Living in the Southwest means learning to deal with periods of unusually warm temperatures and extended dry periods. Here are some tips to help you maintain your quality lifestyle and landscapes. Adjust Sprinklers, Set Timers – Water only landscaped areas (not sidewalks or streets) and be sure to repair broken sprinkler heads promptly. As Water-Saving Tip #102 says: Apply water only …
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I hear the whirring of the lawn mowers and see the dust in the air. It’s overseeding season! It’s a familiar scene in neighborhoods across the Valley every fall… the sound of a roaring lawn mower trailed by a cloud of dust. Immersed in the dusty fog is a homeowner or landscaper engaged in the seasonal ritual of scalping a …
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Tired of winter guests? How about inviting some colorful visitors to your backyard who can entertain you instead. It could be time to turn that bit of grass and gravel, with its smattering of sheared shrubs, into a Sonoran Desert wildlife habitat. Sure, the birds and butterflies you attract will need a little food and shelter, but they’re pretty low …
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The name calliandra refers to the beautiful stamens which make the tufted or ball-like flowers on these loosely branched shrubs. Their colors, ranging from pale pink through deep red, are indeed beautiful. These small to medium sized shrubs produce their flowers against a backdrop of finely divided, lacy-looking foliage. Calliandras can be used in a wide variety of landscape situations. Fairy dusters …
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We often take water for granted. Most of us expect water to flow from the tap every time we need it. If it does not, it is usually because our utility company is doing work in our neighborhood, or someone overlooked the bill. This is but a minor inconvenience that is easily remedied. Widespread water poverty in Mad Max: Fury …
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The best time to think about how you’ll water your landscape is actually before you install it. That’s because a healthy and efficient landscape plan considers how much water your plants need and how best to get that water to the root systems of your plants. This week’s video brings Lisa Osborne, the Drab to Fab Backyard Rehab Contest winner, …
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Working Toward an Important Bird Area (IBA) Designation Along the Verde River in Central Arizona This article originally appeared on Audubon Arizona. It is being reprinted with permission. The Verde River is one of our last remaining perennial and free-flowing rivers. With a healthy riparian corridor along its length, it is well-known for its importance to a great diversity of …
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The transformation of a historic waterfall by SRP and the Phoenix Arts Commission allows Phoenix-area residents to experience something old and something new. Arizona Falls, formed by a natural 20-foot drop along the Arizona Canal just east of 56th Street and Indian School, was reopened in June 2003 as a restored hydroelectric plant and neighborhood-gathering place where visitors can learn, …
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This past winter turned out to be one of the driest on record within the Salt and Verde River watersheds. Dry weather with only 3.13” of precipitation (27 percent of normal) going back to October of last year resulted in a new record low streamflow in the Salt and Verde Rivers. Between January and May, only approximately 100,000 acre-feet of …
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As most would expect, water is considered a precious resource in the desert. But, did you know that there are more plant problems caused due to over-watering then under-watering? Believe it or not, it is true. Most people are surprised to hear that up to 70 percent of residential water usage goes to watering trees and plants in your landscape. …
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This spring, learn how beautiful water conservation can be. Spring is in the air; in the sweetness of the citrus buds, in the warmth against your skin, in the vibrant colors of blooming shrubs. Time to put your garden gloves and shovel to work and get your landscaping on par with the rest of Mother Nature. Water – Plant It …
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Add a little drama to your winter landscape with a Pencil Milkbush, Euphorbia mauritanica! This succulent is drought tolerant, perfect for your desert landscape and adds a pop of color when it blooms. We love Euphorbias in the winter! The Pencil Milkbush (sometimes called Pencil Cactus) is known for its pencil-sized stems and little yellow flowers that bloom during our …
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