Girasole Sonoma

1. ‘Olivia Rose Austin’ Shrub Rose (Rosa ‘Olivia Rose Austin’) Why this rose: As part of a test, Johnson grew this newer David Austin English rose in her Phoenix-area garden to see how it would handle the low-desert climate. “It outperforms all other roses in my garden in that it handles the intense heat of summer better than the others,” she says. Special features: “While most roses stop blooming in summer, ‘Olivia Rose Austin’ blooms further into summer than others I have grown,” Johnson says.

7. Use Greywater or Recycled Water Where You Can Greywater is a wonderful resource for watering landscapes, and it’s becoming recognized by local water districts as a viable source. Gently used water from sinks, showers and laundry machines can be piped out to the landscape and used to water many of your garden’s plants, including fruiting trees and shrubs. Laundry-to-landscape systems are the most common and simplest greywater systems to install.

Fall is my favorite time to start a garden. The temperatures are cooler and rain is more likely, helping plants settle in with less stress. In addition, soil temperatures usually remain warm for a while, which also helps plants get established and develop a strong root system before winter sets in, making them ready to pop in the spring. Here are a handful of things to know about starting a first native plant garden that’s both sustainable and helpful to wildlife.