Xeriscaping & Landscaping Design Ideas

November 26, 2009 at 4:39 pm · Filed under Home & Family

The final beautifying touch to each new home, home remodel, or outdoor project is Landscaping.  It’s what makes the overall project great.  Landscape Design should be done to complement the exterior of the building and accent the overall architecture.  Outdoor ideas, landscaping, exterior design and landscape design often comes from a landscape designer or landscaper architect.  At the same time, landscape designers should be conscientious of upfront costs, maintenance costs, 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 & landscape maintenance bills, etc.) were slim to none.  Hence came the important aspect of low maintenance, low water-use, and sustainable landscapes for dry climates.  Water is not available in the southwest areas, so Xeriscaping is very popular for homeowners and landscape companies.  Desert landscaping & xeriscaping is such a beneficial, long-term solution that many city governments are offering cash rebates and tax rebates just for converting sod to desert landscaping.  Xeriscaping has been a very popular method of landscaping, and landscape designers have adapted this style for many of their clients.

As a Phoenix landscaping company, our expert designers in landscaping can provide many techniques and ideas of xeriscaping.  From Southwestern Xeriscapes  that usually have mid-level desert environments to hot Sonoran desert & Phoenix landscape, which include may assortments of Arizona cacti, saguaros and agaves.  Desert landscaping & Xeriscaping often include many of these following types of plant species:

1. Traditional Color Plants- These desert landscaping varieties are standard, normal xeriscaping plants that require normal water usage.  Some of these plants are known for the tons of flowers, long bloom seasons, and ability to attract hummingbirds.  Some standard plants my include: russian sage, autumn sage, firecracker penstemon, Echinacea, gaillardia, gayfeather, iris, lamb’s ears, valerian, coneflower, the penstemon species, yarrows, 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 second list of Arizona landscaping plants.  Red Bird of Paradise, Arizona Yellow Bells, Orange Jubilee, Texas Sage, Baja Fairy Duster are all popular favorites among the Phoenix landscape contractors.  Other common plants you will find in Sonoran desert climates are the mexican honeysuckle, chuparosa, creosote, penstemon, angelita daisy, and brittle-bush.
3. Xeriscape Grasses- Desert Landscaping designers use grasses for accents or to fill in over-sized areas.Large accent grasses such as pampas grass or fountain grass can grow fast and provide a visual center feature.  Deer grass is a great choice for grass accents too.  To fill in large areas, milder climates can use blue fescue, blue grama, or other small ornamental landscape grasses.
4. Agaves- There are many various species of agaves, that range from the small agave parryi to the huge 70″ tall agave americana.  Some perfect solutions for xeriscaping is the Agave, because of it’s drought-tolerant features and low maintenance.
5. Cacti-  Arizona desert landscaping designers have the great selection of many selections of cacti – but most commonly, the Saguaro cactus (native to Arizona).  The protected Arizona saguaro is a bold choice for any desert landscape project because of it’s large robust features and little to no water usage.  Cacti in xeriscaping will drastically reduce the need for irrigation, and some unique cacti considerations are:  Hedge Hog, Totem Pole, Mexican Fence Post and Ocotillo.
6. Desert Trees- Xeriscaping trees also require less water and less maintenance.  Tree and shrubs can enhance the xeriscaping project, provide some natural shade, and provide a natural wind break.  Some common desert landscape trees are the sumac, mesquite, chitalpa, elm and acacia tree.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR LANDSCAPING PROJECT:

• Review the state requirements for xeriscaping species, plant locations and restricted varieties.  Before designing and installing turf areas, check your local rules and regulations.
• Do your homework on landscaping & xeriscaping plants that are best for your specific location.  Not all plants grow in all regions – in fact, some will do quite poorly if planted in the wrong space.
• Research rainfall for your location and this can help you find species and setup & plan for a adequate drip system.
• Use moundings of plants with different colors.  A good idea is to use big species of trees or plants for focal features, and under plant with smaller, colorful plants.
• The best results from watering plants occurs watering for longer periods of time in the morning (to avoid evaporation).
• Practice good watering habits – usually watering every day is not necessary, you should train your landscape plants to use the water they get, and deep water less frequently.
• Cut wilted flowers & foliage to enhance blooms & blooming times.
• Effective xeriscapes have less or no turf grass (which requires lots of water).
• The hiring of a Phoenix landscape designer is a superb investment when considering the best of SW landscaping & Xeriscaping.

 

Tags: desert landscaping, landscape design, landscape design company, landscaping, xeriscaping

Comments

Planting Fruit Trees In Small Yards

July 13, 2009 at 4:11 am · Filed under Home & Family

Almost every month we find that we are being fed a new exercise, or diet, plan cleverly crafted to encourage us to alter our lives.

It is true that we all need to take a close look at our current behaviour with the intention of eating at least a little  more fresh vegetables and fruit and exercising more regularly. One thing we may wish  to think about is growing 1 or 2 fruit trees in our yard. However, as most gardens are only rather small, it is highly probable that you may be rather restricted in what you can do.

Most of us comprehend that organic vegetables and fruit are much better for us than the alternatives unfortunately the added cost is sometimes too prohibitive. We also understand that the fresher the vegetable is the  more vitamins and minerals it will have. By growing our very own fruit trees we are able to produce organic fruit at an extremely low cost furthermore, because it can be harvested immediately before use, such fruit is also the freshest it can be.

The vast majority of us live in an urban environment where it is common to have backyards which afford only a very small place in which to cultivate a garden. Such yards are largely unsuitable for large mature trees which can cause a collection of problems. The roots can encroach upon foundations, branches can force themselves against walls and windows and they also restrict the light. The most obvious problem is that such a large item in a small space will simply appear silly.

Even in the smallest yard something amazingly wonderfull can be created. Professional landscape designers can create the most amazing plans but, with a fair bit of time and effort, it is possible to do this yourself. To do it properly you will need to read up a little to understand which are the best plants, shrubs and trees to incorporate and the most suitable way to use them.

If you have a really small place the inclusionaddition of a fruit tree will add beauty and interest. In the spring the tree will be covered in superb looking, and sweet smelling, blossom. By the time of fall the tree will be covered in ripe fruit perfect for the picking. Even during the winter a fruit tree can still look rather interesting and such a tree can act as a focal point.

It is now possible to purchase dwarf types of fruit tree, these are generated by grafting the main stem of a fruit tree to carefully chosen dwarf root stock. Modern dwarf root stock, such as M9, is more reliable than older types of dwarf root stock. M9 root stock can cause a fruit tree to remain incredibly small while it is still able to produce a much larger amount of fruit.

Modern compact fruit trees can be grown in small yards as the dwarf variety produces a large amount of fruit from the tinniest of bushes. A dwarf fruit tree will not often be taller than 1.8m high but the amount of growth can be decreased a little further by growing it in a container. By following a perfectly planned pruning regime you can restrict the growth while retaining a appealing architecture.

Amongst the most useful of fruit trees for the gardener with only a little backyard, is the spur apple tree. While the tree is still able to reach up to 1.8m high it has such an upright habit that it often appears rather strange covered in a multitude of ripened apples.

Besides as apple trees there are dwarf types of fruit tree such as plums, pears, figs, cherries, nectarines and various others.

Tags: fruit trees, gardening, landscaping, organic, trees

Comments