Desert Crest Press

Its a rare thing to have real blue tones in the blooms of plants. Sadly, none of them are totally true blue, but a few come very close and will shine in your Phoenix or Glendale landscaping. The beauty of Salvia farinacea picture here is not just its striking blue violet blooms. Here you have a hardworking perennial that in many other areas of the country is a high sought after annual flower. Lucky you, this member of the Salvia family is hardy in our mild climate.

Any plant that falls under the name ‘Salvia’ is also a member of the sage family. Some of these are culinary herbs, but many have the showy flowers that are prized in landscapes and gardens everywhere. These plants produce scented foliage and flower in a range of tones: white, pinks, red, and blues to purples. Salvias prefer a well drained soil and deal with dry periods very well. This makes them an excellent addition to the xeriscaping landscaping that we use in Arizona.

Some call this particular blooming beauty Texas Violet Sage or Victoria Blue Sage, and it’s oldest common name is Mealycup Sage. The color of the petals is pretty close to that of antique cobalt glass that was all the rage in the Victorian era and is most likely how it was name Victoria Blue. The profusion of bloom in Phoenix or Glendale landscaping will begin in March and continue until sometime in November. There aren’t a lot of plants that will deliver an incredible 9 months of bloom to color your outdoor living areas and curb appeal.

When using blues in your landscape design, keep in mind that this flower color recedes where others like pinks, reds and white or yellow come to the forefront. This has to do with the visible spectrum of light, as well as on some plants the closeness in tone between the blue of the bloom and the green of the leaf. Salvia farinacea has light green to silvery leaves so the gorgeous blooms aren’t that easily lost against the foliage. You will enjoy the most impact from this perennial’s flowers if it is backed by a light colored wall or mass of plants. The light tones of our adobe walls are a perfect way to make the blue blooms really pop. Combined with bright blooming plants like red or yellow, you will have a color show that is phenomenal.

The spike flowers will be borne in abundance in full sun and require no deadheading to continue to pump out fresh blooms. This makes it a low maintenance plant for the busy homeowner. A native of southern Texas and Mexico, this perennial sage is right at home in sandy or sharp draining soils. While it is very drought tolerant, if you really want it to shine in your xeriscaping landscaping or patio garden, it is advisable to give it some water, at least once a week. This will allow your plant to really flourish and blooms to appear in thick, beautiful profusion.

Popularity: 33% [?]

While outdoor living patios are all the rage nationwide, Arizona residents enjoy almost year around use of outdoor rooms and pursuits. This makes the outdoor kitchen even more of an in demand item around Phoenix. Landscaping sure has come a long way in the past couple of decades. What was once meant to soften the foundation of an abode is now something far, far more. Just as our outdoor world at home has evolved, so has the situation of the outdoor BBQ grill.

How did we ever get by with a Hibachi and some charcoal? Granted, except for smokey BBQ’d or flame broiled meat, our idea of grilling out was confined to hot dogs, burgers and steak with a little zesty basted chicken tossed in for excitement. Today with the advent of the built in gas grill breaking ground for complete outdoor kitchens, anything goes for whipping up a feast in the backyard.

Patio designs completely reinvented themselves with the advent of the uniform paver stone. Outdoor kitchen designs followed suit, but really only came into the possibility of being once the appliance and grill folks jumped into the weatherproof convenience mode. Today’s outdoor living patio is not quite complete without that grill, and having a built in gas grill is something every homeowner wants. Tossing in that handy fridge and meal preparation surface is a natural part of the outdoor BBQ evolution.

The materials combination used in outdoor kitchen designs are almost limitless for custom installations. You can mix stone, tile, brick, block and stucco to come up with a one of a kind look that is easily shaped to fit your space and utility needs.

A lot of thought and space planning goes into a great outdoor kitchen. Beyond having that built in grill and ample meal preparation and serving space on the counter – what else should you look for in outdoor kitchen designs? For starters, summer temperatures in this part of Arizona decree that you not make the grill the center of outdoor kitchens. If you’re smart that grill will go in the outside corner away from the relaxed  dining space or your guests will feel like they have to get away from the fire.

For some homeowners adding a simple outdoor kitchen with patio dining and BBQ cooking utensils beneath the grill counter and having that handy outdoor refrigerator tucked in too meets all their requirements. Tossing in the kitchen sink and a cook top is a must for serious grill gourmets. Why run in and out of the house when you can remain right there in the center of the gathering? The cabinets and appliances are stainless steel so they will last forever even in the land of ice and snow. One can’t say they are a wasteful investment and the rewards are easily seen.

Old world wood-fired breads and pizzas need not be something you enjoy at certain eateries. Your outdoor kitchen can include these too, but again, you’ll want it not installed in close proximity to the entertainment and dining space in your backyard Phoenix landscaping. You’ll also most likely want outdoor kitchen designs that fit neatly beneath your pergola or ramada to increase the amount of hours you can enjoy this open air space throughout the year.

Don’t forget to weigh in how much importance catching the game live has or enjoying a movie under the stars. You can even add a weatherproof TV to the outdoor living patio. What better place to position this feature than where it can be comfortably viewed from your outdoor kitchen’s bar? No matter what you decide must be included your outdoor kitchen design’s features, as a general contractor, Desert Crest can handle all installations on the spot.  Masonry, electrical, gas lines and shade structures overhead… its a complete outdoor kitchen’s design and installation with one Phoenix landscaping company.

