Planting Tips
Choose desert-friendly plants that thrive in our dry climate. There are literally hundreds of plant options to choose from, and rebates are available for replacing turf with a desert-friendly landscape.
5 Steps to Stunning Fall Container Gardens
Containers are an easy way to add a splash of color to your garden, porch, balcony or patio, without ever having to dig a hole in our hard New Mexico soil. While you could drop pansies or geraniums in a pot and consider it complete, you could also plant a truly...
Be inspired by this year’s Desert Friendly Landscape Winners!
Congratulations to the ten winners of our first annual Water Authority Desert Friendly Landscape Contest! Thank you for sharing your beautiful gardens with us. They will be an inspiration for others to make the switch to desert-friendly landscapes. A Garden for the...
Luxury Consumers in Your Yard
In these long, hot days of summer, especially if the summer rains don’t come, many plants really suffer from a lack of water. By incorporating native and very adapted plants into the landscape, we can still have attractive landscapes that don’t require a lot of...
How to Propagate Cacti
Propagating cacti is as easy as one, two, three. Remove a pad from an existing cactus. Heavy gloves are your friends. For Cholla, use tongs to grab a stalk. 2. Set cuttings out to dry until the fresh ends of the cut callus over, which is usually in a week or two. 3....
Sundrops, Calylophus species
Type: Flowering plant Exposure: Full sun Water Use: Low Mature Size: 18” x 18” This spectacular native wildflower is everblooming with a profusion of large, bright yellow, four-petaled flowers. Its narrow gray-green foliage gives the plant a lacy look in the garden....
Easy Edible Plants for First-Time Growers
One hundred years ago, almost every house with a yard had a vegetable garden. This was before the era of mass-produced, well-traveled foods readily available in the big grocery stores. People grew these gardens out of necessity. The whole family joined in, breathing...
8 Steps to Planting a Healthy Plant
With spring fast approaching and many homeowners heading out to local plant nurseries, we want to remind you how to plant for a healthy plant. Choosing the right plant for the right place is the most important consideration. Once you’ve selected the perfect...
Climate Ready Landscapes!
We are living in a time when our climate is going through rapid changes. Winter days have gotten warmer, and very cold nights are decreasing in number. The decrease in snowpack and early snowmelt that volatilizes before it soaks into the soil are creating drier...
As our drought continues, here is how to care for your landscape this winter season.
So far this winter season precipitation has been 30% below normal for New Mexico. According to the National Weather Service statewide average day temperatures are 56.6 degrees, which is 2.1 degrees above the normal of 54.5. With that said, we are starting out the...
Make getting a Xeriscape rebate your New Year’s resolution!
The desert friendly xeriscape conversion incentive rebate has been around since the early ’90s and is still going strong. Millions of square feet of thirsty lawns have been converted to healthy xeriscapes that save billions of gallons of water. Although the xeriscape...
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