Desert Crest Press

training the plant; maintaining plant health; improving the quality of flowers, fruit, foliage, or stems; and restricting growthHomeowners everywhere turn their attention to the yard when spring arrives. It seems to be an instinct humans have, the need to whip that Arizona landscaping into shape before summer arrives. For the shrubs and trees surrounding a house, it could be that your schedule and theirs won’t mesh well at all.

Not only can improper pruning ruin the future shape of your bushes and trees – pruning at the wrong time of year can cause severe damage, even death. Did you know that more landscaping plants die every year due to improper pruning and neglect than the number lost to pests and disease? Unlike someone’s hair, a bad cut will not always fill back in over time. The damage may not be apparent for several years. It can also swiftly weaken the immune system, bringing on attack by pests and disease. Well maintained plants for desert landscaping have a strong immune system and a natural shape that is easily depleted by the activities of humans.

Why we practice pruning.

If you’re assuming that clipping, trimming and thinning is just what you do to have landscaping that looks cared for and nicely groomed, you couldn’t be more wrong. There are only four reasons anyone should ever make cuts on shrubs and trees.

1. To train the plant
2. To maintain plant health
3. To  improve the quality of foliage, flowers, fruit or stems
4. To restrict plant growth

With proper planning in Arizona landscape design, heavy shearing to reduce the size of shrubs and trees isn’t necessary. The proper plant for the space should mature to the right proportions for beauty and safety. Unfortunately, this is more often not how the landscape was planted. For whatever reason, many Scottsdale and Phoenix area homes have a few to perhaps many shrubs that require constant attention to keep their height or width under control. While this may make it easier to back out of the driveway without colliding with a car already on the street or to enjoy the view out a window, harsh shearing lessens the length of any plant’s life.

In trees this practice is called ‘topping’. It is never okay to top a tree, though in cases like Crape Myrtles, this is done on an annual basis to produce bigger blooms. Not only can the tree not support the weight of these massive blooms on the young branches, but the excessive new shoots growth at the cut make for one ugly tree in the future. Left to Nature’s devices, these ornamental small trees have a very lovely shape and bloom quite nicely. Topping in other types of trees should never be done. A rule of thumb for the trees in your yard is that deciduous trees should be trimmed or thinned in winter and never by more than one third of the crown size. Evergreens should only be pruned after the new growth has hardened off in early summer.

When in doubt – don’t prune or shear. If you’re unsure of how or when to do any trimming for the best results, it would be wise to call in the experts. Scottsdale and Phoenix landscapers that have been in business for a decade or more will have the experience to know when its the right time to prune any tree or shrub that thrives in our climate and how to properly make the cuts for vigor and beauty to be maintained.

Popularity: 9% [?]

Your home in the Scottsdale – Phoenix area may be new or older and built on either the traditional or contemporary architectural lines of Southwestern house styles, and still be perfectly lovely with a more naturalistic looking Arizona landscape design. Here in the desert, xeriscaping landscaping doesn’t automatically mean that your yard will be without great style or attractiveness. Sometimes, our preconceived notions are a barrier to our ability not only to imagine just how lovely true desert landscaping can be, but also how attractive it can make a home look from the curb.

Most homeowners seeking Glendale, Cave Creek and Paradise Valley landscaping, don’t readily look for a more naturalized form of xeriscape in their Arizona landscape design. While where in the yard such a style of landscaping is used will be important, with the right plant selection and soil preparation, you can definitely expect it always to be interesting and attractive. You can achieve a great deal of curb appeal without using desert plants that require a lot of fuss. Do count on supplying them with a drip irrigation system though, even though xeriscaping landscaping plants suited for our climate and soil are water conservative, they will need the proper amount of moisture to look great, flower abundantly at the proper time and create value for your property.

Looking natural doesn’t necessarily mean au naturale. The ability for your Arizona landscape design to look like it belongs here has a great deal to do with the knowledge of your landscape designer. For Paradise Valley landscaping, and other locales around Phoenix and Scottsdale, plants like Turpentine Bush can be quite lovely when laid out in the right manner, along with providing bright yellow blasts of color in the fall. It serves as a fine textured groundcover type of shrub for your landscaping that can be highly effective planted en masse.

