Spring in the high country is nothing if not confusing.  Right?

My tulips are still going strong and everything else is starting to leaf out now.  That gorgeous, pristine green and bronze is just so magical.  

One day it's definitely spring, and then we wake up to 2 inches of snow and blowing, cold wind the next morning.  But hang in there.  The good news is that my April list isn't as crazy long as the March list was.  That's assuming you ticked everything off for March!  

My big advise for April is essentially the same as March -- resist!  Resist the urge to plant out tender annuals or young perennials that aren't cool season growers until we are past our last frost date.  And for some it's hard to believe that is actually not until May (Mothers Day).
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It's an especially big deal to have a happy and content client.  

I used to work in corporate finance doing strategic and business planning in Silicon Valley tech and software companies and then the NFL (National Football League).  In my position I worked at a senior level with internal and external corporate customers, and it was nice to feel appreciated.

But it never felt like what I was doing was real.  It didn't make a difference in anyone's personal life.  At least not directly.

Here, with The Whiskey Porch, I've built a business that is focused entirely on crafting design solutions for neighbors and members of my local community.  If I am able to nail a design or solve an issue for a homeowner, I know how big of a deal it will be for them.  It feels great.

I know I'm making this little part of the world just a little bit more beautiful and comfortable!

It's Hygge time.

​As the seasons shift to colder and darker days, rather than yearn for the return of summer, Nordic lifestyle embraces this time with a concept known as "hygge". 

It's not just during the fall and holidays though.

For me, now that the holidays have passed and the days have settled into more of a peaceful cadence, I'm really enjoying more time and space to settle down late in the afternoon with some hot tea and a good book, and also planning and preparing more of those comfort-food meals.  

You've heard the word "hygge" I'm pretty sure.   

What is hygge, though?
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Today is a Swedish holiday known as Santa Lucia (sometimes spelled Sankta Lucia).  Lucia means light, and this is a celebration of hope and light.  It is always on the 13th of December.

This is the cultural and traditional time to celebrate the darker days of winter and the coming solstice when the days will again begin to get longer, and lighter.

This year, the Winter Solstice happens on Thursday the 21st.  

So what is the connection between Santa Lucia and the Solstice?  And how can you celebrate?

After working with a client to design and create a stunning garden or landscape, I check in often.  More often initially, and then a bit less frequently through the first year.  

The success of a landscape is really mostly about a fantastic design, and then the ongoing maintenance of it over the long haul.  While the installation is often the most exciting step in the process, it's not going to be successful unless it's cared for properly every month and for the years to come (and well designed in the first place).

We don't do garden maintenance at The Whiskey Porch, but I wanted to put together a series of garden keeping checklists to help keep you on track.  Whether you are going to do it all yourself, or bring in a maintenance crew to do much of it for you, these monthly guides should be useful to you if you live in and around Prescott, AZ.

When thinking about your garden and landscape, it's common to want to grow and enjoy plants that you are accustomed to.  Either from where you most recently lived, or from where you grew up.  We all have that nostalgia for a familiar landscape.

But, one of the most frequent questions I hear from newcomers to the Prescott, AZ area is that they struggle with finding the appropriate plants that will not only grow, but thrive and become well established without a lot of fuss.

One of the core refence tools for gardeners and landscape design, is known as the USDA Plant Hardiness Zones.  There is also an index by Sunset Magazine, and then there are climate and heat tolerance zones as well.  Lot's of different indicators that can be helpful, but for this post I am going to focus on the USDA Hardiness Zones.

My advise:  Know and embrace your garden zone!

Keep reading for all the details.

I've been fixing, building, renovating, and remodeling most of my adult life. 

Early on, I would jump right in and just start, then do the next thing, and so on.  Over time, my experiences have taught me that if you've got enough drive and persistence (and lots of luck) you can pull that off.  Kinda sorta.

But I've learned some really important lessons about the planning process that can make it less frustrating and hopefully a lot less drawn out.  And I wanted to share those.