Greetings, Desert Gardener!

If you live in Tucson, tomorrow (March 15) is the last frost date. The last frost date is a big turning point for gardeners. This means it's now considered "safe" to prune cold-damage and plant cold-sensitive plants. Do you know your last frost date? Are you sure? Finding an accurate last frost date is not as straightforward as you might think.

If you do an online search for “last frost date” in your area, you’ll come across websites that list the last average frost date. But the problem with an average date is that it will be too early nearly half of the time! This is why you should always stick with expert local expert advice. I'll tell you how to do that below.

You never know when plant knowledge can come in handy. This weekend my husband and I went out to dinner at a restaurant known for being family-friendly. I was horrified to see that the walls surrounding the children's play area were covered with Carolina jessamine, a beautiful flowering vine which, alarmingly, is extremely toxic. (I've contacted the management and hope they take action.)

In this week's newsletter, we cover:

• Featured Plant: Carolina Jessamine
• When is your last frost date? (know for sure)
• Dramatically reduce your future weeds
• What to do in the garden in March 👩🏻‍🌾
• Upcoming gardening event highlights
• Tame a "dopamine addiction" with gardening
• and more!

Water Saving Tip!

A lot of the southwest got much-needed rain this week. Did it rain where you live? If you received more than 1/2″ of rain, you can skip your next scheduled watering.

Weeding Tip!

You can keep the number of weeds down dramatically by following this simple rule. Pull your weeds before they seed. Pull weeds as soon as (or before) you see any flowers. When a weed is left to go to seed, it can produce hundreds of seeds -- which become next season's weeds.

Overcoming Dopamine Addiction with Mindful Gardening

My other website focuses on brain health and fitness. (BeBrainFit.com, in case you're wondering. 😉) I talk a lot about neurotransmitters on that site. So when I saw this article that discussed both dopamine and gardening, it naturally caught my eye. Read more →​

Tucson Garden Events & Classes

Keep an eye out for spring plant sales! Other upcoming highlights include:
* Invasive Plant of the Month: Stinknet @ Pima Co. Master Gardeners
* Spring Plants and Wildflower Walk @ Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
* Citrus Social @ Four Arrows Garden Center

Get the details on these events and more in our Tucson Gardening Events Calendar →

Not in Tucson? Look for classes offered via Zoom.

Garden Quote

"Life is March weather, savage and serene in one hour."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson, author, philosopher

In Case You Missed It

​What to Plant in Spring (Month by Month)

​Gopher Plant: For Vivid Spring Color​

​Stop Stinknet in Pima County​

Before You Go...

Do you have a gardening question you'd like to see answered here? Send it to ask@swgardener.com.

If you found this information helpful or interesting, please share it with friends! They can sign up for this newsletter here.

And please stop by the new Southwest Gardener Facebook page and "Follow", "Like", or "Share".

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Keep growing and learning,
​Desert Dee