Cane Cholla cactus is an excellent water conservation selection with architectural presence that xeriscape needs when used for Phoenix, Scottsdale and Paradise Valley landscaping.  It has gorgeous flowers that are borne in spring from late April to mid May. Known as a tree cactus, It can add height without weight to many a xeriscaping planting. While it is definitely not going to provide the full presence of the average shrub, when used in combination with leafier plants, it can be striking and very beautiful.

Getting the right combination and layout of xeriscaping plants to suit your Arizona home does offer you many choices, despite what you might instantly assume. Whether you’re in need of Glendale, Phoenix or Paradise Valley landscaping – matching the plants, the layout and your outdoor living spaces needs versus your curb appeal does call for artistic balance. Use plants that require more care in the surrounding plantings for your courtyard, patio and pool landscaping as opposed to those viewed from the street to enrich your experience of home and beautiful spaces to live your life. This allows you to make the most of precious fresh water, take advantage of the myriad of possibilities that xeriscape can give your Arizona landscape design.

Popularity: 12% [?]

In many areas of the country, it would be all wrong to add permanent brilliant color to residential patio designs. Things are different here in Arizona where Southwestern architecture with it’s Spanish and South of the Border influence is predominate. When adding a new patio to your Scottsdale landscaping, where it is located may have a great deal to do with whether the color comes from plants or not. Take this particular featured patio as an example.

Yes, there are plants, but very few and the most colorful ones are potted and placed in the focal point between the eye catching stair case and the outdoor water fountain. Other than that, only a narrow bed between the stone pavers and the safety rail allows space for permanent plants. Of course, this patio is more unique than most as it is not on the ground level, which makes space at a premium for entertaining and seating. There isn’t any room to expand the landscape planting as you would have with ground level patio designs. Since this photo was taken when the installation was completed, it is highly likely that the homeowner has added more potted plants for a livelier outdoor living space.

Naturally the bold primary colored tiles that are part of the house on the risers of the stairs leading to the upper story really stand out against the stark white stucco walls. On the more popular earth tone stuccoes most homes are done in today, though vivid, these colored tiles would not be as noticeable. By picking up the more restful blue and repeating it in solid expanses in the tile seat top and the water feature’s face, two things are accomplished that may not be noticeable.

1. Any potted plants that are added to the space whether flowering or just foliage will not blend into the permanent structures. There will never be a ‘wrong’ color of bloom or leaf to use here, allowing the homeowner to change accent colors at will in the areas away from the stairs.
2. The stone paver’s warmer tones aren’t made more pronounced, allowing the outdoor living space’s flooring to remain very neutral.

We have had other clients who have added brilliant color to their Scottsdale landscaping on the permanent elements rather than with large plants due to the space being very limited. Having a bright purple retainer wall may not be on the average homeowner’s wish list for their Arizona landscape design, yet when seen used properly, they love the creative use of color and the vibrancy it adds to a small space. One tip for anyone who is getting ready to add outdoor living spaces to their Scottsdale or Phoenix area yard. The color of the walls of your home will influence the choice of bright accent used. The purple mentioned above would be too much with this white house, yet it was perfect with the darker stucco walls. You can see that something more outstanding than blue was called for on this Patio Designs post from 2009.

Popularity: 13% [?]

While many homeowners regard lush Scottsdale, Glendale and Phoenix lawns as against water conservation, turf breeders have been busy creating grass varieties that require less water than older, more traditional varieties. It is no longer true that Arizona grass is high maintenance, has a lusty thirst or that it will not grow in shaded areas. In fact, having lawn sod in Arizona does reduce the temperature noticeably and can help to lower your energy use for cooling a home when combined with trees.

Shade is always the best relief from that desert sun and those who insist on having green lawns in their outdoor living spaces or for curb appeal are always disappointed that the stuff just refuses to grow in the shade. This too has been corrected for your Phoenix, Scottsdale and Glendale landscaping beauty. Coming available for the first time in the 2011 season is a brand new and phenomenal Bermudagrass sod in Arizona. Unlike some varieties that are introduced and cause a stir, this new turf for Phoenix lawns and those in surrounding locales, is well acclimated to our climate. In fact, TifGrand® that is coming this spring was trial grown and tested right here in Arizona throughout it’s development process.

