Trees are where your landscape value is. Plant them right, and your home value grows; get trees wrong, and they take over, lift patios and driveways, hide beautiful architecture, and more. Think of trees and the four seasons. Begin with trees that announce spring by blooming, then have trees that offer summer shade, autumn reds and gold, ending with visual interest through winter. The goal is not simply to collect specimens in the yard, but rather to have at least one model tree per season that … [Read more...] about Best Landscape Trees for All Four Seasons
Watters garden Center
Featuring the Most Beautiful Mountain Flowers in the Garden
Some flowers capture the imagination like no other. Their sheer beauty makes them iconic, transporting gardeners in the remembrance of garden weddings, tropical destinations and secret forests. These flowers may seem exotic, but many can be grown right here in the mountains of Arizona. Here are the most beautiful flowers you can grow in local gardens starting in April. Bearded Iris is as tough and low maintenance as it is exquisite. Deep violets to solar yellow and everything between, these … [Read more...] about Featuring the Most Beautiful Mountain Flowers in the Garden
Nine Garden Tasks for Better Gardens This Spring
Spring weather signals the start of specific gardening tasks that are essential to maintaining a vital, healthy garden. I’m a “list” type of gardener and the following is my springtime procedural list in order of personal priority. 1) Finish pruning everything in the yard, including roses, fruit trees, and summer-blooming shrubs. Then, rake up old leaves, cut back dead growth on perennials and remove leftover annuals and vegetables from gardens and containers. 2) Apply “Crabgrass … [Read more...] about Nine Garden Tasks for Better Gardens This Spring
Winter is the Time to Start Spring Wildflowers
Few plants in the garden deliver a more natural appearance than wildflowers. Although real success depends on timing, adhere to these simple tips, tricks and techniques, and you can paint a swath of color across your springtime landscape. A pure wildflower seed needs the freeze-thaw cycle of late winter and early spring to germinate properly. This is especially true for the most popular varieties, like a poppy. Cold weather cracks open the seed’s hull so it can make its way into the soil. … [Read more...] about Winter is the Time to Start Spring Wildflowers
January is the Time to Prepare Garden Soils
Gardeners know the better the soil, the larger the harvest, the brighter the flowers, the easier the gardening. Once you’ve tried digging the first planting hole in a mountain garden, you figure it out. Our native soils are HARD! Successful gardens always come down to soil quality. Skimp on spring preparation to “soften” the ground, and a garden’s production drops close to zero. January is my month to amend garden beds, turn the soil, and let the garden rest before planting begins March 1. … [Read more...] about January is the Time to Prepare Garden Soils
Five Gardening Tips to End 2020 Strong
The days grow short as we move into the end of the 2020 gardening season. This is the time when gardeners like to relax, sip some tea while warming our feet by the fire, and reflect on our gardening successes and near misses of the past season. But, gardening activity doesn’t come to a complete halt, as there are a few things to do in December. Here are my five gardening tasks for closing out 2020 strong and ensuring that our plants prosper in the New Year: #1 Houseplants Watch closely for … [Read more...] about Five Gardening Tips to End 2020 Strong
Examining the Top Evergreen Trees for Mountain Landscapes
This is the season when decorated evergreens dominate living rooms and sparkle in the winter landscape. The list provided grows best outdoors and is often used as a living tree through holiday celebrations, then planted in the yard when the festivities are over. Here is a list of the top seven evergreen trees that stand up to mountain wind and winter cold and resist the naturally occurring insects and diseases found at higher elevations. You will find each at the garden center. Below you’ll … [Read more...] about Examining the Top Evergreen Trees for Mountain Landscapes
Choosing Autumn’s Top Ten Colored Shrubs
Mountain landscapes are famous for their autumn colors. This month’s column is merely a list of the best-colored plants you’ll find to plant in your backyard. Of course, there are more choices, especially if you include ornamental grasses and the mountain flowers that bloom through the end of the year. For an in-depth tour of all the possibilities of fall plants, consider this a personal invitation to visit the plant ambassadors here at Watters Garden Center. Here is the list of best mountain … [Read more...] about Choosing Autumn’s Top Ten Colored Shrubs
Considering Screens and Hedges for Privacy
It was Robert Frost who said,“Good fences make good neighbors.” In today’s fast-paced, noisy world, we need more privacy. With-out it, we become moody, grumpy neighbors. Sometimes it is enough to define a line of demarcation along the boundary, so it’s always clear where your land ends and your neighbor’s begins.If that’s the objective, some plants effectively discourage trespassers. FAST GROWING SHRUBS FOR PRIVACY Most gardeners who landscape to achieve privacy are in a hurry for that … [Read more...] about Considering Screens and Hedges for Privacy
Creating Hummingbird, Butterfly Heavenly Gardens
Butterflies are some of the most beautiful and exotic creatures in the landscape. A butterfly garden is an easy way to see more butterflies and help them, since many local habitats have been lost to human activities like building homes and roads. It is easy to increase the number and variety of butterflies in your yard. Simply grow the plants on which butterflies like to feed! Because so many butterflies snack on the same plants your hummingbirds enjoy, this list will work equally well to … [Read more...] about Creating Hummingbird, Butterfly Heavenly Gardens