Perennial Garden Consultants

Perennial Garden Consultants I help Vegas Valley residents put the right plant in the right place! As an independent consultant I do not profit from selling you plants.

Specializing in desert garden design, native plants, desert cottage gardens, potager gardens and container gardens. Are you are new to the Las Vegas valley, unfamiliar with desert plants, overwhelmed when arriving at the nursery, or simply need to update an existing landscape?Perennial Garden Consultants provides professional horticultural and design consultation at a reasonable price. Specializing in sustainable design; native plants; desert cottage garden; edible gardens; container gardens.

To me, what makes a garden beautiful is not only the plants selected or how they are arranged, but the feeling it gives ...
06/18/2026

To me, what makes a garden beautiful is not only the plants selected or how they are arranged, but the feeling it gives me when I step into the space. A garden humming with life is the kind I love spending time in as well as the kind I love to help homeowners create!🥰

June is Pollinator Month, so it's a great time to plan our gardens to support wildlife. Just like us, they need food, water, and shelter. And the food they seek comes from the nectar and pollen our flowers provide.🦋

We want our pollinator gardens to be diverse, but native plants should form the foundation. Planning to include native cactus, native milkweed, in addition to native trees, shrubs, and perennials, all help our native bees, plus moths, bats and others by providing those plants which they have co-evolved with over millennia.🐝

Pictured in this client's garden, native desert marigold, Baileya multiradiata, and desert globemallow, Sphaeralcea ambigua, buzz with bees and other pollinators! A quick design tip: always start with the structure of the space, site trees first, and then work your way down to the smaller plants. Massing plants creates an easy-to-find beacon to pollinators and also has great visual appeal.😊

June is Pollinator Month, and even though it's hot it's smart to plan our gardens now to "bee" more hospitable to bees! ...
06/13/2026

June is Pollinator Month, and even though it's hot it's smart to plan our gardens now to "bee" more hospitable to bees! As I learned at last month's Pollinator Day event from the knowledgeable folks manning the table next to mine--the Research Center and Demonstration Orchard out on Horse Drive--up to 70% of bees nest in the ground, not in hives. 🐝

To create habitat for these bees requires something that's not always easy to do--and that's leaving some areas of the garden a bit "untidy." 🤔😊🐝

We also want to provide water. A shallow dish, like a garden pot saucer, with some stones in the bottom will do the trick. 🐝

Lastly, I suggest letting your herbs flower. This time of year is basil growing time, and although we tend to cut the flowers off to extend leaf harvest, try allowing some of the plants or some of the stems to flower. The bees will thank you for it!🐝

🐝

Besides planting more flowers, what else can we do to encourage and support pollinators in our Vegas Valley gardens? Wel...
06/10/2026

Besides planting more flowers, what else can we do to encourage and support pollinators in our Vegas Valley gardens? Well, it's super important to curtail our pesticide use if we want to create healthy ecosystems in our gardens.🌱

Systemics are popular pesticides because they are taken up by the entire plant and kill those critters we consider pests, like agave snout weevil. The problem is that the systemic pesticide imidacloprid belongs to a class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids (neonics). These persistent and mobile pesticides kill honeybees, bumblebees and native bees. They also kill off the insects birds require to feed their young.🐝

What to do? I don't pretend to have all the answers, and I get that anyone with sizable plants would not want to lose them. However, Agave americana is one of the more susceptible species of agave to succumb to agave snout weevil, and that includes the popular variegated ones (A. americana 'Marginata' and A. americana 'Mediopicta'). I suggest trying agave varieties with less fleshy leaves instead, like twin flowered, A. geminiflora, and many others.

I also suggest always buying untreated seed when starting garden plants that way.😊
Asking at the nursery whether plants have been treated with neonics can also prevent this pesticide from ending up in your garden.

Did you know that June is Pollinator Month? Many of us have a garden goal of supporting pollinators, and growing more fl...
06/07/2026

Did you know that June is Pollinator Month? Many of us have a garden goal of supporting pollinators, and growing more flowers is an easy way to start!🐝

This month I'll be talking more about designing for pollinators. Even though summer is the least optimal season for planting in the Vegas Valley (generally speaking), it's a fantastic time to begin garden planning for fall, and one of the things we want to plan for is diversity. 🦋

Although native plants should form the foundation, planting a variety of annuals and perennials attracts many different kinds of pollinators.🦇

In our region, succulent plants also play a role, such as yucca, whose flowers are pollinated exclusively by yucca moths.

