by 505 Outside | Oct 1, 2024 | Blog, Design, Xeriscape
Desert friendly xeriscapes are a great way to replace high-water-use turf grass with something beautiful, low-water-use and wildlife-friendly. Many Albuquerque area homeowners are taking their conversion projects a step further and choosing wood chip mulch over gravel...
by 505 Outside | Apr 30, 2024 | Blog, Landscape Tips, Planting, Planting Tips, Xeriscape
The word Mediterranean may bring to mind rows of lavender in southern France, an Italian villa or maybe a Spanish courtyard or Greek olive orchard. These areas around the Mediterranean Sea all share unique plants and garden design methods that are part of their allure...
by 505 Outside | Apr 30, 2024 | Blog, Design, Edibles, Pollinators and Wildlife, Xeriscape
When I mention black currants while talking fruit trees and shrubs with people in Albuquerque, I have come to expect that we are often starting the conversation thinking about different things. Most commonly, people have experienced or heard about the European black...
by 505 Outside | Mar 18, 2024 | Blog, Planting, Pollinators and Wildlife, Xeriscape
Being someone so immersed in planting design in my daily life and someone who is so plainly in love with plants, both wild and cultivated, it can be difficult to narrow my focus and play favorites. I owe this relationship with plants unequivocally to my grandmother...
by 505 Outside | Feb 29, 2024 | Blog, Design, Edibles, Xeriscape
Food forests and edible landscapes have been around for a very long time. They are what helped ancient humans survive and thrive. Hunter-gatherers likely did not expend precious energy by wandering aimlessly, hoping to find sustenance, but rather they were able to...
by 505 Outside | Feb 29, 2024 | Blog, Design, Xeriscape
Color has a more dramatic impact in a garden if plants with strong flower colors are juxtaposed against one another. In this Kaleidoscape design by Judith Phillips, the blue-purple blooms of dwarf butterfly bush, desert sage, catmint, lavender and vitex are contrasted...
