Traditionally, we think of the balmy days of spring or summer as the time to sow seeds in our gardens. And while this may be true of many annual flowers and vegetables, seeds of perennial wildflowers are best sow in the late fall or winter! Why? Many perennials have seeds that require a period of [...]
Lawns are a mainstay of American landscapes. But traditional lawn care and maintenance methods are an ecological nightmare. American gardeners and landscape professionals need to make a concerted effort to make our lawns more eco-sensible. Share on Facebook
Continue reading about Stop the Madness! Making Lawns an Eco-friendly Part of Our Landscapes
I’m not one for making lots of New Year’s resolutions. But I did promise myself that I’d get my collection of cacti and succulents re-potted this winter. Because High Country Gardens is such a large grower of cold hardy cacti and South African succulents, we like to grow seed of my favorite plants. Often commercial [...]
Continue reading about Growing Cacti and Succulents for Seed Production
Now that winter is upon us, this means snow and snow removal from our walks and driveways. Traditionally salt (sodium chloride) has been used to melt snow on roads and sidewalks. Salt lowers the freezing point of water and prevents ice formation after the snow melts. But as gardeners, we need to remember that sodium [...]
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) Share on Facebook
Continue reading about Pour on the Orange; Planting Zauschneria for Hummingbirds
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 [...]
Continue reading about Cold Hardy, Late Summer / Early Fall Blooming Sages
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. Share on Facebook
Continue reading about Agastache: “Super Stars” of the Perennial World – Part 2
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 [...]
Continue reading about Agastache; “Super Stars” of the Perennial World
Oenothera fremontii ‘Shimmer’ PPAF is one of my favorite new native plants. Originally selected by Lauren Springer Ogden and Scott Ogden, from a seed grown crop of Oenothera fremontii, this vegetatively propagated cultivar selection is a standout. Lauren and Scott picked the original plant from all the others because of its unusually narrow foliage that [...]
Continue reading about Oenothera ‘Shimmer’; Keeping the Wild Spirit of the Prairie in Your Garden
To date, the Santa Fe area has had about 3-4″ of total precipitation (rain and snow) since this past January; a very dry year! (We usually average about 12″ annually.) Well, after this last week with daytime highs in the upper 90′s, our gardens were wilting and the native grass prairie all around us was [...]
Continue reading about Finally a Monsoon Rainstorm to Fill My Water Harvesting System!
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