Hi, hi! It makes me happy to see this comm revving back up.

I live in the high desert in Arizona, about 6000 feet in elevation, so our climate is seriously whack. We generally get about 11" of precip a year, but this year has already been high, so perhaps we're breaking our drought? And because of our elevation, we get true winters (which this year has meant lots of snow) and our growing season is atrociously short. I'm not actually supposed to plant out until June.

So! Being a resourceful sort, we built our house to accommodate and I have a flourishing winter garden in our south-facing sunroom. Given the chance to do it again, I would expand this room significantly, add a tap and a drain, and reduce the overhangs to be more all-season for plants. As is, it's all seasons for humans (and thus cool and shady in the summer, warm and sunny in the winter) but only fall-spring-winter for the plants.

( Garden pic and explanatory text. )

We cleared the backyard recently (well, had a friend knock down the construction piles of dirt with his bobcat) and planted grass seed, but I really don't need a lawn, just some sort of groundcover to prevent erosion in our hardcore winds. Something the dog can run over and that I can pull tumbleweeds out of.

Bulbs are coming up in our east side flowerbed, but the rabbits are the only ones happy about this, evidently, as it's really a bit too early for them. And we have an outdoor raised bed, but have not made plans yet for it. I also need to cut down last year's Russian sage growth so this year's can spring forth. I hope to do a butterfly garden on the southwest side, but am not sure if I can manage it or not.

Anyway, yay! Hello, gardeners!