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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.

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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.

 

Tips for sprinkler users:
(Xeric Yard)
(Xeric Plan)
(Annuals & Biennials)
(Xeric Flowers)
"When you conserve water, you save life" -Anonymous
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