What's the dirt like during all this rain? Stick to your shoes? Lots of RR is sand. No topsoil. You may find a clay seam or two if you dig down. Unless you want to spend a ton on water, quit buying the type of plants that you've already bought.

They take too much water and would like some decent dirt. Just because Rowland's sells it, doesn't mean it's drought tolerant.

Go to the Santa Ana Native plant store. Try to find some TRUE natives that you like. They should do with what comes out of the sky after about 3 years. They want no good dirt and no fertilizer. In fact, I drown one or two a year :o)

Buy Judith Phillips' books. The NM Gardener is a good one to start with.

Actually this is for a first time gardener in Arizona! My friend is moving from northeast Ohio to Phoenix and I'd like to send her a gardening book for this area. She likes to garden but works long hours - so the gardening couldn't be too complex. Does anyone have any recommendations? I'm sorry that this post doesn't directly apply to the NM post. Thanks, Rachel

Hi Vanessa,

I live on the West Side of albuquerque and I'd bet most of your soil is sand, at least the first couple feet or so. But like Shelley said you may hit a clay bed further down - I have clay about 2-3ft down in my yard. This means your soil will be well drained and alkaline

Actually your plant selection sounds pretty good, pomegranates and smoke tree are both considered "Xeric" (drought tolerant) and are in Jutith Phillips' book as recommended NM plants - so you did good there! Rose of sharon really isn't a big water lover either - being a native of Pakisatan...

I also hight recommend "New Mexico Gardener's Guide" by Judith Phillips - it is a VERY good resource for this area.

BTW many bulbs LOVE our sandy soil and will natralize (spread out) over time - I have crocus in bloom now and daffodils are putting on buds and I have WAY more now than I had when I planted the first sets a couple of years ago. Lilies for summer and fall blooming are the same way - very prolific, spreading, and healthy. Daylilies and Iris are so prolific, they may wear out their welcome, all of these are somewhat drought tolerant also due to their tuberous root food resevoirs.

and lastly - I HIGHLY recommend investing in some kind of automatic drip irrigaion system, preferably one you can add to or change easily as your landscape matures and changes. Don't make it too permanent or difficult to change, esp. during these first years of getting things growing. But it will save you a ton of water and money, both good things, in the long run. It was the first thing I did when I moved into my home and my water usage was half what the previous owners' were, and I had added A LOT more landscape than they had.

Hope I didn't bore you to tears! Good Luck!

--Bob

Thank you all!

Shelley - I didn't get my plants from Rowlands :) I bought them from Great Outdoors Nursery on 2nd (I think). I'll get Judith Phillips' book - doesn't she have a nursery in town also?

Bob - drip irrigation is this summers project. Oh boy!!!

Thanks again!

Didn't mean to sound as tho you'd chosen badly....but if you have sand, the water drains away quickly. True natives don't seem to care. Smoke Tree and Pomegranate are listed as moderate. Rose of Sharon is listed as ample. If planted in sand, you're going to have to amend the soil to hold the water or water a lot in the summer. Most natives require no fertilizer or one shot a year....and no digging in of peat or potting soil. Suppose it depends upon how much time you have to devote to gardening.

I live in the North Valley with a lot of clay. If I choose the wrong one, they strangle.

Think that RR still buys their water from Abq. The water dept is a profit center. As usage goes down, $/gal goes up. Go figure.

Judith Phillips' retail store is North from Candelaria between 2nd and Edith. Think it's Arno...but didn't find a listing in the new book. I assume that they're still open. Called Bernardo Beach. She'll also do landscape design quite reasonably. I assume that you have a new house and are starting from scratch based upon your location.

Don't forget the xeriscape thing at the convention center next Saturday. Think it starts at 09:00.

Rachel,

There's an AZ forum on this site. You might have better luck there. I'm always tripping over AZ things in my searches. They have tons of resources. Start with www.desertusa.com

Most of NM is so much higher than Pnx (even the Chihuahua desert in the SW) that most of the plants are not the same.

Shelley -
Can you tell me more about this xeriscape thing? Sorry, still new to New Mexico - what convention center?

Thanks!

I hit on it last month on the web. Don't take the paper. Think it's the annual meeting of the xeriscape council of NM. But, on Saturday, they're holding clinics for the public.

I have written on my calendar for Sat that it starts at 09:00. All the famous people will be there.

Convention Center is downtown. Between 2nd and 3rd. Tijeras and Marquette.

Dear first time gardener. Where did you move from? We are thinking of relocating from Chicago (Yikes!) and we actually looked at the Enchanted HIlls area last summer, do you like it? Do you have any school ages kids? IF so, how's the schools in RIO. I know this isn't gardening related, but will help us with decision to move there. HOw's the BUGS? ANY SCORPIONS??? I'M AFRAID!!

Hi, Chicagohater (Why do you hate Chicago - I would LOVE to live there!). My husband and I moved to New Mexico about 1.5 years ago. We moved from Portland, Oregon where we had lived for about 3 years. Before that, we lived in Indiana (West Lafayette - Purdue University area) for all of our lives.
About New Mexico. Do I like it? Not really - too much brown. I love the mountains here, just wish it were economical to live there and drive to RR every day! That said, I do like Enchanted Hills area. You can get a decent home with a nice sized yard (I think our lot is 1/4 acre, which compared to some subdivisions is huge) for a reasonable price (I would say the range is $120 - $300K). It's growing very quickly (they just built a big Home Depot nearby last summer), but there's Indian Reservation to the North, so it's not going to end up in the middle of town. They are also building the Court House just down the main highway. There are several restaurants (sit down, fast food, pizza, etc) close, and you're not far from either Santa Fe or ABQ.
No kids, so I can't help you out there. I'm sure there are websites that rank the school corporations.
I haven't really seen any bugs besides the occasional spider (not black widow or anything freaky) and the flies can get bad.
If you'd like, you can e-mail me @ rvmitchell123@msn.com.