Trees aren’t the first things you think of when you think about New Mexico, but Albuquerque’s urban forest is a important environmental tool.

Nick Kuhn, city forester, was one of the speakers at the New Mexico Xeriscape and Water Conservation Conference in Albuquerque last month. I guess it never occurred to me that cities in the southwest would need foresters, but by the time Nick finished his talk, I was a believer.

Nick explained that even the southwest needs an urban forest and street trees are valuable “solar-powered environmental tools.” Each tree is a natural resource for economic, social and environmental benefits.

However, in the city of Albuquerque many residents have stopped thinking of trees as an important part of the ecosystem equation. With water at a premium, and a big push to conserve it, many think that a treeless yard saves water. But nothing could be farther from the truth.

Joel Salatin is a third generation alternative farmer in the Shenandoah Valley who attracted national attention after being featured in Michael Pollan’s book, “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.”

The second day of the 15th Annual Water Conservation and Xeriscape Conference in Albuquerque was not only enlightening, uplifting and educational–it was a lot of fun.

The day started off with two keynote presentations, one by Dr. Robert Glennon, the Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of Arizona and the other by Will Swope, the Vice President and General Manager of Corporate Sustainability at Intel. I plan to recap their talks, and others from the conference in future blogs, but tonight I wanted to write about Joel Salatin’s presentation and “A Sustainable Farmer’s Point of View.”

Joel calls himself a “grass farmer” on his family’s farm called Polyface or the Farm of Many Faces. He’s also an engaging  speaker and author of several books with titles like “You Can Farm,” “Family Friendly Farming,” and “Everything I want to do is illegal: War Stories from the Local Food Front.”

The theme for the 15th Annual Water Conservation and Xeriscape Conference is the “Land Use, Water Use Connection” and includes the transect from the natural environment to the urban environment.

The weather in Albuquerque is warmer than it was when we left Denver yesterday, but that’s not due to global warming or climate change. It’s always a bit warmer here in late February when the Xeriscape Council of New Mexico puts on its annual conference.

I look forward to this conference every year, not only to escape the chillier Denver weather, but to hear well-regarded experts talk about water issues. For the first time in several years, there seems to be more optimism in the tone of the presentations.

That’s not to say we aren’t still in the midst of a water crisis, but it just seems there’s more hope in working together to find solutions.

For the first time, Botanical Interests has produced a print catalog that features all of its seed offerings with its signature botanic illustrations.

I’ve been keeping up with new developments at Botanical Interests by following @BotanicalSeeds on Twitter. And I’m so glad I did.

If I hadn’t been following along, I wouldn’t have known the Broomfield, Colo., online seed company produced its first print catalog this year.

The catalog arrived in the mail this week, and I have to say it’s one of the prettiest catalogs I’ve ever seen. Each of the catalog’s 28 pages is filled with full-color botanical illustrations–the same ones the company uses for its one-of-a-kind seed packets.

A new line of seeds being introduced this year is called “The Botanic Gardens Series Seed Packet” line. Botanical Interests is working with botanic gardens throughout the country to protect native North American species that are rare and potentially endangered. The seeds from this new line will help prevent plant species from being lost to us forever.

The 2010 Seeds of Change catalog offers seed for both the home gardener and the market grower, including the new All Lettuce Mix pictured on the catalog cover.

From an organic gardener’s point of view, there’s a lot to like about Seeds of Change.

Since 1989 the company has supported sustainable organic agriculture and all of its flower, vegetable and herb seed are 100% certified organic–1200 varieties in all.

The company has a large seed donation program and it also donates 1% of net sales to help organic growers around the world.

The Seeds of Change catalog is filled with heirloom, traditional, medicinal, rare and new seeds. New introductions this year include 6 salad mixes, White Sicilian Garlic, Dark Star Zucchini, Totem Strawberry and Fordhook Giant Chard–to name just a few.

Unusual varieties, like Red Swan Beans, share catalog space with old favorites like Kentucky Wonder green beans. Heirloom tomatoes include dependable growers like Stupice, tasty Brandywine and rare black tomatoes like Paul Robeson.

