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SIERRA VISTA — There’s nothing more breath-taking than the desert in bloom.
Inspired by Mother Nature’s beauty, people living in arid regions have learned to incorporate native plants into their landscape designs, recreating nature’s palette of color in stunning landscape settings.
The 15th annual High on the Desert Gardening and Landscaping Conference offers gardeners a wealth of information about the kinds of plants best suited for the desert Southwest, along with other topics, such as landscape design techniques, gardening tips, and environmental friendly pest management.
The conference, sponsored by Cochise County Master Gardeners Association in conjunction with the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, started on Friday, with another full day of educational sessions happening today at the Windemere Hotel and Conference Center.
 Rouanna Garden of the Sierra Vista Area Gardener’s Club sorts the Feverfew herb seeds during the 15th Annual High Desert Gardening and Landscaping Conference at the Windemere Hotel and Conference Center. (Ed Honda•Herald/Review) |
This year’s event has a record number, with 173 attendees.
“This is one of the largest conferences we’ve had,” said David Barry, president of the Master Gardener’s Association. “We have people from Nevada, Texas and New Mexico, as well as Phoenix and Tucson, so we’re pleased with the attendance.”
Reaction, while still early in the conference, “has been extremely favorable,” Barry said. “Vendors are getting good traffic and people seem pleased with the program.”
The event’s packed schedule features a number of general sessions, as well as separate smaller presentations geared to satisfy a variety of interests.
In her presentation on the first day of the conference, keynote speaker Katharine Jacobs, executive director of the Arizona Water Institute, spoke about groundwater management, water policy, the importance of connecting science and decision-making, and the use of climate change and climate variability information in water management applications.
“There is an inverse relationship between water supply and where people wish to live,” Jacobs said. “Arizona has the second highest population growth in the country,” and increasing demands for water are causing an over drafting of supply, a problem that stands to impact the viability of rivers and is creating concerns for riparian areas.
“We need to make smarter decisions and improve our monitoring and data collection,” Jacobs warned.
The effects that climate change will have on groundwater and drought will require more analysis to fully understand the long-term impact, she said. New science is focusing on forecasting, an effort to come up with better methods for predicting outcomes when a number of variables complicate water monitoring efforts.
Sustaining Arizona’s water supply, which is vital to the state’s economy, the health and well-being of its residents and its natural environment, is the Arizona Water Institute’s primary focus. Arizona’s three state universities — Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and The University of Arizona — have formed a partnership with AWI and the state’s water managers in an effort “to provide access to hydrologic information, support communities and develop technologies to promote water sustainability.” It’s a partnership that also includes three state agencies — Arizona Department of Water Resources, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality and the Arizona Department of Commerce — in a collaborative effort that will position Arizona as a world leader in water resources management and technology.
“We have serious problems and the reason that they are not being solved is because it’s complex and expensive,” Jacobs said. By using the resources of the universities and getting them involved in the state’s water issues, the AWI hopes to make strides in solving some of the water-related problems.
“I think she did a really good job of articulating some very complex issues,” said Cado Daily, who is an educator with the UA Cooperative Extension’s Water Wise program. “I think pushing adaptive management is a good thing. Adaptive management is saying we need to be more flexible in how we manage our water problems.”
Other presentations included such topics as diagnosing landscape plant problems, finding the best plants for the high desert, growing herbs, composting, growing grapes and reptiles, to name a few.
“This whole conference is great because we’re able to address so many different topics,” said horticulture extension agent Rob Call. “And our Master Gardeners make it all happen.”
Kazz Workizer, a vendor from Elgin who designs jewelry out of natural products such as bone, stones, wood and fiber, said she looks forward to the conference every year.
“We enjoy seeing the people every year,” she said. “I even get special requests and design custom pieces right here.”
Lisa Ogren of Mountain View Koi Fish and Nursery LLC had a variety of xeriscape plants for sale.
“I’ve sold several cactus already and one of my trees,” she said. “This is my fourth or fifth year at the show, and I really enjoy it.”
Along with the vendors, there were a number of nonprofit exhibitor booths, including the Master Gardeners Association, Fort Huachuca Water Wise and Energy Smart, Sierra Vista Area Garden Club, U.S. Forest Service-Sierra Vista Ranger District, U.S. Department of Agriculture, APHIS, PPQ and Water Wise.
HERALD/REVIEW reporter Dana Cole can be reached at 515-4618 or by e-mail at dana.cole@svherald.com.