It isn’t just having a new type of grass to work with that has savvy Scottsdale, Glendale and Phoenix landscapers excited about the introduction of TifGrand® Bermudagrass becoming available. It’s arrival brings with it an end to the age old dilemma of getting good thick grass of the same variety to do well in both sunny and shaded areas of a client’s yard. If you know anything about lawn grasses, you will instantly see just how amazing this new sod is to having long lasting beauty in your yard.

Scottsdale – Phoenix landscaping and Glendale landscaping doesn’t have to be totally desert in design to be low maintenance and only require reduced water usage. This new TifGrand® Arizona grass is an excellent solution to enjoying Phoenix lawns that will thrive just about anywhere it is installed. If the area you’re having trouble keeping your grass green and lush gets about 4 hours of sun a day, then your angst over that bald spot is over! The same lawn grass performs very well in full sun to 70 percent shade, and in some situations continues to grow we even in 90% shade cover. If no sun reaches the area that is bugging you at all, then not much will grow there – including TifGrand.

If you’ve been thinking its time to consult some landscapers in Phoenix, Glendale or Scottsdale as to how they can help you to overcome lawn damage due to mole crickets, increase the thickness of turf in shaded areas or be able to enjoy the beauty of lush green expanses without having to pour tons of fertilizer and precious water on it… now is a great time to do so. You see, this new sod in Arizona for all around Phoenix lawns is not just a rising star but so unique the seed is patented. To be granted a plant or seed patent, it must be proven beyond the shadow of doubt that there is nothing else that is the same anywhere.

TifGrand®(PP21017) will be available from Phoenix landscapers like Desert Crest for application this year in your Glendale landscaping, Scottsdale landscaping or Phoenix landscaping. So you might want to reconsider tearing out that needy lawn and replacing it with nothing but xeriscaping plantings.

Popularity: 11% [?]

From Scottsdale to Glendale and Phoenix, landscape design for outdoor living spaces and especially pool landscaping gives us the perfect place to add water features. Many homeowners will want to conserve water usage in their yards and landscaping, so it makes a great deal of sense that in areas around Phoenix and Glendale, Arizona swimming pool fountains many times double as waterfalls.

The beauty of natural rocks used in constructing nicely designed water features like this really does a lot for enhancing the attractiveness of swimming pools and at the same time provide the focal point for your Arizona pool landscaping. With compact properties like most of us have today, fitting as many lifestyle enhancement features into a small area is one of the first challenges of getting the most out of our outdoor living spaces as possible. So, it’s rather convenient that these in demand elements and requirements all work so well together.

After all, traditional Arizona swimming pool fountains aren’t much to look at – a white piece of plastic floating around on the surface gives you no aesthetic value whatsoever. Incorporating water features as waterfalls into the pool landscaping creates an entirely new environment in your backyard, one that is soothing and visually exciting at the same time.

Whether you live right in the main Phoenix area or out in Scottsdale or Glendale, landscaping will be important to create just the right entertaining and escape place. With patios and pool decks flowing as one area today, Glendale or Phoenix landscape design requires good planning to get everything situated just right. Sometimes small, intimate outdoor living spaces can be more exciting than large ones. Take this particular waterfalls water feature’s location that doubles as a rather impressive swimming pool fountain’s recirculation system.

If you’re going to be able to have a lot of drop to your waterfalls, putting your swimming pool right at the bottom of a steep his is exactly the site you need. Otherwise, your water feature isn’t going to look natural at all, and that is important when the desired end result is simply gorgeous Scottsdale, Phoenix or Glendale landscaping.

Not that this particular homeowner had much choice as to where their swimming pool, landscaping around it or even their water feature was going other than the foot of this steep incline. It is a very small backyard, and is now wall to wall outdoor living spaces in a very compact area. It is only a few steps from the patio and built in bbq’s location to the pool, hot tub and waterfalls that doubles as the swimming pool fountains. It was a challenge to plan and install, but this unique Phoenix landscape design is the perfect setting for a wonderful place to escape in privacy and entertain small groups of friends.

ater features, outdoor living spaces, Phoenix landscape design, Glendale landscaping, Phoenix waterfalls, Glendale waterfalls, Arizona swimming pool fountains, outdoor living spaces

Popularity: 11% [?]

