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Type: Deciduous Exposure: Sun/Shade Water Use: Medium Mature Size: 25’ x 25’ Description: A New Mexico native tree that grows fast, sometimes up to 4 feet a year. This deciduous tree produces brilliant red-maroon fall color. The leaves then fade to a chocolate...

The Water Authority’s xeriscape rebate program, and predecessor programs run by the city of Albuquerque, have seen about 12 million square feet of turf replaced over the past 25 or so years. Since 2009, the top five years for program participation were: This has...

Just as we take shelter when the weather turns colder, so do your plants. This time of year, plants store most of their nutrients in their roots and find shelter in the ground. We can support this transition to help plants thrive during the entire winter season. Also,...

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...

What is urban heat? Dark surfaces like concrete, asphalt and brick absorb and retain heat from the sun. Little spaces between buildings can create heat canyons that trap this heat, forming “islands” that are warmer than rural or suburban areas. Urban heat can affect...

Trees are especially important in arid, urban environments like Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. They provide shade, mitigate urban heat, reduce greenhouse gasses and air pollution, and create wildlife habitat, among many other benefits. All trees, even...

Nothing adds the same quality and value to a landscape as a healthy mature tree. The benefits include cooler outdoor spaces, cooler homes, aesthetic appeal, carbon capture, stormwater mitigation and more. There are some key things to think about when it comes to...

If you’ve walked around your neighborhood, you’ve probably noticed cherry trees being flocked by birds and buckets of fruit with “Free Organic Apricots” signs. Yes, it’s harvest season in Albuquerque. Have you ever wondered what becomes of all that fruit? Back in...

Have you ever heard of forensic arboriculture? Probably not … but it is a thing! Figuring out why trees die can be a challenge as there are often multiple causes, and the clues may be obscured by time or a deep layer of rock mulch. If you look at enough dead and dying...

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...

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...

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...