Best Plants for New Mexico Gardens and Landscapes: Keyed to Cities and Regions in New Mexico and Adjacent Areas, Revised and Expanded Edition Paperback – April 15, 2016 by Baker H. Morrow (University of New Mexico Press)

The best book for the far-West Texas and New Mexico gardener and rancher.

It is difficult to find good advice on suitable plants for the deserts of Northern Mexico, far-West Texas and New Mexico, because such advice is geographically generalized, whereas within short distances across the deserts, there is so much variation in temperature, rainfall and elevation. This is the most useful book I have read on this topic.

It breaks New Mexico into many zones according to all of these. Best plants are given for each major city, according to trees, shrubs, ground covers, grasses, vines, and flowers with many subcategories of each. This method of organizing information is very useful.

Gardeners in far-West Texas and Northern Chihuahua can reference New Mexico towns and cities that correspond to their elevations, rainfall and temperatures. For example we ranch and garden in the high-desert mountains of far-West Texas, near Van Horn but 1,000 feet higher. We are only 100-miles from El Paso, but many plants that would grow there will not tolerate our winds and cold weather. Our home sits at 5,200 feet in an 11-inch rainfall area. After reading this book I realized that our micro-climate aligns with Albuquerque, not El Paso or Alpine.

I have used the 1994 edition of this book for 20-years. The revised edition was published in 2016. It has added schematics for planting, a few photos and several plants. It has deleted at least two useful trees. Of these, the removal of the Siberian Elm is a disservice to gardeners: Siberian Elm is by far the most useful tree in our area, which is why the original edition contained 21 references to it. Notwithstanding that exception, I strongly recommend either edition, both of which are available through Amazon.