high desert planting

High desert gardeners ask a lot of their plants. A successful shrub must tolerate intense sunlight, dry air, temperature swings, alkaline soil and winter cold, while still bringing color and life to the landscape. Caryopteris meets that challenge beautifully.

Summer in Reno can be tough on a garden. The good news is that most summer stress can be managed with a few consistent habits. Small adjustments can keep your garden growing, flowering and thriving through the hottest part of the season and into fall.

Groundcover perennials are one of the smartest additions to any landscape. Unlike annuals that need to be replanted each year, perennial groundcovers return season after season, filling bare spaces with color and texture while helping suppress weeds, reduce erosion, and conserve moisture.

Marigolds are among the most dependable annual flowers for high desert gardens. Their bright yellow, gold, orange, and sometimes red blooms provide months of color while thriving in the sunny, dry conditions common throughout Northern Nevada and other high desert regions.

There is something almost magical about a Japanese maple. Their delicate leaves, graceful branching, and glowing fall color make them one of the most beautiful ornamental trees you can plant.

Growing roses in the high desert of Northern Nevada means working with extremes. The climate brings intense sun, low humidity, alkaline soil, and wide temperature swings between day and night. While that might sound harsh, roses can do very well here if you focus on soil improvement, deep watering, and consistent seasonal care.

One of the most effective ways to create a successful, low-maintenance landscape in this region is to use native plants or native-derived varieties that are already adapted to the Great Basin environment.

Starting seeds indoors allows gardeners to work around these challenges by giving plants a strong, controlled beginning.

If you crave color when the rest of the garden is still half-asleep, winter-blooming heaths are one of the best-kept secrets in cold-climate gardening.

With its dramatic, trumpet-shaped flowers and intoxicating fragrance, Angel's Trumpet (Brugmansia) can transform any garden. However, it's important to approach this beautiful plant with care.