XERISCAPING
Everyone that lives in Arizona knows that it is a very dry state where pretty much everything is sand, yet there are many people that try to change that by making their yards as green as they can. Like
Benjamin Franklin once said, “When the well is dry, we will know the worth of water.” Even though green is a great color, they do not think of all the extra water that it takes to be watering all of those
green grasses and plants. On the other hand, xeriscaping is a great way for people to decorate their yards using water efficient plants
that are native to their state which can still look very attractive and colorful while they are able to cut your water usage by more than half.
Below is a list of some of the most popular annuals and biennials in Arizona:
Common Name Group Water Sun Exposure Flower Color Flower Season
Purple owl's clover annual very low full sun-part shade purple spring
Tickseed; calliopsis annual low-mod sun various summer
Cosmos annual moderate sun pink/various summer-fall
California gold poppy annual very low sun-part shade orange spring
Globe amaranth annual low-mod sun purple/various summer
Scarlet gilia biennial low-mod sun pink summer
Arroyo lupine annual low sun purple/various summer
Hooker's evening primrose biennial low sun yellow summer-fall
Desert canterbury bells annual very low sun-part shade blue summer
Clary sage biennial low sun-part shade blue summer
Creeping zinnia annual low sun-part shade yellow summer-fall
Narrowleaf zinnia annual low-mod sun yellow summer
Before you start xeriscaping your yards you should make a plan first and have a list of the plants that you want to include in it that way you can group all of your plants accordingly. By grouping the plants that you have you will ensure that you are not over watering the plants which would just waste useful water. For example, plants that need more water to stay alive should be separated from turf grass which does not need as much water. Even though xeric gardens are very low maintenance, you should still remove weeds that appear, and try to eliminate your fertilizer use. Since fertilizer makes your plants grow bigger, it also causes them to need more water than they already do, but if fertilizer is necessary you can get some fertilizers that act slower and do not cause your plants to grow as much. Since Arizona is a very dry and hot place, it is very important to place mulch 2-4 inches deep around your flowers and/or shrubs that way when you water them the water will not evaporate as much, and it willalso help lower weed growth.
~Make sure that your sprinkler heads are not clogged nor broken that way they do not use more water than necessary
~Check the area where the sprinkler heads connect to the pipes to make sure you do not have any leaks because a leak as small as the tip of a pen can waste about 6,300 gallons of water per month.
~Move the sprinkler heads so that you are only watering your landscape and not other places such as your driveway where water is not needed.