The Albuquerque metro area has a variety of landscapes. These include desert-friendly landscapes, such as lush, pollinator-friendly xeriscapes, and wildscapes or prairie plantings, where native grasses and wildflowers bring the feel of a prairie to a yard. Rain gardens are specifically designed to make the most of natural precipitation, while edible landscapes have garden beds or edible plants interspersed throughout them. Efficient turfscapes have smaller areas of turfgrass and diverse plantings. Conventional turfscapes with large areas of cool-season grass and high-water foundation shrub plantings are no longer considered desert-friendly landscapes. Desert-friendly landscapes describe a variety of landscapes that include beautiful, diverse plantings with increased resiliency achieved through efficient watering.
A sea of gravel may require little water, but it does not create a healthy environment. Weed fabric doesn’t prevent weeds from growing on top of the fabric and has been proven to be detrimental to soil and tree health in the long term. Trees struggle if they have been part of a yard that was once heavily irrigated and has been converted to a gravelscape. We do not recommend gravelscapes for reducing water use. Instead, transform those landscapes into cooler, healthy environments by adding appropriate plants and irrigation.
Desert-friendly landscapes make a positive contribution to lowering the urban heat-island effect, which is caused by heat emitted off surfaces including gravel, concrete and asphalt. This heat causes an updraft within an urban setting, which changes the weather patterns over a city and decreases the chances of precipitation and cooling. Plants, especially trees, help decrease or eliminate this heat island effect.
Desert-friendly landscapes help reduce noise pollution by absorbing sound. Desert-friendly plantings also increase biodiversity in your yard and in our community, generating much-needed pollinator habitat. Xeriscapes, particularly once they are established, use significantly less water than a conventional turfgrass lawn. Did you know that Albuquerque is a designated Bee City USA? To find out more, go to: Burque Bee City USA (beecityusa.org). For more information on pollinator gardens, go to ABQ Backyard Refuge Program (https:// www.505outside.com/2021/05/31/backyard-refug-es-for-people-and-wildlife/). To find out about rebates that help homeowners transform their yards into desert-friendly xeriscapes, visit: https://www.505outside.com/residential-desert-friendly-conversion-rebates-xeriscape-conversion/
Xeriscapes have been largely misrepresented and misunderstood over the past 30 years, often being mistaken for zeroscape (a.k.a. no plants). What xeriscape really means is a native, desert-adaptive or desert-friendly landscape that often feels lush and vibrant and has plants that are appropriate for the Albuquerque climate. It attracts all kinds of wildlife and changes with the seasons.
Pro Tips for Using Drip Emitters in Xeriscapes:
• Always have more than one emitter per plant in case one becomes clogged. • Switch from adjustable micro sprayers and “shrubblers” to individual emitters or in-line emitted drip lines to know exactly how much water is being provided to your plants. • When using drip or other low-flow irrigation, accommodate plant needs by adjusting the flow rate (larger or smaller gph) and number of emitters per plant. • Drip irrigation is the best way to water plants that do not like getting their leaves wet. With drip emitters and ¼” spaghetti tubing, water can be placed exactly where it is needed.
Xeriscapes often include trees, shrubs, flowering “pollinator-friendly” perennials, desert accents, groundcovers, ornamental grasses and vines. They also can contain small functional turf areas, vegetable beds and other edible plants. Xeriscape plants are medium or low-water usage plants. Some can survive with rainwater alone after an establishment period of at least three full irrigation seasons. Adding trees to a desert-friendly xeriscape increases shade and habitat, creates favorable microclimates and reduces the urban heat island effect in Albuquerque. When deciding which tree to use in a particular place, refer to our Xeriscaping Guide or The Nature Conservancy’s Climate Ready Tree List.
HOW MUCH WATER IS NEEDED TO KEEP UP A BEAUTIFUL XERISCAPE?
This budget is only for outdoor use. Please include your winter averages to complete your TOTAL usage on your billing. For typical xeriscape landscapes with 500 square feet of NATIVE grass lawn (warm-season grasses) and two medium trees
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!
