Southwest Xeriscaping and Desert Landscape Ideas

The final beautifying touch to each new home, home remodel, or outdoor project is Landscaping.  It’s what makes the overall project lovely, while enhancing the building, the exterior, and more.  Xeriscaping & Landscaping design is done to complement the architectural style of the 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.  The best xeriscaping landscape designers are very conscientious of upfront installation costs, monthly maintenance, and long-term upkeep. 

My background stems from many years in Arizona, where upfront costs were negligible, and the yearly maintenance costs (i.e. water bills, maintenance bills, etc) were slim to none.  Hence came the important aspects of low maintenance, low water consumption, and desert landscapes for southwestern regions.  The term Xeriscape was one of the most popular and most landscape friendly styles for the dry desert climate where water was scare.  Many new buildings and homes are not even allowed to have turf, and the local cites are offering tax incentives to convert turf to xeriscaping.  Xeriscaping has been a very popular method of landscaping, and landscape designers have adapted this style for many of their clients.

Providing many different design styles and ideas is the main goal of our Phoenix landscape contractor.  From Sonoran Xeriscapes, which include assortments of AZ cactus, ocotillos, and agaves to Southwestern landscapes and Phoenix Landscaping that usually include many desert environments that can’t quite tolerate the hot summers of Phoenix.  Desert landscaping & Xeriscaping often include many of these following types of plant species:

1. Traditional Color Plants- These xeriscaping species are standard, normal xeriscaping plants that require standard water usage.  Some of these species are known for lots of flowers, long bloom times, and hummingbird attractant.  Some common species that landscapers love are the cherry and russian sages, Echinacea, gaillardia, gayfeather, coneflowers, asters, columbines, or coreopsis.
2. Arizona Desert Plants- Many of the species above would not sustain an Arizona summer, which is the reason for a secondary list of Arizona desert plants.  The mexican bird, yellow bells, orange jubilee, rain sage and fairy duster are very popular among the Phoenix landscape contractors.  Bougainvillea, cassia, hopseed, angelita daisy, mexican honeysuckle and chuparosa are all varieties that you may find in other hot, dry desert climates.
3. Xeriscape Grasses- Xeriscape designers 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, a superb choice for an accent, because of it’s free-flowing textures.  Some milder climates can handle fescue, glue grama, or other small sized landscape grasses.
4. Agaves- There are many different species of agaves, that range from the pretty agave parryi to the large 5′ tall agave americana.  Because of slow growth & little upkeep, the Agave is a great solution for xeriscaping in the southwest.
5. Cacti-  Arizona landscape designers have the great selection of many varieties of cacti – but most commonly, the Saguaro cactus (native to Arizona).  Saguaros make the perfect statement for any desert sustainable landscape because of it’s ability to look great with NO water usage.  Cacti in landscaping will drastically reduce the need for irrigation, and some gorgeous cacti considerations are:  Old Man, Organ Pipe, Mexican Fence Post and Cholla.
6. Desert Trees- Desert trees also require less water and less maintenance.  A natural wind break and some shade can be provided by properly placing trees and large shrubs in your xeriscaping project.  Landscape Designers love the Palo Verde, mesquite, and desert willow for some of their professional projects.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR LANDSCAPING PROJECT:

• Review the local requirements for xeriscaping species, plant locations and restricted varieties.  Check for grass restrictions, since some locations do not allow for plants that use high water.
• Find out which landscaping & xeriscaping plants that are best for your specific area.  Not all plants grow in all regions – in fact, some will do quite poorly if planted in the wrong space.
• Research annual rainfall for your location and this can help you select species and setup & plan for a good sprinkler system.
• Use groupings of plants, different colors, and mounding.  Use bigger specimens of trees for accents while planting smaller groups of low-growing plants below.
• By watering in the morning, you can avoid excess evaporation, and more water will be used by your trees & plants.
• Good watering habits include watering infrequently, and training your plants to use less water.
• Snip wilted flowers & foliage to enhance blooms & blooming periods.
• If you install turf in your xeriscape, then follow proper watering techniques and reduce runoff.
• The contracting of Phoenix landscape designers is a long-lasting investment when considering the best of Soutwestern landscaping & Xeriscaping.