I thought I'd lurk a bit over here to see how you folks garden in the SW. I'm a native Pacific NWer and approaching retirement. My husband has it in his head that we will simply sell the farm and move to Arizona (he loves the heat, me not so much). We've visited there once, to see the Grand Canyon. That was years ago in the winter (beautiful with the snow). We do have many friends who have relocated, as either snowbirds or on a permanent basis, and plan to take a couple exploratory trips to just see the region a bit at different times of the year. No rush. So, I may pop in now and again to ohh and ahh your flowers and try to get a feel for your gardening style.
ha ha, Linda! Dave's been fooling around with it. To make it larger, hold the control key and use the scroller on your mouse to get it the perfect size for you!
Denice, I hope your plants do well in NM. Oregon is such an amazing state for summer blooms....I visited there once and my mind was literally blown away by the plants in the nurseries!
Way different from where you are at for sure. It would be a good idea to visit in the summer to get an idea of what you are headed for if you live here. 
Winters are good but we have a long summer. 
