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If you’ve been considering converting your grass into a colorful low-water-use landscape, a local class will show you the easy step-by-step methods. And, you may even be eligible for a rebate!

The City of Chandler is presenting a free workshop, Basic Yard Makeovers on Tuesday, September 1, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Call 480-782-3580 to register for the program.

Many of the partners in the Arizona Water – Use It Wisely coalition offer FREE workshops or classes with expert speakers willing to share their knowledge. You can learn about designing a colorful water-saving, low maintenance landscape, programming an irrigation controller, attracting wildlife to your yard, selecting low-water-use plants, pruning, watering your landscape, making compost, or herb and vegetable gardening in the low desert.  There are even walking tours of local Xeriscape gardens.

Explore the new on-line calendar on the Water – Use It Wisely home page and find out more about conservation events scheduled in the metropolitan Phoenix area. See for yourself.  Click on the calendar on the left navigation bar ‘Learn about local events & classes’ to see what’s happening in your city or town.

December is typically the time to shop for others.  So, while you’re at it, why not consider a gift for your home and/or for the environment?  Water-efficient devices and appliances give back all year not only in terms of the amount of water saved, but also money saved on your water bill, wastewater bill and often even your energy bill.

With climate change being discussed by the media daily, these gift ideas are perfect to help reduce your carbon footprint.

• Front loading washers may cost a bit more, but they are more water and energy efficient.  The increased capacity means fewer loads of laundry.  Less water is used, so there is less water to heat.  And, the higher speed spin cycle removes more water, easing the dryer’s work load, as well.  A family of four can save 1,000 gallons a month.
• Water efficient dishwashers can also save you both water and energy. If your dishwasher is more than a decade old, newer dishwashers are now using one-third to  one-half less water. Save 1,200 gallons a year with a new water-efficient model.
• Low-flow showerheads provide amazing savings. Cut your water use dramatically by replacing a 4 gallon per minute (gpm) head with a model that uses 2.5 gpm or less and save up to 12 gallons or more for each eight minute shower. Multiply that out for a family of four and you’ll save up to 1,400 gallons of water monthly.
• High efficiency toilets are the latest and greatest water savers you can get for your home. This certainly has an impact – easily saving you up to 1,200 gallons a month. Think about  pairing it up with new flooring for the bathroom, since that’s the best time to replace a toilet.
• Landscape renovations can turn a thirsty landscape to a low water-using Xeriscape and can cut your outdoor water use in half. Since 50-70 percent of household water is commonly used outdoors, the savings can add up to as much as 50,000 gallons a year for an average sized yard.

If you’ve great a an idea for a holiday gift that can save water, please share it with the water world below in the comments section.  For 100+ other ways to save, click here.

The weather outside is far from frightful – in fact, it’s downright delightful.  But that doesn’t mean you can’t create your own “Winter Wonderland” in the Arizona desert.  The winter months provide a perfect opportunity to experiment with container gardening, which can add some amazingly colorful – and even flavorful – variety to your landscape and garden.  Landscaping with containers is also a great option for winter visitors who may be looking for ways to quickly and inexpensively add some Arizona beauty to their patios and entryways.

Many types of low-water use plants lend themselves to container planting, especially cacti and succulents.  There are a number of possibilities that look great during the winter months. For container gardening success, check out the following ideas:

Plant Selection

• Consider cacti, agaves, and a great selection of other succulents such as aloes, which will provide spikes of winter blooms that attract hummingbirds.
• Desert annuals and perennials will provide lots of showy color.  Try early blooming Mexican poppy and penstemons, or long blooming angelita daisy, blackfoot daisy, and moss verbena.  Combine flower types and colors for added visual interest.  Mix and match colors to find the combination that’s most pleasing to you.
• Small, colorful shrubs are good performers. Look for plumbago, bush morning glory, purple hop bush, and dwarf bottlebrush.
• Herbs also do well in containers and provide the benefit of fragrance and for spicing up your cooking. Tough performers include trailing rosemary, lavender, oregano, thyme, and lemon grass. Many will cascade nicely over hanging baskets.
• Don’t hesitate to combine plants together in pots. Just don’t mix cacti and succulents with plants that will need more water.

Choosing the Right Pot

• Plants don’t like to be crowded, so buy the bigger pot, as opposed to the smaller one. Plant roots will stay cooler during warmer months and will also dry out less quickly.
• No matter what pot you choose, allow for drainage.  Arizona’s water is highly
• alkaline and the salts can harm plant roots.  Make sure there are holes in the bottom of the pot; place screens over the holes so you’re draining water, not    soil; and, place pots on pot feet, bricks or iron stands, rather than saucers.
• Clay pots are most popular, but they don’t always hold up well to the moisture.  To preserve them, line the inside with plastic before putting in soil and plants.  Punch a hole through the plastic in the bottom of the pot to allow water to drain. Inserting a plastic pot inside a clay planter is also an option.
• Pots made of light-weight Styrofoam-type materials are great for making it easier to move plants to a protected location on colder nights.  They also allow you to move your plants in and out of the shade as the seasons change.

Maximize Your Soil

• A good quality soil mix is probably the most important ingredient to successful container gardening.  Choose a cactus/succulent mix for those varieties. For everything else use a lightweight packaged potting soil or a blend of 1/3 potting soil, 1/3 vermiculite and 1/3 pre-moistened peat moss.
• Use a timed-release fertilizer.  Typically, a three- or four-month release fertilizer is sufficient for container gardening.

Water Appropriately

• Container plants have restricted root systems and less soil compared to plants established in the ground, so will typically need more frequent watering than your landscape plants.
• Be sure to water thoroughly each time, then allow the soil to dry moderately in between.
• Keep in mind that weather and plant growth over time will change water needs.

Visit www.wateruseitwisely.com for more tips on plant selection, outdoor water use, and landscaping.  If you have an idea you’d like to share about container gardening, please write us in the comments box below.  We’d love to hear from you.

Valley Cities Join Forces

Ten cities have one message for you: low-water-use plants save water. The municipalities of Avondale, Chandler, Gilbert, Glendale, Goodyear, Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale, and Tempe have banded together to provide an online guide to water conserving plants. The guide depicts plants that defy conventional expectations for drought tolerant plants.

The new, interactive resource is an extension of the popular booklet Landscape Plants for
the Arizona Desert, now in its third printing. Both the printed and online publications catalog
over 200 plants that are inviting and sustainable. All plants listed are on the Arizona Department
of Water Resources “Low Water Use Plant List,” devised to address water conservation needs in
Arizona.

The new, online guide displays plant specifics, full-color photos, and the ability to search
for plants for a variety of landscape situations; sun exposure, flower color, flower season, and
bird, butterfly or hummingbird attractors. “Many of these plants may not be familiar to home or
business owners,” recounts Steve Olson, Arizona Municipal Water Users Association Water
Executive Director. “The water conservation benefits of low-water-use plants are well-know.
Their beauty can come as a surprise.”

The guide features plants that thrive while creating a rich planting palette, colorful
displays, pest and disease resistance, minimal care, and convey a unique sense of place. These
desert hardy plants are well-suited to the salty water, sandy-clay soils, and temperature range that
define the Valley of the Sun.

Written by local experts, the publication offers low-water-use plants that are relevant to
the life style, aesthetic and water conservation considerations for our valley. The new online
guide and a listing of sources for the free printed booklet are available at www.amwua.org.