Would you like to attract birds or butterflies to your yard or perhaps you are looking for year-round color, or a cool, shady retreat? By selecting plants that are well-adapted to our desert climate you’ll have less maintenance and more time and money to enjoy your beautiful landscape. Horticulturist and Conservation Coordinator, Donna DiFrancesco, from the City of Mesa Environmental …
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What is xeriscape and how do you pronounce it? In this presentation, you’ll learn how to use seven common-sense design principles to help you create or maintain a beautiful desert landscape. Discover how to create a sense of place while attracting birds and butterflies all while saving water, too. Horticulturist and Conservation Coordinator, Donna DiFrancesco, from the City of Mesa …
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It’s no surprise that the biggest challenge to growing plants in our region is the intense heat and dryness of summer, which is a stressful environment for plants. Thankfully, there are several plants that thrive in a hot, dry climate. Here are a few of Southwest Gardening’s Noelle Johnson’s favorite plants that can take the Southwest heat. 1. Bush Lantana (Lantana …
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A different kind of flower this Valentine’s season. With long, colorful, tubular flowers, justicias are a hummingbird’s delight. Flower colors range from yellow to deep red. Justicias’ green foliage contrasts well with gray desert plants. Native to tropical and subtropical regions, they can be used in many types of landscapes. These semi-evergreen shrubs bloom throughout the year, inviting hummingbirds into …
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SIX QUESTIONS OFTEN ASKED ABOUT SAGUAROS Nothing says you’re in Arizona better than those silhouettes of saguaros set against a red sky at sunset. After all, the National Park Service says, saguaros mostly grow in the Sonoran Desert. That means that almost all the wild ones grow in Arizona and some smaller areas of Mexico and California. Often on “Rosie …
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Spring wildflower season is one of the desert’s most colorful periods. But planning for those multicolored displays in the spring requires planning in the Fall. It’s prime time for fall planting! From late September through early December is the perfect time to sow spring seeds in the Arizona desert. Most spring-blooming wildflowers benefit from the cold temperatures of winter and …
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Calliandra, commonly known as Fairy Duster, refers to the beautiful stamens which make the tufted or ball-like flowers on these loosely branched shrubs. Their beautiful and vibrant colors range from pale pink to deep red. These small to medium-sized shrubs produce their flowers against a backdrop of finely divided, lacy-looking foliage. Fairy Dusters can be used in a wide variety …
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We know, we know, we are in the middle of a “nonsoon.” But hear us out, it will happen (hopefully, one day, maybe soon, we hope…). Monsoon season in the Valley can be a great time of year for suddenly cooler temperatures and extraordinary sunsets, but it makes caring for desert landscapes a bit more mysterious. There’s more unusual weather …
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Feeling like your yard is too small to plant for birds? Before you throw in the towel, give these petite garden favorites a try. Like goldfish, these plants will fill the space they are given and can be trimmed back easily if needed. Endorsed by gardeners and hummingbirds alike, these easy additions will add more life and interest to your …
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Salt River Project (SRP) invites Valley customers to learn about water conservation and water supplies at the 13th annual SRP Water Conservation Expo on March 7, 2020, from 8 a.m.–1 p.m. Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase a “smart” irrigation controller at a discounted price, attend classes and receive a water-efficient Evolve showerhead (one per household while supplies last). …
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Living in the desert southwest has many advantages, including being able to have a landscape filled with winter blooms all winter long when gardens throughout much of the country are brown or covered in a layer of snow. Over the weekend, I stepped out into my garden to see how my plants were doing and took photos of those that …
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It’s one of the great debates. Like Yankees vs. Red Sox, Democrats vs. Republicans, cat lovers vs. dog lovers, there are those who overseed their grass vs. those who don’t. Why the great debate? Well, it’s hard to say exactly how it all started, but it likely has something to do with American’s love of lush green grass and doing …
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