Tag: summer

  • Identifying and Dealing with Hotspots in the Desert Garden

    Phoenix is an urban environment in a hot desert. Because of concrete roads, sidewalks, and walls, the city environment has more extreme microclimates than the desert surrounding it.  The desert outside of Phoenix is actually better for plants than the city in some ways. Heat is trapped by the inversion layer that settles over Phoenix…

  • Summer Challenges of landscaping in the low desert

    introduction to hot weather thinking Put very simply, the key is “Right Plant, Right Place”. The start of my career in horticulture came when I was hired at a plant nursery down the street in Fountain Hills AZ. I was a nursery tech and customer service employee primarily, because without plants and customers there is…

  • Spotlight: Tangerine Crossvine – vigorous, colorful, dependable

    Spotlight: Tangerine Crossvine – vigorous, colorful, dependable

    I’ve been using a fair amount of tangerine cross vine in my plantings, and it’s not a mystery why. I can make a compelling argument for planting it in Phoenix gardens with only a few basic facts. It seems like a good choice already for many back garden walls and sitting areas. But let me…

  • Common Saguaro Problems

    Common Saguaro Problems

    This has been a terrible year for saguaro in the Phoenix area, which is unfortunate because this grand cactus is a proud and unforgettable symbol of our desert home. There are many reasons to want a saguaro in your landscape. They are striking, they require very little maintenance, they provide a vertical accent, and they…