Coming at you with my week 3 of Landscape Coach Tips. These tips are things you can do in your yard with the items you have at home. They are being shared daily over on instagram / facebook and weekly here in these emails! Enjoy.

LANDSCAPE COACH TIP 11:

In celebration of Earth Day I’m sharing some earthy tips. First off, COMPOST. I like to compost using the rule of threes. I have three bins, doesn’t matter what type of bin you use. Right now, I’m testing out buried garbage bins, open on the bottom to the dirt with lids. I’m using this method because my old one broke down and I had these materials lying around. The main concept is I have three areas of compost. One pile and two bins.
1. a pile of brown material (leaves, pine needles, garden debris) at the ready, .
2. an active compost bin and .
3. a dormant compost bin. .
My active bin is the one I add materials to, the dormant bin rests for 6 months while it decomposes. It’s kind of a lazy composting method, I just don’t have the energy to go out there and turn or wet the compost so I just let it sit and wait it out.

LANDSCAPE COACH TIP 12:

Today I’m enjoying my garden; the new buds and flowers on my plants, the mountains I can see in the distance, and the big blue sky that protects the entire world during this pandemic.
My tip today is to take some time to enjoy the view from your own home. A few plants on show in my garden are the light purple flower of the Rosemary, Speedwell’s little purple flowers with white center, tiny yellow flowers of the Gro-Low Sumac, first flowers of the Catmint, Fernbush budding out, buds from Globemallow, and white/pink flowers of the Quince.

LANDSCAPE COACH TIP 13:

In honor of Earth Day, now is a great time to plant some seeds or get some starts from local nurseries. BTW: Most nurseries here in NM are doing call-in orders with curbside pickup. Be patient, visit their online and facebook postings first before calling. (another email to come on nureries)This year, I finally planted seeds I had lying around in my seed stash. I started them back on the first few days of our stay home stint. That was over 40 days ago. Suffice it to say, it’s been a long and unpredictable 40 days. Not only are we dealing with a worldwide pandemic, we had freezing temperatures, and I forgot to water them many a day. BUT even with all that, sprouts began to pop out this week!!!! Wahoo!! (I’m taking that as a good sign).
Check out these awesome sprouts. And full disclosure, I honestly have no clue what the sprouts are because I failed to label the rows. Yep, so do as I say NOT as I do and label yours.

LANDSCAPE COACH TIP 14:

Water is a cherished resource here in the Southwest which means we need to be extremely efficient with it when it comes to using it on our landscapes. Did you know that 40% of Albuquerque’s drinking water goes to landscapes? Yep, it’s higher than you’d expect. Don’t get me wrong Albuquerque has done an amazing job of reducing water use these last 20 years. But every drop counts and the more we can conserve the better.

This is why I always recommend to my clients that the most important part of a landscaped yard is installing a proper underground automatic irrigation system. Irrigation systems can be extremely efficient and can save you time, money and water.
One of my most favorite sounds is listening to the drip system turn on. It means my plants are being watered deeply, efficiently and I’m not out there guessing how much to water them with a hose. My plants are healthier and that makes me happier!

LANDSCAPE COACH TIP 15:

Wrapping up Earth Day week with one last tip, so have you thought about cutting your hair while you are home? Or perhaps grooming your dog? And what do you do with your dryer lint? Did you know that human hair, dog hair and dryer lint can all be composted? I’ve been composting these for years with great success. So next time you do a load of laundry think twice about tossing out the lint. You’re welcome!

Can’t wait to see how you unearth your yard this week!

P.S. If you missed the first 10 tips you can find hem here.