Landscaping in the Summer
Is it wise to plant anything at this time of the season? I have been researching on nurseries and noticed the best prices are around this time. I don’t know if this is because the plants are not as strong as the ones in the spring or there aren’t as many clients and hence the low costs to entice more customers.
Before I moved here, I gave away all my beloved gardening tools thinking that there would be no plants that I would love in the desert. Since my research to finally xeriscape my backyard was set in motion, I found my passion for gardening being rekindled by the abundance of desert plants to choose from.
Moon Valley Nursery is one of the best I’ve come across, actually the only one I’ve come across. I know I should do more comparison shopping, but the people at Moon Valley were very friendly, have a very flexible landscaping package, and they design, deliver, dig and plant the trees for you.
I have an appointment with them this weekend and need to know more about xeriscaping. I was thinking about doing the drip irrigation first but need to know more about this entire process before I get ahead of myself. I am very exciting to finally get a backyard by the end of the year, hopefully.
Moon Valley is good, but they seem to specialize in trees more than anything else. You might want to try talking with the people at Baker Nursery in Phoenix around 40th Street & Osborn Rd for more information on overall lanscaping.
There are also the friendly folks at Desert Botanical Garden (dbg.org) who can tell you more about desert plants overall and who sell healthier plants for lower prices than many of the nurseries I’ve visited.
Desert Botanical Garden has year round classes in gardening and is a great place to be inspired. There are plants and trees of all ages and all types.
They host two plant sales each year – said to be the biggest in Arizona. They are timed with the best planting weather. The next one is October 14 & 15. The next one after that is in spring. March 17 & 18. If you are a member, they day before the public sale is members only and you also get 10% off. Members get a discount on classes too.
In the first comment above, I advocated talking with the folks at Desert Botanical Garden. I am now having reservations about that.
Not that they don’t have the knowledge to help you with their plant and landscaping knowledge. I just don’t know if I can recommend the garden itself after reading this.