Container Garden Guide

Every home remodel, new home, or new building needs Landscaping to finalize the project and make it beautiful.  It’s what enhances the exterior of the home, the building and the overall project.  Landscaping also should be designed and installed to accent the architectural feel of the building or home.  Some landscaping concepts can come from the homeowner side of landscape design – where landscape designers or landscape architects provide great ideas in exterior design, outdoor areas, and xeriscaping.  At the same time, xeriscaping designers should be conscientious of startup costs, maintenance, and long-term upkeep. 

My experience stems from many years in Albuquerque, where upfront costs were negligible, and the yearly maintenance costs (i.e. water & landscape maintenance bills, etc.) were none.  Hence came the important aspect of low maintenance, low water-use, and sustainable landscapes for dry climates.  With water being scarce, xeriscaping in the southwestern climates is very popular and a landscapers solution.  Many new residences are not allowed to have turf, and the local officials entice by offering cash rebates for converting turf areas to xeriscaping.  Xeriscaping has been a very popular method of landscaping, and landscape designers have adapted this style for many of their clients.

As a Arizona landscaping company, our landscape designers offer many different styles of desert sustainable landscapes.  From Sonoran desert landscapes & Phoenix Landscaping, which include many assortments of Arizona cacti, saguaros, and agaves to Southwestern Xeriscapes that usually include many mid-level desert environments that can’t quite tolerate the hot Arizona summers.  Desert landscaping & Xeriscaping often include many of these following types of plant species:

1. Traditional Color Plants- These desert landscaping species are standard, normal landscaping plants that require nominal water usage.  Some plants have high-flowering properties and attract hummingbirds.  Some standard plants my include: russian sage, autumn sage, firecracker penstemon, yellow yarrow, valerian, coneflower, lavendar and coreopsis.
2. Arizona Desert Plants- Many of the species above would not sustain an Sonoran summer, which is the reason for a secondary list of Arizona landscaping plants.  The mexican bird, yellow bells, orange jubilee, rain sage and fairy duster are very popular among the Phoenix landscape contractors.  Other standard species you will find in hot xeriscape regions may be the creosote, bursage, mexican hopseed, feathery cassia, ruellia katie, or bougainvillea species.
3. Xeriscape Grasses- Professional planners use grasses for accents or to fill in big areas.Desert landscapes wouldn’t be complete without some of the larger growing grasses such as pampas, fountain grass, purple fountain grass, and muhly grass.  Muhly grass is an excellent choice for accents too.  Some ground-cover grasses can actually fill in large spaces and provide a great xeriscaping environment (blue fescue, blue grama, and other ornamental grasses).
4. Agaves- There are many unique species of agaves, that range from the tiny agave parryi to the robust 5′ tall agave americana.  The best solution for landscaping with drought-tolerant plants is the Agave, because of it’s low maintenance and low growth.
5. Cacti-  Arizona landscape designers have the great selection of many varieties of cacti – but most commonly, the Saguaro cactus (native to Arizona).  Saguaros require little to no maintenance, no water, and provide a huge impact and focal feature for any landscape.  Cacti in xeriscaping will drastically reduce the need for water usage, and some great cacti considerations are:  Fish Hook, Golden Barrel, Twisted Cereus and Cholla.
6. Desert Trees- Desert Adapted trees also require less water and less maintenance.  If a natural wind-break is necessary, you can use some large shrubs or properly placed trees (which can provide some shade too).  Some common desert trees are Acacia, Desert Willow, Sumac, Mesquite, Palo Verde and Elms.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR LANDSCAPING PROJECT:

• Review the regional requirements for xeriscaping species, plant locations and restricted plants.  Some areas have turf restrictions because of their high water consumption – check before you design your turf areas.
• Research landscaping & xeriscaping plants that are good for your specific area.  Some plants will do poorly if not planted in the proper region.
• Research precipitation for your location and this can help you determine plants and setup & plan for a adequate drip irrigation system.
• By using groups of plants, you can create mounds of different sizes & colors.  Use bigger specimens of trees for accents while planting smaller groups of low-growing plants below.
• Evaporation takes place once the sun comes up, so watering in the morning is advised for best results.
• Good watering habits include watering infrequently, and training your plants to use less water.
• Remove dead flowers & foliage to enhance blooms & blooming lengths.
• If you have sod or turf in your xeriscape, then make sure you irrigate properly and reduce runoff.
• The hiring of a Phoenix landscape designer is a superb investment when considering the best of SW landscaping & Xeriscaping.

 

In the West the landscape and garden cannot depend on natural rainfall to supply adequate water. So it is necessary to water artificially. There are many ways in which this is done. Long gone are the days of furrow irrigation, but... it does work well good where a garden is fairly level. Where water is available under pressure, overhead sprinkling is often used but more efficient methods are being employed like micro jets and drip irrigation. ...

There are different irrigation methods for maintaining your garden lawn and plants. So, choose a method that can simply suit your plants. Drip irrigation systems, lawn & irrigation sprinklers are just some alternatives you can think of.

Sprinkler systems supply water by spraying it from the top. There are varieties of devices available for your watering task. Rain bird sprinkler system is one of them. Learn more about using sprinkler heads, sensors, and controllers for making your own irrigation system and get lots of benefits.

Because of efficient irrigation features, rain bird systems are very popular these

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There are many differences when it comes to growing vegetables either outdoors or indoors. Soil type and preparation, watering practice, light control, disease and pest control differ between the two environments. Be sure to learn about the pros and cons of each before deciding to plant your garden. For instance, preparing and maintaining the soil for outdoor vegetable gardening can be an arduous task. Nutrient levels in the soil can be exhausted from yearly planting of the same crops. Fertilizers get leached away. Soil disease is more difficult to control. Breaking up clay or changing pH in ...

To produce a healthy, productive garden you'll need loamy soil. It should crumble easily in your hands, not too much clay aspect, not too much sandy quality. Clay-like soil retains too much moisture and doesn't allow proper drainage. Sandy soil doesn't provide adequate support and drains too well, as well as lacking needed nutrients. Good fertilizer and the right amount of water are needed to produce loamy soil. Know what type of soil you're starting with before you add anything. Testing kits are inexpensive and can tell you what ...