Plants that work well and are easily maintained in your Phoenix, Scottsdale and Glendale landscaping, are many times desert native plants. This is because they are acclimated to our climate and our soil, and since they survive in the wide open desert, these plants will usually be great for xeriscaping landscaping. However, they will most likely need some regular light watering, if you are going to have Arizona landscaping quality plants.

One such plant is Arizona Yellow Bells or Tecoma stans which will bring brilliant colored blooms to your yard from late March through November. This makes them an excellent selection for interesting Scottsdale, Glendale and Phoenix landscape design where large shrubs are needed to form privacy borders and screening.

It is best to use some consideration in the placement of Yellow Bells in your xeriscaping landscaping. Although when the planting any Arizona landscaping is new, those small plants with the fabulous yellow trumpet blooms all over them will one day reach up to 15 or even 20 feet tall. The Tecoma stans is often sheared into submission after several years in any Scottsdale, Glendale or Phoenix landscape design.

The good news is that there is a much shorter variety of Yellow Bells available that is more suitable to today’s smaller residential properties. If you want the large, vase shaped form, by all means, go for it. It is quite a sight covered with clusters of trumpet shaped flowers that are individually up to 2 inches across. But, choose an appropriate spot in your xeriscape plan to allow it to grow into itself with all the natural beauty these desert native plants possess.

For those who prefer the smaller version, you’ll want to make sure that Tecoma stans var. angustata is what you’re getting ready to have planted in your Arizona landscaping. This one only grows to 4-10 feet tall with a spread of 3-8 foot across. Why such a wide variation in the mature size? Depending on the winter low temperatures, Arizona Yellow Bells can experience tip damage at 28 degrees, or die back to the ground if we experience 20 degree cold spells.

Its a great choice for adding tropical flair to xeriscaping landscaping with those big flower that hummingbirds adore and if you select the var. angustata type, the narrow leaves are bright green with a heavy sheen – far more showy the the large leaf, full sized version in our smaller yards today. These flowers are followed by long, narrow seedpods.

The larger version of Arizona Yellow Bells is a native of Mexico and Central America and the smaller shrub sized variety is a native of Texas and New Mexico. This is part of what makes them easy keepers in your xeriscaping landscaping. Their natural habitat is alkaline desert soil, however, do be sure to water the root zone lightly every week or deep root drip irrigation very well every other week.

These relatives of the Jacaranda Tree and Trumpet Vine will need good drainage and full sun to light shade in your Glendale, Scottsdale or Phoenix landscape design. Full sun is best for more abundant blooming, but requires more frequent moisture restoration to keep them at their very best vigor and beauty in your Arizona landscaping.

Images courtesy of Eustaquio Santimano (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Popularity: 14% [?]

Outdoor living spaces evolved from BBQs, not just here in Arizona, but nationwide. Once upon a time, patio designs weren’t much more than a mud-free place to enjoy your lounge chair and grill up some burgers, the occasional steak and provide your children with their beloved hot dogs.

Things have come a long way since the days of accepting the poured concrete patio as the place to relax. That charcoal grill has long been replaced by built in gas grills designed to accent and embellish Phoenix patio designs. Kicking back and enjoying spare time somehow became synonymous with everything that embodies backyard living and now encompasses all outdoor home activities from entertainment to mid-week dinner for the family.

There aren’t many complaints about this change in expected uses of a yard or the application of features in Phoenix landscape design that draw the variety of uses we find in our backyards into a cohesive whole. Granted, Phoenix pavers for patios have done a great deal in making full featured outdoor living spaces a much more feasible goal for even the average homeowner. And then there is that BBQ, where magic in cuisine  happens on a daily basis for anyone, on every level of society.

And who could blame us for suddenly needing built in gas grills? There’s plank cooked meats, secret marinade recipes for every style of cuisine from Bangkok to Buenos Aries to Baltimore and beyond. From simple hotdogs and hamburgers or flame seared steaks and on into full blown gourmet meals, our outdoor BBQs have unleashed a whole new way of embracing patio designs as an important part of Phoenix landscape designs for Arizona living.

One may say it is smaller properties that has driven us to create outdoor living spaces that encompass both patio designs and pool landscaping into a place known as outdoor living spaces. Truthfully, we have only compacted all the finer points of the world we own beyond the back door to enrich and enhance our daily lives, as well as our homes.

