Northern Arizona’s unpredictable high-desert climate means cultivating tomatoes can be both a unique challenge and a deeply satisfying success. Whether you’re cultivating a backyard garden or container plants on your patio, the key to a thriving tomato harvest lies in choosing the right varieties, using proper techniques, and understanding local conditions. And if you’re passionate about tomatoes, there’s even more to love: these garden staples have a fascinating history and global footprint … [Read more...] about Tomatopalooza: Tips, Trivia about Growing Tomatoes
Misti Warner-Andersen
Extend Your Gardening Season
As summer winds down and fall approaches, there’s still plenty of gardening to do and exciting ways to celebrate the upcoming season. With the cooler temperatures and the benefits of monsoon moisture, this time of year is an excellent time to plant trees and shrubs. Your soil temperatures are actually warmer now than in spring, which helps tree roots acclimate more easily and reduces the risk of “transplant shock.” The cooler air temperatures also mean less stress on your new trees. Next, … [Read more...] about Extend Your Gardening Season
Make Your Garden Firewise
One of the benefits of living in the greater Flagstaff area is being surrounded by gorgeous forests. Acre upon acre of ponderosa pines and aspens provides us with rich scenery, phenomenal hiking and biking, and an extraordinary opportunity to be close to nature. There is a downside to this arboreal splendor, however, and it comes in the form of wildfires. Our forests are densely packed, there have been historic droughts and every year, temperatures have been rising. According to the National … [Read more...] about Make Your Garden Firewise
Composting from Landfill to Landscape
Composting is nature’s process of recycling decomposed organic materials into a nutrient-rich soil – yet another way in which we see that Mother Nature wastes nothing. Anything that was once living will eventually decompose, and as it decomposes, the energy that was once held within that life is converted into a substance that aids in the growth of new life. Backyard composting is an acceleration of the same process nature uses. By composting your organic waste, you are returning nutrients … [Read more...] about Composting from Landfill to Landscape
Dottie’s Bru: Making Magic from Coffee Grounds
In 2017, Warner’s Nursery launched a project that was near and dear to our hearts: a coffee shop to honor our grandmother, Dorothy Warner, who founded Warner’s Nursery in Page back in the 1960s. Dottie’s Garden Coffee Shoppe is right in the middle of our nursery, a relaxing place to enjoy coffee drinks, Italian sodas, and other refreshments is right in the middle of our nursery, a relaxing place to enjoy coffee drinks, Italian sodas, and other refreshments. Now, one of our employees has … [Read more...] about Dottie’s Bru: Making Magic from Coffee Grounds
Protecting Your Garden from Spring Frosts
As the winds die down and the temperatures climb this spring, it’s rewarding to see how wonderfully your veggie plants are beginning to grow, unfurling their leaves and forming delicious edibles. It’s also easy to forget that late spring frosts can jeopardize your young plants. This isn’t as much of a challenge for cold season veggies – frost-tolerant plants such as peas, broccoli, kale, cabbage, spinach, carrots, radishes and scallions that can withstand the vagaries of Flagstaff’s … [Read more...] about Protecting Your Garden from Spring Frosts
The History of Christmas Trees
Every year around this time, the holiday season begins in earnest for Warner’s Nursery, as our Christmas trees arrive. It’s really rewarding to help families find that perfect tree that will be the centerpiece of their holiday décor. But have you ever wondered about why our decorations are centered around having a tree in our living room? Although most people credit 16th Century Germans with popularizing the Christmas tree, the use of evergreens to symbolize eternal life dates back to ancient … [Read more...] about The History of Christmas Trees
There’s Still Plenty of Time for Gardening This Season
Although we will be shifting from summer to autumn this month, this is still prime time for your garden, and there is a lot of planting to be done before the season’s end. It’s a time of transition as you enjoy the last few weeks of your summer flowers and start to plant blooms that will love the cooler temps of the coming weeks, such as mums and asters. Hardy pansies and violas that you haven’t seen since spring will make a return appearance as well. You can also still harvest from your … [Read more...] about There’s Still Plenty of Time for Gardening This Season
‘Bee’ Kind to Our Pollinators
The past two decades have not been kind to pollinators – the birds, bees and butterflies that are key to our gardens and essential to much of our food supply. In the early 2000s, there were a plethora of headlines that talked about things like bee colony collapse disorder and butterflies that were disappearing at an alarming rate. Besides the loss to our ecosystems, the disappearance of pollinators could also have a devastating impact on our food supply; up to 75% of the food we eat relies … [Read more...] about ‘Bee’ Kind to Our Pollinators
Discovering the Perfect Garden Ambiance
In today’s fast-paced and stressful world, your outdoor space can provide a much-needed respite from the grind of daily life. Now, as we head into mid-summer and with your garden coming into full bloom, it’s time to consider how to create your perfect garden ambiance. If you are reading this column, it’s likely you have been spending the last few months weeding, planting, watering and nurturing your garden beds and veggie patches. You’ve pruned those shrubs, trimmed your trees and are … [Read more...] about Discovering the Perfect Garden Ambiance
