Archive for May, 2015

HOW TO SAVE WATER WITH 416 ACRES OF GRASS

May 26, 2015

If you want to find out how to save water and keep a little grass in the backyard, how about asking a city with more than 400 acres of Bermuda to care for? The City of Scottsdale maintains 42 parks that include about 416 acres of grass. Six of the city’s largest parks are strung along Indian Bend Wash, an …

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Photo Courtesy of AMWUA

ALL ABOARD THE GREENEST TRACKS IN ARIZONA

May 19, 2015

The Grand Canyon Railway is a little of everything – a trip through time, an engineering marvel and an authentic way to experience nature’s most breathtaking site. It’s also the most environmentally-friendly tourist railway in the country. The GCR operates locomotives that have been in use since the early 20th century and has re- invented them as lean, green, whistle-blowing …

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PLANT OF THE MONTH: HESPERALOE

May 18, 2015

The strong vertical form of hesperaloe with its spectacular flower spikes makes this clumping, evergreen perennial an ideal accent plant for gardens. While not a true yucca or aloe, it is related to yuccas and agaves, and like its relatives, is a carefree, non-demanding plant. Hesperaloes are extremely hardy, tolerating both heat and cold well in our climate. Hesperaloes prefer …

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5 Reasons to Put Your Landscape on a Diet

May 15, 2015

Swimsuit season is all but here, but there’s still time to put your plants on a diet. Plants use sunlight, CO2, and water* to make food, a process called photosynthesis. As plants make food for themselves, they also make our homes more pleasant for us by releasing oxygen and water into the air through pores in the leaves called stomata. *Plants …

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CELEBRATE AZ WATER WITH US AT WATSON LAKE!

May 11, 2015

S. James shared this photo where water and granite meet!  Watson Lake, located outside of Prescott, AZ was created as a man-made lake and reservoir in the early 1900s when the Arizona Land and Irrigation Company built a dam on Granite Creek. The reservoir was purchased by the city of Prescott in 1997 to not only preserve it as a …

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PUT DOWN THE HOSE & BACK AWAY SLOWLY FROM THE LAWN

May 6, 2015

It is 6:15 a.m., and I am standing in my front yard with a cup of coffee in one hand and a garden hose in the other. The sun is just up. It’s cool still, though the day promises 90 degrees, and quiet. I turn the hose on the two squares of grass, divided by a red-brick walkway. My landscaping …

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Watering the Yard

WHAT MAKES WATERSENSE?

May 5, 2015

Do you know about ENERGY STAR products? Of course, you do… created in 1992, the blue label with its signature star has been helping consumers identify devices that use 20-30% less energy than federal standards (you may also see the label in the lower right corner of the yellow EnergyGuide label that you find on appliances showing the annual cost …

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WaterSenseLabel