Summers are tough for a desert botanist. It pains my heart to look out across both our yard and the open desert and watch the native plants turning brown, dropping their leaves, and shutting down for the summer. I know that these plants have to do this just to survive the coming months of intense sun, 100+ degree heat, and no promise of rain for most of the year. Yes, the scientist in me knows that all these desert plants […]
I am amazed every day at how much happens on our half-acre of High Desert property. Whether we are simply looking out the window at our bird feeders, working in our yard, or sitting on our deck watching the sunset, my husband and I get the biggest kick out of seeing the dynamics unfolding between our resident covey of a hundred quail, dozens of songbirds, rabbits, antelope ground squirrels, lizards, friendly snakes, occasional coyotes, bobcat, fox, and even hungry hawks.
It’s hard to believe how much activity can be packed into such a small yard when it has various levels of “living spaces,” simulating a multi-story hotel, creating homes galore in ground covers, branches, and canopies of plants. Added to the backdrop of a seasonal procession of color from flowering plants, fruiting shrubs and trees, the happenings in our yard provide continual cause for delight, surprise, inspiration, and celebration.
I hope you enjoy following the fascinating cycle of life that plays out in a yard dedicated to wildlife, water-wise native plants, and other delights of a hopeless plant lover.
Join us on a captivating adventure into the world of plants and their impressive uses. Experience the plants growing in your area’s natural community as you never have before…through taste, smell, touch, herbal remedies, landscape, stories and even art.
Find food, medicine, home décor and garden landscaping in the plants native to the southwestern United States, and learn how to prepare them yourself during our hands-on workshops.
Have Fun Learning about Native Plants!
Meet Robin
About the Power of Plants
Water-Wise Landscaping: The DVD
This engaging DVD contains nearly 4 hours of hard-to-find expert information, covering the resources you will need to plan, design, plant, irrigate, and maintain an attractive, drought-tolerant yard in the High Deserts of the southwestern US.
