Visitors viewing plant displays at 2025’s Havasu Grows a Garden tour. Courtesy Kyle Young
LAKE HAVASU CITY – For the past two years, owner Kyle Young of Lake Havasu’s Sand 2 Soil has been helping local planters of fruit trees and gardening needs. Originally from Riverside California, Young moved to Havasu at 16, and his grandfather was an avid planter of corn, strawberries, tomatoes, and various fruit trees. It was a skill set that Young said helped keep his grandfather’s family fed during the 1930s depression era.
While Young was in his early 20s, his grandfather passed away. Young had just become a homeowner in 2014; he wanted to keep his grandfather’s legacy alive and began learning about gardening methods he could practice on his own. The gardening business owner only had one single orange tree in his backyard and made a strategic decision to plant additional orange trees. For Young, developing his green thumb became a newfound passion as well as a great way to diffuse stress. He also enjoys the seeing the visual outcomes of each plant.
As a current member of Havasu’s Master’s Gardening Program, Young opened up Sand 2 Soil to support other local gardening enthusiasts with edible landscaping, consultations about planting, tree removals, irrigations, and garden beds. Young added that throughout his journey as a nature proprietor, he had many run-ins with nonbelievers who didn’t think that so many plants and fruits are able thrive in Havasu’s hot desert climates. Young has advice for those wishing to plant in the town of endless summers.
“My biggest tip I would give is to water more deeply for longer periods of time. Short watering times promote shallow root systems that don’t thrive in our desert climate,” Young said.
In 2024, the planter launched the Havasu Grows a Garden Tour. This spring, the green exhibit will return next week for community enjoyment. With carpooling being highly encouraged for the event, the tours will be free to the public and set up in a parade like fashion where visitors can stop by various homes, ask questions, and meet like-minded gardeners. Young invites attendees to bring family and friends to explore the awe inspiring and eye-catching wonders of these sanctuary landscapes.
This year, the outing anticipates twenty to thirty homes of gardeners, showcasing their fruits and plants in full bloom. The first three Saturdays in April, visitors will have multiple opportunities to see this unique showing. The first tour to launch this season will be on Saturday, April 3 beginning at 8 a.m. at 511 Carol Dr. Future tours to take place on Saturday, April 11, and Saturday, April 18. A complete listing of gifted growers showing off their talents in next month’s tour can be discovered by visiting the Havasu Grows a Garden Facebook page.
Phaedra Veronique