Popularity: 34% [?]

No matter what region you live in, landscape design is meant to beautify your residential real estate and enrich your lifestyle with color and interest all seasons of the year. Many plants used in xeriscaping landscaping here in the communities around Phoenix can be so much more with some light moisture assistance from drip irrigation. You will enjoy lusher growth and far more blooming if your xeriscape plants are not left in mere survival mode.

Take the Guayacon shrub for instance. This is a rugged plant that is native to the stony slopes of New Mexico and an endemic plant of Mexico proper. It is highly drought tolerant and thrives very well through the searing heat of our Arizona summers. It does droop somewhat during cold weather and drought, but is an excellent candidate rich in character for great looking xeriscaping designs.

The formal name for this slow growing, large bush to small tree is Guaiacum coulteri, which is where its most common name of Guayacon comes from. It has wonderful gnarly texture to its woody branches as it ages, as well as dark bark that sets off the fine textured green foliage very nicely. It is very dependable in our dry arid climate, but will be stunning with drip irrigation. While most people must wait until rainfall to witness the gorgeous blue flowers to appear, with light and consistent moisture, your Guayacon plants will bloom from April to September. The shrubs will also be far more lovely in your yard when they have a sufficient supply of water.

While in optimum conditions, the Guayacon could someday reach up to 25 feet tall and every bit that wide, it is doubtful that you would see this happen in your landscaping in Glendale, Pheonix or Cave Creek, Arizona. With so little rainfall in summer and cold spells that dip below freezing in winter, this fascinating cobalt blue flowering shrub will most likely not exceed about 10 feet high and wide. This makes it a great inclusion in Arizona landscape designs for even the smaller home properties.

Like many plants popular to landscape design in this region of Arizona, Guayacon will grow and fill faster when you add drip irrigation and ensure that the soil it is planted in has great drainage. To make the most of water conservation with a drip system, it is best to amend any type of soil we have to allow good drainage yet retain moisture at the plant’s roots. This is just one of the reasons that having your xeriscaping landscaping installed by Desert Crest is a wise choice. We have in depth knowledge of situating your plants to enable them to be most robust and colorful.

It doesn’t take huge quantities of precious water to give your home the most beautiful landscaping possible. Arizona landscape design that does not include lawns will be very water wise under drip irrigation, as well as being very low maintenance. No matter how acclimated your xeriscaping plants are to our harsh, natural conditions – your real estate should not be the place where it is survival for the fittest. This approach to increasing your property’s value is backwards, and can cause you to have to invest far more money into your desert yard than you would without a properly designed drip irrigation system.

Popularity: 26% [?]

Courtyard walls and privacy walls are great to gain seclusion while enjoying Arizona outdoor living rooms. Yet an unbroken expanse of masonry can leave you feeling like you are relaxing inside a box. One of the first things anyone seeks is to soften or break up the blank spans with hardy shrubs and trees or cacti. In a small enclosed area though, your courtyard landscaping in Paradise Valley will leave you with more limits in plant choices. Flowering vines are the perfect solution to conserving space while adding welcome greenery and blooms.

Passionflower vines are an excellent choice for vertical landscaping in Paradise Valley where your masonry walls have sun exposure most of the day. While this family of hardy plants has 500 different members, the best on to grow in your Desert Hills landscaping is the selection known as Passiflora foetida v. longipedunculata or Baja Passion Flower.

You will see some stunning bloom colors on other varieties of the Passiflora vine, some of them in hues and arrangements that surpass realistic appearance. Unfortunately, they will not tolerate the climate here in the greater Phoenix area. The Baja cultivar will do very well here and is hardy to 20 degrees, so you won’t have to worry that a winter cold snap will damage or kill off your courtyard wall’s landscaping.

This passionflower vine is right at home in our arid soil, and has very low moisture requirements to thrive and become an important focal point plant in your Paradise Valley landscaping. The blooms are soft and very delicate looking in white to pale cream touched with a lovely pink for added depth and interest. They are smaller than some of the really vibrant passionflower blooms, but will be borne in nice abundance once the vine is established and begins filling out well.

An interesting shape somewhat like ivy is found in the foliage, so it is handsome even when not in flower. Blooming on the Baja Passionflower vine takes place from August to November gives you a long spell of lovely color from a low maintenance, low litter plant. It is semi-evergreen and will only defoliate when temperatures dip below freezing.

Don’t confuse this selection with the variety that we get Passion Fruit from. It does bear fruit but is best left for the birds to enjoy. Butterflies love this great Arizona landscaping vine, so you’ll have extra color while it is in bloom. Additionally, any insect that should attempt to attack this plant will soon be squelched naturally. Passiflora is a bug predator like a fly trap plant, and no insect that aims to do it harm is allowed to escape.

All in all, an enjoyable addition to your courtyard landscaping and even patio landscaping in Paradise Valley or any other area around greater Phoenix. It makes a lovely statement on darker colors of stonework, adobe or brick walls with its gray green foliage and white flowers.

Popularity: 35% [?]