These next six weeks before Thanksgiving will be the end of this year's gardening season. Now is your last chance for essential tasks like fertilizing and watering. So be sure to deep irrigate your landscape and spread soil-building fertilizer like Yum Yum Mix. Time spent this month in the garden will pay off next spring with healthier, more robust plants. 1. Watering – Most parts of northern NM have been very dry. The monsoons were generally anemic this past summer, so the soil is dry down deep. Therefore, it's important to deep water trees, shrubs, vines, and perennials that have been plant ..read more

Fall Equinox, the first day of Fall arrives Thursday, September 22, 2022. While the cool nights say "fall", the days are still warm. But that gives us more planting time as the winter cold will like be arriving later than usual. Fall is a magical time in the garden when plants naturally put their energy to grow many new roots as the season moves into winter. Now is the time to feed the soil and thicken up the mulch layer around your plants. And the mild weather is perfect for finishing all our gardening "to-do" list and tucking in our gardens for winter. Early Fall September to mid-October 1 ..read more

All the plants included in our 2022 Pollinator Plants Days are favorites, but here are 10 plants David Salman has highlighted for their beauty, value to pollinators as sources of "natural nectar" and resilient performers in our high desert gardens of northern New Mexico. Pollinator-friendly plants are why late summer and fall gardens can be as colorful as springtime with a stunning display of flowers and seed heads. Agastache (hummingbird mint), Salvia (Sage), Zauschneria (Hummingbird Trumpet or Fire Chalice) as well as gorgeous ornamental grasses, described below, like Muhlenbergia 'Pink Flam ..read more

For anyone who has been out in their garden digging, the soil is unexpectedly hard and dry. So, it’s especially important to be watering the plants you planted in the last year or two to avoid drought stress. And keep new transplants well mulched and regularly watered. For New Transplants: Even xeric (waterwise) plants need regular watering during the first growing season. This is essential to growing a strong, deep root system. Don’t water stress new plantings!! By watering deeply and more frequently now and into June, you’ll save water in the long run. New transplants should be watered 3x p ..read more

New Mexico is rich with cold-hardy cacti species, having more species than almost any place in the Western Hemisphere. And we can use these incredible wildflowers to enrich our northern NM xeriscapes with brilliant flowers, sculptural stems and ornamental spination. It’s essential that we integrate cacti with other perennials, grasses and succulents to duplicate how they live in nature with many other plant types. Relegating cacti to just a pincushion grouping in an unused corner of your landscape deprives you of their true beauty. Echinocereus engelmani v variegatus Stachys inflata, Alyssum ..read more

March 20th is the spring equinox and is officially the first day of spring. Winter is retreating as we get excited about getting back into the garden. Here is a guide to help you prioritize your spring "To Do" list. Read on to learn essential gardening tips to do to get your garden ready for another growing season. How to Order Waterwise Plants this Spring March Watering While the mountains and the SF Ski Basin are getting some snow this winter, down here at 7,000 ft. elevation here in town and the surrounding areas, conditions are dry. We need to water our gardens and last season's transplan ..read more

The start of March is a great time to begin soil preparation for the upcoming growing season. By getting the soil mixed with beneficial soil additives now, it gives the beneficial microbial organisms and earthworms a head-start on breaking down these additives, so the plant roots can uptake the nutrients at planting time. Preparing New Flower or Vegetable Beds The general rule of thumb for preparing new flower beds or vegetable garden areas is; For large new beds, ½ to 1 cubic yard of ,Reunity compost and 3 to 4 lbs. of ,Yum Yum Mix soil food per 100 sq. ft. For smaller areas, a 1 cubic ft b ..read more

Follow these steps and use the products recommended to ensure that your plants get off to the best start and flourish in the landscape. When planting outdoors before last frost date (early to mid-May), harden-off plants (acclimate) them to direct sun and frost by placing them outside in a place with morning sun/afternoon shade. Leave outdoors at night unless frost is forecast. If frost is coming, bring inside for the night and put back outside in the morning once it warms above freezing. Water as needed to keep soil moist but not soggy. Continue for about 10 days, then plants will be ready to ..read more

This Mediterranean native shrub is beloved for its invigorating scent and flavorful culinary use. And what could be better than growing your own plants in our high elevation gardens? David has spent many years collecting and growing rosemary, always with the goal of finding cold-hardy forms that would grow in Santa Fe. This spring, we will be offering 4 different cold-hardy cultivars of Rosmarinus officinalis that grow successfully in the Santa Fe area. Our offerings include; Rosmarinus officinalis 'Alcalde Cold Hardy’ - This is an heirloom variety from the mountain town of Penasco, NM. It wa ..read more

Fall Equinox, the first day of Fall arrives Wednesday, September 22, 2021. While the cool nights say "fall", the days have been unseasonably hot. But that gives us more planting time as the winter cold will like be arriving later than usual. Fall is a magical time in the garden when plants naturally put their energy to grow many new roots as the season moves into winter. Now is the time to feed the soil and thicken up the mulch layer around your plants. And the mild weather is perfect for finishing all our gardening "to do" list and tuck in our gardens for winter. Early Fall September to mid-O ..read more