When I first moved to Albuquerque in 1992, I kept hearing the phrase xeriscaping. Coming from lush north Texas, it was a new term and I understandably misheard it as “zeroscaping,” which is exactly what those bland expanses of rocks and weeds looked like to me – a big fat zero. Now I understand a bit more about water-wise gardening, but I still don't understand the expanses of weed covered rocks.
February in Albuquerque can be a tricky time in the garden. Usually the weather is getting warmer, conditions are fairly dry, and a few spring plants are already beginning to poke our their heads. But occasionally we get a late frost or a streak of icy, windy weather that can wreak havoc on our landscape plants. Thankfully, this weather doesn't usually sneak up on us completely unawares, so we do have time to protect the most tender plants.
It's time to think about planting some flowers out in the garden. Oh, I know that cold weather isn't quite out of the picture and we will likely have some evenings, and possible days, dipping down into the 30s in the coming weeks. But there is one easy to grow annual that provides lots of color and thrives during the cool spring days. In fact, this little miracle flower can withstand freezes while still remaining in bloom. I'm talking about the pansy, of course.
One simple garden chore makes your beds look better, your plants grow healthier, and minimizes some of the summer challenges we experience in our region. Yes, I am once again talking about one of my favorite things – compost! It's not called black gold for no reason, compost really can perform miracles in your soil.