becoming more widely grown. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: agastache, agastache ava, agastache cana rosita, agastache desert sunrise, agastache rupestris, perennial, perennials
Agastache rupestris
Growing plants of the genus Agastache (A gas’ ta kee or A gas tack’ e), commonly known as hummingbird mint or hyssop, has been an obsession of mine for the last 15 years. They have everything I love in a perennial; aromatic flowers and foliage, stunning spikes of tubular flowers that attract hummingbirds, bees and butterflies, and they bloom in summer and fall extending the seasons of color in my xeriscapes and with the exception of one species (Agastache rugosum) are North American native plants. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: agastache, agastache ava, agastache desert sunrise perennial, agastache rupestris, perennials
Echinacea 'Rocky Top Hybrid' growing with Lavandula intermedia 'Hidcote Giant'
The genus Echinacea contains some of our most valuable and showy native wildflowers. There has been a tremendous amount of selection and breeding work done with the various species in the last decade resulting in an explosion of new cultivars (varieties). Some are superb but most others are highly over-rated, especially some of the orange flowered hybrids (Big Sky series). Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: echinacea, rocky top hybrid
Recent Comments