Pretty Ground Covers That Love Summer Heat

08/01/2023 Ken Davis

by Ken Lain, the mountain gardener Groundcover for the mountains of Arizona needs to be tough, like the sun, take wind, adapt to hard soil, and still thrive. In the yard, surrounded by rock is not for every plant, but…

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Top 10 Things Smart Gardeners Do in June

06/07/2023 Ken Davis

by Ken Lain, the mountain gardener June is considered perennial month in the mountains of Arizona. This is the top time to find big, bold perennials at the garden center. These are the flowers that come back bigger and better…

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Refreshing Poolside Landscapes for the Perfect Patio

08/11/2022 Ken Davis

by Ken Lain, the mountain gardener There are as many ways to landscape around the pool as possible styles and shapes of pools. Formal styles show off the pool as part of your home’s architecture. Whatever your style, you need…

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Feed your Landscape Now

07/15/2022 Ken Davis

Monsoon rains hit the Lain gardens on Monday Let the Monsoon Rains do the Work for You One simple food for the entire landscape. The safety you can feel good about around family, animals, and friends. Enjoy vivid flowers &…

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Best Landscape Trees by All Four Seasons

08/25/2021 Ken Davis

by Ken Lain, the mountain gardener What are the best trees for landscaping? Popular ornamental trees. What types of trees grow all year round? Best trees for backyard. What are the best trees to plant in a small front yard?…

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Essential July Garden To-Do List

06/28/2021 Ken Davis

by Ken Lain, the mountain gardener July is the ideal month to add a shade or fruit tree, a berry plant, summer flowering shrubs, and perennials to the Landscape. Plants root quickly in the warm summer soil. With the arrival…

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The 12 Perennial Flowers That Live the Longest

06/25/2021 Ken Davis

by Lisa Watters-Lain, Arizona’s garden gal It’s frustrating to design a new flowerbed around your favorite perennial flowers, like delphiniums, Shasta daisies, and pincushion flower, only to see them peter out after three or four years. Here you have a…

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12 Pretty Plants With Daisy Flowers

06/17/2021 Ken Davis

by Ken Lain, the mountain gardener Flowers that look like daisies. What plants go well with daisies? Plants that look good all year round? Perennial daisies bloom all summer. What are colorful daisies called? White daisy-like flower with yellow center.…

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11 Summer Flowers that Outpace the Rest

08/27/2020 Ken Davis

by Ken Lain, the mountain gardener Echinacea The brightest flowers of the summer planting season wait until temperatures rise above 90 degrees to do “their thing.” Like sunbathers on a golden Lake Powell beach, summer-blooming varieties are planted when the…

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Fun Plants to Grow with Kids

08/20/2020 Ken Davis

by Ken Lain, the mountain gardener It’s my grandmother’s fault! Tomatoes warmed by the afternoon sun eaten ripe with saltshaker in hand, is how my grandmother enticed me into her gardens. Honestly, she often scolded me for leaving the kitchen…

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