More in my next post!😊

Happy June! This is when I know it's hot--when red bird of paradise, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, is this darn happy! 😄Even ...
06/04/2026

Happy June! This is when I know it's hot--when red bird of paradise, Caesalpinia pulcherrima, is this darn happy! 😄

Even though it's not as hot as we know it will get, meteorological summer is upon us. Is your garden summer-ready?

During the summer season it's just as crucial to know what NOT to do in desert gardens as it is to know what to do!🤔

I offer tons of garden care and design tips (gleaned from professional and personal experience--not AI) in my seasonal ezine, Designer's Notebook. The Summer Issue is not quite ready yet but comes out this month, so now is a great time to sign up (it's free)!

https://perennialgardenconsultants.com/sign-up

The top question I get asked this time of year is "Is it too late to do something with my yard?" No, it's not too late! ...
05/31/2026

The top question I get asked this time of year is "Is it too late to do something with my yard?" No, it's not too late!

Although Vegas contractors do install projects year round, the most optimal time of year for planting in our region is in fact fall--making summer the absolute best time for planning! 🌞

Just as those living in cold-winter zones plan their spring gardens while there's still snow on the ground, our hot summers are prime time for curating wish lists and having gardens designed for fall installation.

So it's not too late--you're right on schedule!😊

🌞It's official--we are on the threshold of summer. Hot desert summers sure do test the resiliency of our gardens, don't ...
05/26/2026

🌞It's official--we are on the threshold of summer. Hot desert summers sure do test the resiliency of our gardens, don't they?

I thought I would share with you this photo a client sent me of his Henderson garden which I designed in 2024. Formerly lawn with a failing ash tree, it's now a cohesive mix of natives and desert adapted plants--colorful, inviting, and climate-resilient. 💚

He says, "Several folks walking or driving by while I am in the garden have commented that it is their favorite yard in the area." Which is great to hear!😍

What I like most about it is (first) that my client enjoys it, and (second) that it is indeed a garden, and not just another landscape.😊 I'll definitely share this project on Houzz once I get the photos I need to do that, so you can see the before and after!💚

🐝In case you missed it, Saturday was a great day of discovery, bee-house building, and talking about flowers and pollina...
05/18/2026

🐝In case you missed it, Saturday was a great day of discovery, bee-house building, and talking about flowers and pollinators with those who came out to the Old Fort for Pollinator Day. Overall, an inspiration to grow more flowers and support the pollinators that rely on them!🐝😊

Thank you to Ruth and the Old Fort for inviting me to be there. It was a pleasure and a wonderful day!🦋

Pollinator gardens feed the bees, bring hummingbirds near, and literally buzz with color and life!Tomorrow come out to t...
05/16/2026

Pollinator gardens feed the bees, bring hummingbirds near, and literally buzz with color and life!

Tomorrow come out to the Old Fort, 500 E. Washington from 10 - 1 and learn more about how to support our pollinators while making our Vegas Valley outdoor spaces more beautiful.

I will be on hand inside the Visitors Center to answer your garden design questions, share design tips, and--of course--chat plants! I'm so excited and looking forward to seeing you there!

If you want to learn more about bees, other pollinators, and native plants, Pollinator Day at the Old Las Vegas Mormon F...
05/14/2026

If you want to learn more about bees, other pollinators, and native plants, Pollinator Day at the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort State Historic Park Nevada State Parks just might be the event for you! 🐝

🌱This Saturday, visitors can learn about bees and other pollinators, native plants and how to build a bee habitat house. There will be information tables inside the air-conditioned visitor center--I'm super-excited to be there as a resource to folks looking to put together their own pollinator gardens, along with University of Nevada, Reno Extension Master Gardeners, Nevada Garden Club Inc and Red Rock Audubon Society.🦋

You can check out the pollinator garden at the Old Fort and learn about beekeeping and honeybees. Not to mention, crafters, artists, honey and honeycomb candy.

Plus, music and a raffle with prizes.🎉

If that's not enough, Frankie's Ice Cream Truck will be there with good food and of course, ice cream!😍🍦

What's not to love about this terrific local event? I'm so looking forward to seeing you there!😊



Address

Las Vegas, NV

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 5pm
Tuesday 8am - 5pm
Wednesday 8am - 5pm
Thursday 8am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 5pm
Saturday 8am - 3pm

Telephone

+17027036065

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