I’m in Albuquerque this week, in the foothills of the Sandia mountains, enjoying a holiday with friends.

And by friends, I mean the Texas Blue Scale Quail that inhabit the backyard:

The exotic orange-eyed Curve-Billed Thrashers that hop about in the sage and the cone flowers:

And the gorgeous roses. This is “Party Time,” an inspiring hybrid. I’ve decided I want to plant a bunch of roses in Colorado, even if they break my gardening heart. They probably will. (Having grown up in the north, I don’t trust roses.)

My favorite tree here in Albuquerque–a specimen worthy of a botanical garden–is this Weeping Atlas Cedar. My research suggests that this kind of tree won’t do well as far north as Boulder, but I’m thinking a Weeping Norway Spruce will make a nice substitute.