Providing care for the gardens and landscapes of Pagosa Country homeowners and businesses that were designed and installed by people other than myself or other local professionals whose work I trust, has often found me shaking my head in dismay. Some of the projects are so poorly planned and even more horrifically executed that what has been put into the ground has to exert so much energy simply trying to survive that it's no surprise that many plants don't make it.

There are two main reasons this happens, and in many cases, the reasons are married to one another. The first one is that the budget limitations are of greater concern than the quality of the work, and second, many people that move here from states where gardening was much easier lack the knowledge to insist on the practices that will help ensure success. If the cost factor holds the highest priority, the home or business owner often does not realize that cost-cutting measures generally compromise the results and degree of longevity of what is planted. And if a design was made by someone unfamiliar with the unique and challenging conditions of our high desert/alpine terrain the problem is compounded. Our palette is quite limited, and what grew back in Texas or California or even Denver may not make it here.

A good case in point is the landscape of a couple that has a second home in the area. They were fortunate in that they could afford to do anything they wanted in terms of home and landscape design, and their visions for the exterior were broad and lush. We're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars in trees, shrubs, ground covers, native grasses, perennials and wildflowers, a vegetable and herb garden and irrigation for the entire area, so the planting of all that the landscape architect and homeowners agreed to include was a massive investment. Unfortunately, they chose a landscape architect who doesn't live in this region, and the installation was bid out and the contract rewarded to a non-local landscaping company whom it appeared would give the best deal for the price.

After much hard work, the garden without weeds choking it up

But as many of us have had to learn the hard way, a deal is not always necessarily a deal, and the homeowners quickly learned this was definitely the situation they were facing. The landscape was installed in the summer of 2004, and by late spring of 2005, all the planted areas were choked with noxious weeds, and the flowers, trees and shrubs were in a losing battle.

My associate, yard care specialist Tim Decker, was called in to assess the situation, and had to present the homeowners with some bad news: it would take thousands more dollars and perhaps the entire summer or longer to save it all. There was not much they could do at this point but agree to the work that had to be done or their sanctuary would be ruined, but it was so bad that a definite cost to repair it all could not be given. It would take as long as it would take, and would require all the expertise and materials to do so.

I was brought in to assist Tim with the work, and quickly saw that the planting job was done very poorly. All the weeds had to be painstaking removed by hand, the soil had to be aerated and amended, the plants needed to be fed with high-quality organic nutrients, mulch had to be laid, and the irrigation system needed to be attended to. I felt so bad for the homeowners, because if it had been done right in the first place, it never would have gotten so bad.

But they honestly didn't know better, and trusted what was told to them by the landscape architect and the original contractors. The sad reality is that many people who lack knowledge about how tough it is to grow here are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and/or given false assurances. The homeowners weren't at fault in going with the best package for the installation, but if they had been more savvy about the conditions here during the design phase they could have paid what was necessary to do it right in the first place, or scaled down their vision if the budget was fixed in stone.

Much beauty can be enjoyed from a garden and landscape planned and executed correctly for our area

When considering how massive the investment in their landscape was, the homeowners spared no expense in making it right. They placed the entire project in our hands with absolute trust based on our local reputations. Fortunately, we were able to save a large portion of the landscape, but some of it was lost, and the job was not even finished by the time the ground was frozen in autumn.

I have seen the same situation in some of the commercial landscapes in town. The budget won out and the plants suffer the consequences. They are often just stuck in the ground with no amending of our lousy soil, so their ability to uptake nutrients and adequate moisture suffers. Watering is poorly calculated and is often wasted. Mulching is sparse, and feeding is haphazard and often inappropriate. Subsequently, plants become weak and eventually die. A new plant is put in to the replace the dead one, but it too suffers because the soil conditions and neglect take their toll. The frustrated owner blames it on the plants and hollers at the folks in our local nurseries.

But the bottom line is this: anyone who is planning to have a garden or landscape in Pagosa Country needs to educate themselves about the realities of growing here beforehand. Visions have to be in synch with the means of achieving them. Corners can't be cut if it results in losses or higher costs after the fact to make it right. We have some excellent professionals in town who are passionate about landscapes and gardens from the point of view of the needs of the plants first and foremost, so please listen to and heed their advice.

Suzanne Matthiessen is a certified Master Gardener who uses only non-toxic and organic methods in the design, installation and care of her projects. Visit her website www.earthwiseliving.com to learn more.

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