In 2010 Lisa Gustavson resolves to spend more time teaching and helping others grow their own gardens. Lisa’s organic cottage garden (shown below) will surely serve as inspiration.

Thanks to all the gardeners who took a few minutes to contemplate their 2010 gardening resolutions and share them here.

The randomizer selected Lisa Gustavson’s number as the winner of the gardening gift grab bag.

Lisa gardens in Chili, New York, a town just outside of Rochester. She says her yard is in the process of being transformed into a series of gardens and plantings, but that it’s far from complete.

Her focus for the last two years has been a large organic “cottage style” heirloom vegetable garden filled with annuals, perennials, herbs and veggies all mingled together.

Lisa’s gardening resolution comes from the number of visitors to her garden who express surprise at what she can grow in an average backyard.

The gardeners I know prefer to receive down-to-earth gifts that help save time and effort in the garden, like this basket designed for gardening fun.

It’s December 1 and time to start thinking about what will warm your gardener’s heart this holiday season. Garden centers, gardening catalogs and web sites  (like aHa! Modern Living) are loaded with gardening gear and gadgets sure to please the gardener in your life.

Need some ideas?

Every gardener I know appreciates high-quality garden tools that will hold up under the toughest gardening chores. Stainless steel tools with hardwood handles are guaranteed to last for many seasons, as are trowels made of a single blade and shank.

Electric hedge trimmers, chipper/shredders and tillers are thoughtful additions to the wish list. Combination tools, like a knife and trowel, simplify transplanting and weeding tasks.

This edition of “Garden Clippings” features three tips for more enjoyable gardening from guest blogger Cynthia Pasquale, a Denver writer and editor. She says her gardening inspiration comes from her father, who seems to be able to grow anything, anywhere, anytime.

Just days ago, only a few lips of clay pots dared peek out from the 18 inches of snow burying my yard. This week temperatures have risen into the 60s mimicking early spring. This microcosm of incongruity speaks volumes about gardening. Mother Nature, especially in Colorado, never ceases to provide surprises. And it is not just the weather that can wreak havoc with plantings. It’s enough to make some grudgingly admit defeat, dump out the Miracle Grow, and throw the High Country Gardens catalog into the recycling bin.

What separates happy gardeners from frustrated ones is simply state of mind. Gardening, at its base, is a game of chance, occasionally won but more often not. What’s important is enjoying the journey.

Bats are unfairly characterized as one of Halloween’s scary icons, but the truth is they’re as cute as any puppy and a boon to gardeners. Learn more bat facts in this article I wrote for the Denver Post in August 2005. (Brown Bat photo credit: iStock)

When Merlin Tuttle was growing up in Tennessee he made a remarkable discovery. The gray bats that resided in a cave near his home were migratory, which contradicted everything he had read about the bats.

“I got my parents to take me to the Smithsonian, where I politely informed leading authorities that I had found gray bats that seemed to migrate,” he recalled.

“They were impressed with my observations, gave me several thousand bat bands and suggested I band them to see where they were going.”

Tuttle banded over 40,000 bats and traced their migratory movements from northern Florida to northeastern Tennessee and from northern Alabama to Missouri. He used the migration data to write his doctoral thesis.

Spiders are an important part of our ecosystem, but some people find it difficult to get past their creepy appearance to fully appreciate them.

Colorado is home to hundreds of species of spiders, but only one is considered potentially dangerous—the western widow spider (Latrodectus hesperus).

In spite of this, many have a fear of spiders that ranges from the “eeek” factor to petrifying arachnophobia. This aversion may come from spiders’ daunting looks, stories about their poisonous bites, or images lingering from movies about eight-legged radioactive monsters.

Despite their reputation as loathsome creatures, spiders are one of the landscape’s best friends. We might be up to our knees in pests if it weren’t for our eight-legged helpers.

Gardeners can encourage spiders to live in their yards by planting a layered landscape that offers many different attachment points for webs, adding mulch for hiding places and by refraining from indiscriminate use of toxic chemical pesticides with integrated pest management methods.