High Plains Living

I'm a plant enthusiast from the Midwest, where the soil is so fertile, you could spit out a watermelon seed and open a watermelon stand a year later. I also spent several years in the Arizona desert, where I grew plants and vegetables year-round, provided I kept the soil saturated enough.

But now I live at 7,000 feet, in the shadow of Pikes Peak, and gardening here is difficult and frustrating. Being a casual gardener here just won't cut it. You need to educate yourself and spend time with your plants.

The climate on the high plains is what poses serious challenges for the would-be gardener. Here are just a few of the problems we face every day:

• short growing season
• wind
• hail
• lousy soil
• strong sun
• temperature extremes (hot days, cold nights)
• dry

You might think, "well, at least you don't have bugs," but we do; they are the least of our worries, though.

My interests in gardening are many: I prefer to grow edible crops first and foremost (my whole family is vegetarian). I like my non-edible plants to be native, or they must be able to adapt to the extremes mentioned above. Digging up dead plants that couldn't hack it is not something I relish, nor do I enjoy spending every free minute pampering fragile plants.

Overall, I love to be outdoors, so I try to create a comfortable and aesthetic outdoor living space. To achieve this, I combine "hardscapes" (walls and stone flooring), "waterscapes" (ponds and waterfalls), and "greenscapes" (plants and beds). I have designed and installed my last three homes' landscapes, all of which started out as dirt lots.

But I am by no means an expert. I am a hobbyist and do all this in my spare time. I have made my share of stupid mistakes and have had a few lucky breaks. I explore, experiment, and research. Through this site I will share what I have learned, but I would also like to hear from readers about their ideas and experiences so that I may continue to learn. Stay tuned for lots of information!