San Tan Valley Handyman Here With Tips on Turning Your Backyard Into A Water Saving Paradise.
Hi readers! Use My Guy your local San Tan Valley handyman here with my last article on xeriscaping.
For those of you who missed out on my other articles, xeriscaping is a landscaping method developed especially for arid and semiarid
climates that utilizes water-conserving techniques(such as the use of
drought-tolerant plants, mulch, and efficient irrigation). We have finally had some rain these last
couple of days but we are still at record lows for rainfall and couple that
with record highs for heat a deadly combination occurs for plants that are not
accustomed to arid, drought prone climates.
For those of you with yards that are not xeriscaped chances are that
your water bills have skyrocketed these last few months and if they have not
chances are you have lost many of your plants and a lot of grass.
This week I will finish off the series by
grouping plants that bloom in the fall and winter. If you are planning on re-landscaping your
yard then I highly recommend that you go over this article and check out the
articles from the last two weeks. They
will give you a good idea of plants that are available in this area that you
may not have heard of before. They will
also help you to plan out your yard so that you will have blooms year
round. I know it sounds impossible to
have in Arizona but there is such a huge variety of plants native to the Sonoran
desert region that you will have no shortage of options to choose from to
brighten your yard year round.
Although there are no plants that I found that begin to
bloom in the fall there are many varieties that begin blooming in the spring or
summer and if taken care of properly will bloom well into fall. For more info on those plants check out my last
two posts.
Winter:
Vines:
 |
| Lilac Vine |
Lilac Vine.
This is a lovely twining vine that has a fast rate of growth and can
grow up to fifteen feet in height and ten feet in width. This is an evergreen vine that has dark green
leaves and clusters of purple flowers.
This vine loves full sun but can get by with partial and has a hardiness
to as low as twenty degrees. It is a
good idea to cover this one if a frost is coming if you want to preserve the
flowers.
Shrubs:
 |
| Barberry |
Barberry.
This shrub grows rather slowly and doesn’t get particularly big coming
in at about five feet tall by five feet wide in its mature form. In the winter you will see clusters of small
yellow flowers that are replaced by red berries in the spring. This shrub is quite hardy and can withstand
temperatures as low as fifteen degrees.
This shrub needs to be watered about twice a month in the summer.
 |
| Chuparosa |
Chuparosa.
This is a reasonably fast growing shrub that doesn’t grow to be much bigger
than four by four feet in maturity. This
shrub is not particularly hardy and can sustain damage in temperatures below
twenty-five degrees. This is a beautiful
shrub that has orange to red tubular flowers that will attract hummingbirds if
it blooms during a very reasonable winter as we often have in Arizona. Water twice a month during the summer to keep
this shrub in an evergreen state.
Ground covers:
 |
| Blue Euphorbia |
Blue Euphorbia. This ground cover is quite hardy and is able
to withstand temperatures as low as fifteen degrees. With bright yellow flowers this mounding
plant is sure to brighten up the grey winter days that sometimes come to
Arizona in the middle of winter. Water
this plant once a week in the summer to keep it happy and green.
 |
| Trailing Gazania |
Trailing Gazania. This is a very small groundcover that only
grows to one and a half feet by one and a half feet in maturity so you will
have to plant quite a few of these if you want to have a large patch of them
which I can guarantee you will when you see the orange and yellow flowers this
bad boy shows off during the mid-winter months.
When first planted it is important to water daily but after it has
become established it will only need to be watered twice a month during the
summer months. This plant is very hardy
and can withstand temperatures as low as fifteen degrees.
My watering tip for this week is
mounding. It is essential to build a
small wall around your trees and shrubs.
The reason for this being is that it will help to focus the water on the
area it was intended to go. If you do
not have a level yard that does not drain properly you can risk losing much of
the water that was intended for your plants to parts of the yard that either
does not have plants or has plants that do not need to be watered as often or
at that time. Follow this tip and the
others that I have offered over the last few articles and you will save plenty
of water and money and Arizona will thank you as will your wallet.
When
looking for a landscaper we understand how hard it can be to find someone you
trust that’s why we here at Use My Guy Services are your local San Tan Valley handyman dedicated to excellent ratings on the Better BusinessBureau where we have an A+ rating. We
are also on Angie’s List where we have an A rating as well in addition to
winning the Super Service Award for 2015.
You can also check us out on Yelp and Facebook where we have dozens of
5 star reviews. So look no further
because we are your trusted source for all your handyman needs from plumbing
and electrical to shelf hanging and irrigation maintenance, installation and
repair. Call us at (602)316-9187 to
speak with a member of our friendly and helpful staff or check us out online
for a complete list of services offered and for more information about our
family and how you can be a part of it.
Thanks for reading.
Use My Guy Services you local San Tan Valley handyman.
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