Rather than simply settling for the latest and short lived model  of outdoor Phoenix BBQs offered by long standing barbeque manufacturers, we can now create one with masonry and a variety of simple to incorporate built in gas grills that allow us to cook up just about any dish under the sun.

Patio designs today for Phoenix landscape design commonly incorporate pool landscaping as part of the overall outdoor living space’s allure, hot tub spas included. Compact backyards allow us to put together a handy assortment of features that are easily accessed, somehow separated and yet create a wonderful unit known outdoor living spaces in Arizona landscaping. It doesn’t stop with built in gas grills and homeowners can now create destination escapes right outside their back door with the right design and installation company as their contractor.

Popularity: 13% [?]

The most common type of driveway paving has long been asphalt, as it is far less expensive than concrete. Something you might want to think twice about having as part of your Scottsdale or Phoenix landscaping – or anywhere near outdoor living spaces. There are  more cost effective paving materials that are lot safer to have in your yard.

Not only are Phoenix pavers better looking, they contain none of the toxicity that asphalt sealcoat introduces to your property.  Additionally, asphalt is a very high maintenance pavement to have on Scottsdale and Phoenix driveways. Yes, it is the least expensive option at first, but requires sealcoat applications no farther apart than every two years to prevent the paving from deteriorating.

With driveway pavers, there is no maintenance costs to worry about every couple of years, or even annually. The surface is ready to walk on or drive on the moment the Scottsdale or Phoenix landscaping crew drives away. It will look beautiful from day one and continue to do so for up to 100 years. No fading, sealing or cracks to repair. Phoenix pavers are ten times stronger than driveway concrete.

This past week, an alarming discovery was made regarding cold tar seal coating used nationwide on millions of miles of driveways, playgrounds, parking lots and streets. This is the most commonly used type of asphalt sealcoat and contains extremely high levels of benzo(a)pyrene. This chemical is so toxic that any business that dumped a barrel of it behind the building would instantly become defined as a  polluted industrial zone – violating all manner of environmental laws and be facing a mighty costly hazardous waste cleanup.

Worse still is the fact that as coal tar seal coat breaks down between fresh applications, the dust is tracked into homes and offices everywhere. So in all actuality, this toxicity doesn’t just stay outside in Scottsdale and Phoenix driveways, it blows around your Arizona landscaping, is tracked onto outdoor living spaces and into pools and waterways. Why we never question the safety of somethings is really surprising. After all, a substance that smells as bad as asphalt sealcoating couldn’t be good! The nose, as it were, should know when something is acceptable and when it isn’t.

In Scottsdale or Phoenix, pavers in your driveway, sidewalks, courtyard flooring or for patios and pool decks is never going to be toxic or require this constant resurfacing. They are far more valuable to your residential asset value than many people assume. Imagine if the now alerted EPA decided that our streets, parking lots, playgrounds and driveways were now a threat to the environment that must be eradicated immediately. The paving industry did some hard lobbying to get coal tar sealcoating approved as safe to use. This toxic substance shouldn’t be in your Arizona landscaping, let alone in the street that runs by the curb where your mailbox stands.

Most people, myself included, really never gave asphalt much question. It’s everywhere, a part of daily life. However, after reading this news item found by chance, it would be hard to accept having sealcoated paving anywhere and most especially in my Scottsdale or Phoenix landscaping. Paver driveways, patios and pool decks are a many leveled benefit of values that goes far deeper and wider than their beautiful surface. From all angles, in any corner of Scottsdale and Phoenix, pavers the least costly and longest lasting material for your home.

Popularity: 12% [?]

From Tuscon to Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona landscaping interest for homeowners continues to focus more and more on xeriscaping landscaping for it’s low water use requirements. Many are concerned about the natural environment, which is definitely a good thing. The wise point of, “Waste not, want not” applies to just about everything in the world.

There is more than one environment to be concerned with though, when it comes to home landscaping. The purpose of a Scottsdale or Phoenix landscape design actually addresses a variety of requirements that should never be ignored. This applies to any type of landscaping from lush tropicals to xeriscaping landscaping.

