505Outside sat down with local landscape expert Wes Brittenham, Farm and Landscape Manager at Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm, to chat about Fall maintenance tasks for Albuquerque gardens. At Los Poblanos, Wes oversees all growing things on their 25 acres, from the historic gardens to the newer more xeric and multi-functional landscapes, as well as the kitchen garden and the fields of lavender.

Wes has noticed many homeowners with traditional landscaped yards keep them highly pruned with perfectly trimmed rounded plants free and clear of leaf litter and debris. Over the last 15 years, as homeowners have made the shift to xeriscape landscapes (aka desert friendly) he’s noticed they haven’t shifted their maintenance regimens. They should.

Xeriscape landscapes don’t require the rigorous maintenance that traditional landscapes do, so he’s been teaching homeowners to “get over the tidiness!” He wants homeowners to embrace the shape of native plants and, in general, do less yard work. Especially in the Fall.

When asked what homeowners can do to prepare their landscapes for winter, he gave us a short list of surprisingly simple to-dos:

  1. Leave it natural. There is no need to prune! So leave stems with seed heads in place. This includes grasses, perennials and shrubs. The dead stems, leaves and seed heads provide natural habitats for wildlife all winter. They also give the garden good structure over the winter. When Albuquerque gets a blanket of snow, the wispy seed heads of the grasses create a beautiful silhouette. Leaving dead foliage insulates the plants from winter freeze damage, too.
  2. Do clean up fruit and vegetable debris from gardens. This helps reduce bug populations and prevents fungus problems.
  3. Leave the leaves. When the trees start losing their leaves, rake them around the base of plants to provide habitat, retain moisture, and create natural mulch under the plant.

With over four decades of experience, Wes’s advice is extremely useful for local homeowners. Efficiency is key, so use his three simple tips for a great fall and winter landscape and minimal yard work this Fall.

Expert: Wes Brittenham, Farm and Landscape Manager at Los Poblanos Historic Inn & Organic Farm

Water-Wise Vegetable Gardening

With our hot summers and low precipitation, growing vegetables in NM can be
challenging. This talk will provide strategies and recommendations for growers to
cultivate a thriving vegetable harvest in the region. Discussion will include irrigation and infrastructure suggestions, as well as selection of vegetable varieties that are well-adapted to the area.

Instructor: Stephanie Walker, PhD. Professor and Vegetable Specialist, New Mexico
State University, Extension Plant Sciences Department.

Maintaining Tree Health During Drought

Learn from Albuquerque’s leading tree expert how to identify drought stress in trees,
understand their responses to drought, and implement strategies to keep them alive and thriving in hot, dry weather.

Instructor: Joran Viers, Board Certified Master Arborist and Municipal Specialist,
International Society of Arboriculture (ISA). Senior Arborist, Legacy Tree Company,
Albuquerque. Former City Forester, City of Albuquerque

Creating a Drought-Tolerant Refuge for Yourself and Wildlife

Instructor: Laurel Ladwig, M.S. She is the ABQ Backyard Refuge Program Director for the Friends of Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge, a part-time faculty member in the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, and Associate Director of the R.H. Mallory Center for Community Geography at the University of New Mexico and is enthusiastic about all opportunities to encourage people to develop a relationship with our wild neighbors.

Designing Resilient Landscapes: Plant Adaptations, Communities, and Selection for Arid Environments

Instructor: Maria Thomas is the Curator of Plants at the ABQ BioPark where she manages the botanical exhibits, plant collections, horticultural staff, and related programs for the 150-acre public park and garden. Additionally, Maria is an Adjunct Professor at the University of New Mexico in the Landscape Architecture department.

Climate-Ready Trees- Planting for a Warmer and (Hopefully) Shadier Future

Instructor: Marisa Y. Thompson, PhD Extension Urban Horticulture Specialist. New Mexico State University Department of Extension Plant Sciences, Los Lunas Agricultural Science Center, Think Trees NM, President of the Board (2023-current).

Plant Adaptations to Heat & Drought

Noticing the Ways Plants Thrive in our Yards and Natural Areas Learn how to Recognize Drought-Adapted Traits in Everyday Plants all Around Us.

Instructor: Marisa Y. Thompson, PhD Extension Urban Horticulture Specialist. New Mexico State University Department of Extension Plant Sciences, Los Lunas Agricultural Science Center, Think Trees NM, President of the Board (2023-current).

Hose Bib Tree Irrigation System for Your Trees: Simple Systems for Thriving Trees!

Instructor: Richard Perce has twenty years’ experience working with trees and irrigation here in New Mexico. He is a former certified arborist and currently holds the Irrigation Association’s Landscape Irrigation Auditor certification and is a certified QWEL irrigation instructor. He worked as a landscape contractor for more than a decade and is the Water Authority’s former Irrigation Efficiency Specialist. He also has a Masters of Community and Regional Planning from UNM and currently works at Anthropopulus Design + Planning.

Passive Rainwater Harvesting

This workshop introduces participants to the principles and practices of passive rainwater harvesting. Attendees will learn how to capture, slow, spread, and infiltrate rainwater into the landscape using simple, low-cost methods such as swales, berms, and basins. The workshop emphasizes working with the natural flow of water to reduce runoff, prevent erosion, and support healthy soil and plant life. By implementing passive rainwater harvesting, participants can conserve water, and create more resilient, self-sustaining landscapes.

Instructors: Anthony Luketich, Natural Resource Scientist, Anthony Luketich is a Natural Resources Scientist for Bernalillo County where he is focused on water conservation and water-wise landscape practices. He received a degree in Watershed Management and Ecohydrology from the University of Arizona where he studied the relationship between trees and water. Anthony has worked across the Southwest US as a research scientist as well as a water harvesting field technician where he became a certified water harvesting practitioner.

Bobby Mullin, Natural Resource Scientist, Bernalillo County Stormwater Quality Program Bobby Mullin is a Natural Resource Scientist for Bernalillo County in the Stormwater Quality Program. He focuses on improving stormwater quality in the Middle Rio Grande Watershed and promoting sustainable and resilient landscapes using Green Stormwater Infrastructure and rainwater harvesting. Bobby received his Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Bucknell University in 2011. Before joining Bernalillo County, he had worked as an environmental consultant remediating contaminated soil and groundwater and as a Research Scientist studying the impacts of climate change, drought and plant mortality in New Mexico ecosystems.

Xeriscape: The Desert Friendly Yard

Join us for learning all of the tips, and benefits of our Xeriscape program!

3 Steps to Landscape Success

Service, Settings, and Selection are the keys to landscape success!