WHAT TO PLANT(Mid Elevations)Vegetables—Sow cool-season Brussels sprouts, beets, carrots, chard, green onions, kale, leaf lettuce, peas, radishes and spinach. Transplant warm-season cucumber, eggplant, melon, okra, peppers, pumpkin and squash. Hard-shelled heirloom squash varieties that are sweet-tasting and good for seed-saving include ‘Buttercup’, ‘Sweetmeat’ and ‘Table Queen’.
(High Elevations)Vegetables—Sow beets, carrots, Chinese cabbage, radishes and salad greens.
(Mid and High Elevations)Trees, shrubs, vines, ground covers, grasses, cacti, succulents and perennials—Transplant during the summer monsoon season, as increased rainfall and humidity reduce stress on new plants and help them to establish with less supplemental irrigation. For smallish trees with pretty blooms, consider these desert willows (all cold-hardy to -10 degrees): Art’s Seedless™, with pinkish-rose flowers but no seedpods; ‘Bubba’, with dark-burgundy flowers (vigorous growth up to 30 feet high and wide); and Lucretia Hamilton™, with deep-pink to purple flowers. Other small blooming trees include Mexican buckeye (
Ungnadia speciosa, cold-hardy to 0 degrees), New Mexico locust (
Robinia neomexicana, cold-hardy to -10 degrees) and Oklahoma redbud (
Cercis reniformis ‘Oklahoma’, cold-hardy to -10 degrees).
Natives requiring little or no supplemental water—According to the University of Arizona Water Wise Program in Cochise County, the following native plants require infrequent to no supplemental water after a two-year period of establishment (with water) in landscapes: fairy duster, feather acacia, fourwing saltbush, kidneywood, mountain mahogany, paper flower, rabbitbrush, snakeweed and threadleaf groundsel.
GARDEN MAINTENANCE
Add rainwater-harvesting features—Landscapes and hard surfaces (roofs, driveways, sidewalks) can help retain rainwater on your property. Observe where rainwater flows off roofs or collects in low spots on the landscape during summer thunderstorms. Then contour swales (depressions) and raised berms to channel rainwater to areas where plants can absorb it. Taking care not to disturb roots, dig shallow basins around existing or planned planting areas to hold water onsite and soak into the soil. Before construction, design sidewalks and driveways with slight angles that will allow water to drain to planting areas, or use porous materials such as gravel driveways, or footpath pavers set in sand without grout. Install rain gutters around the roof and connect to downspouts that direct water to garden areas.
Develop a fire-defensible zone—Keep tree branches at least 10 feet away from rooflines. Regularly remove or rake up dead, dried plant material. For more ideas on designing and maintaining a firewise landscape, visit cals.arizona.edu/firewise. In northern Arizona, contact the Rural Communities Fuels Management Partnership (RCFMP) for assistance in reducing the risk of wildfire on private property located near public forestland. RCFMP coordinates tree-thinning to reduce fire risk and improve forest health. Log on to redrockcountry.org/rcfmp/index.shtml for more information.
Divide irises—When flowers have died back, remove spent stalks and begin digging out and dividing rhizomes. Finish by early September. Talk to the experts, and purchase iris rhizomes at the Prescott Area Iris Society sale at Sharlot Hall Museum in Prescott, Arizona, on July 31, starting at 9 a.m. until sold out.