Your property – that area of ground between the parcel boundaries, is the environment that you and your family live their life within. So, the effect of keeping this mini environment in a state of being pleasant, comfortable, inviting and uplifting is important to every person in residence’s well being.

This private environment has a dual nature. The property surrounding any house is a sizable portion of it’s real estate value. So, your Arizona landscaping of any theme or focus must appeal to a wide variety of people at all times as well. Smart homeowners in any state, keep their residence in a state that would allow it to be put on the market with short notice. One never knows what tomorrow holds. This practice also includes the exterior of the structures, as well as the Scottsdale or Phoenix landscape design that creates the living framing of view and use.

Protecting and nurturing both of these mini environments is just as important as protecting the natural environment.  Then there is the economy the right Arizona landscaping brings to your household budget. Everyone wants to save as much money on monthly household bills as possible. Cutting back on water use is not the only way that switching to xeriscaping landscaping will effect your expenses and lessen the amount of stress on the natural environment you are personally responsible for.

Large trees are the most economical means of reducing the amount of energy your home uses. Properly selected and placed in your Scottsdale or Phoenix landscape design, trees are proven to reduce heating and cooling costs by up to 25%. Yet, they must have enough moisture to flourish and grow quickly and provide the many benefits they do inside and out.

Notice that xeriscaping landscaping is low water use, and not no water use. While everyone is on the bandwagon that Phoenix, Arizona landscaping is wasting precious fresh water and bad for the environment. We suggest you have some further lifestyle adjustments to make besides adopting xeriscaping plants to fill the yard with. Lets look at other ways any person today is throwing away water that could be put to good use – more than once.

Dish water, laundry water and bathing water amounts to a large number of gallons used every month in any residence. This is known as gray water. You wouldn’t reuse it or want to drink it, but your Arizona landscaping could definitely benefit from it. In truth, the standard household plumbing system that allows gray water to drain away is very wasteful. Gray water should be plumbed into a holding tank and put to use in nurturing a pleasant private outdoor environment. The same could be said about storm water – even here in the desert, where rain is a once in a while event.

Professionally planned Scottsdale or Phoenix xeriscaping landscaping will definitely be low water use and yet fulfill it’s personal environment benefits through the use of proper soil preparation, plant selection and drip irrigation. For the most economical and environmentally friendly Scottsdale or Phoenix landscape design, a call to Desert Crest will put you on the right path very quickly. In the meantime, think twice about dumping the rest of that glass of water down the drain.

Popularity: 14% [?]

For most homeowners around Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona landscaping their patio area and turning it into outdoor living space is high on the list of necessities. We can’t say as we blame them, a well designed backyard living style of patio ensures that this will be a pleasant, comfortable space with feature elements that expand the meaning of home.

One of the first things needed is shade for relief from that intense summer sun. Adding ramadas and pergolas creates a cooler space that everyone naturally gravitates toward.

Ramadas can be designed to have many different  looks. This one is a trellis ramada style with open sides and timber slat roof. In this clean contemporary outdoor living space the white masonry posts give the feeling of no barriers. The color of the red cedar cross members and roof slats adds great accent color in just the right amount to keep the patio design’s sleek charm.

Rather than making that wood tone more prominent by matching the stone masonry material used in the outdoor fireplace’s design, the stone selected only softly echoes its presence. The same natural stone was used in the design and construction of the patio bar island. In keeping with the clean, cool expanses of white, the base of the island is finished in the same white stucco masonry as the ramada’s posts.

There are many details like this that must be considered when planning your Scottsdale or Phoenix, Arizona landscaping. Patio designs or hardscape are the foundation of outdoor living spaces that enhance your home and lifestyle.

One wouldn’t imagine that all this stark white intermittently interrupted with cooling green would result in such a beautiful and inviting space, but that is exactly what this homeowner now has beyond the back door. Sometimes simple can be far more attractive than we think. Just look at how relaxing and pleasant such patio designs can be.

Properly placed plants are minimal, making this a very low maintenance yard that is big on impact, yet very soothing. There is just enough use of subtle color in the soft grays and red tones of the stonework from the outdoor fireplace’s facing and the counter of the bar seating island. Over it all is the drama and surprise of the ramada’s natural red cedar roof. Unusual and very striking in a low-keyed and elegant way.

Popularity: 19% [?]