Arizona Landscaping: How to Save Water with Your Landscape

Are you concerned about the amount of water you use in the maintenance and upkeep of your landscape? This article will provide you with ways to conserve water with Arizona landscaping tips and guidelines. Whether you're looking to save water for environmental purposes or save money on utilities, the following information will be beneficial to you and will help you avoid wasting your resources.




Minimizing your water consumption is a win-win situation all around. You save money on your water bill and your landscape gets the water it needs without waste. Water conservation is the most cost-effective and environmentally sound way to reduce our demand for water and there are a number of ways to save water when it comes to Arizona landscaping.




Did you know?




Over half of residential water use goes into our landscapes, which makes watering efficiently one of the best and easiest ways to save water. Professional landscape design and proper planning can help reduce water use by 60 percent, increase your home's value by as much as 25 percent, decrease the costs associated with landscape maintenance and help to keep your landscape plants healthy and beautiful throughout the year.




Developing a comprehensive landscape plan for your property just makes sense. A carefully thought out plan will enable you to create a beautiful outdoor landscape that enhances existing features and adds new ones that can help you save water, money and energy.




A professional landscape designer can help you develop and architectural quality plan for your water-saving landscape. They start with a simple base map of your property lines and then expand it into a detailed plan that includes existing structures and sun/rain exposure. They'll look for things like spigot and downspout locations, trees, slopes, existing sprinkler systems and more.




In addition to conserving water, you can also save on energy costs. Strategically placed trees and shrubs can help you save up to 25 percent on yearly heating and cooling costs. During the winter, trees and shrubs shield your home from cold winds, reducing heat loss. In summer, shade trees can reduce the need for cooling.




Xeriscaping is a popular Arizona landscaping method used to promote water conservation in landscaped areas. Converting your existing landscape to a xeriscape is not complicated - it just requires a little expertise on regional climates and few improvements to the property.




A professional landscape designer can provide direction and guidance by mapping your water and energy conservation strategies and base them on your regional and micro climates. This is crucial, as plant selection and locations will depend on where you live and how they'll flourish while saving water. They will also be able to help you reduce the amount of turf areas, which usually requires a lot of supplemental watering.




Other things to consider in a xeriscape are improvements in the soil to absorb water and encourage deeper roots, irrigation techniques that water plants in the most efficient locations, using mulch to keep roots cool and minimize evaporation and maintaining landscape through fertilizing, trimming and controlling pests.

John Waters is Principal of Creative Environments Design Landscape, the largest and most respected landscape design company in Arizona. Let our team work with you to design and develop Arizona landscaping that will fit your individual style and budget.

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wireless weather station: wind gauge

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What Can Cause Your Basement To Flood

Have you ever had a flood in your basement? Or have you ever seen a flooded basement before? It can do a lot of damage to your home and your personal things. It can cost you a lot of money to get the water out, and it will cost a lot of money to get it dried depending on how you go through and how good your insurance is. If you are renting, your landlord has to take care of it and get someone out there to clean it up because it is their responsibility to do so and because it belongs to them and not you. You need to try to prevent floods and water damage from happening in your home by checking all your pipes, making sure everything is sealed up right, boarding up the windows, sealing up all the cracks in the wall, and ensuring that everything is put up on a high shelf so it won't get damaged.




Water can leak right through the floors, walls, and anything that has not been sealed up the right way. It causes water damage to happen, which creates mold, makes things slimy or fall apart, and it will cause bad odors that could curl your nose. Floods can be caused from an excessive amount of melted snow, really heavy rain, hurricanes, water leaks, or from your septic tanks - if you have a septic tank that is! You don't want to even know what that can put in your basement. You can get sick, and you will have to throw away your stuff. For one, it will be hard to get out and second, you would not touch it anyway.




If the water is too high, you will have to get a hose in there to pump out the water and get it outside in a creek or something. It can take a long time to get the water out, so your best bet is to get an electric pump for that kind of job. After you get the water out of the basement, you will need to get it dry because the water has soaked in the wood and in all the other things that you have. You will have to dry it out so moisture will not set in and no mold will grow in your home. It will take hours to do this, but it will be worth it to save your home and your stuff. Also get a professional to clean it or to help you so you know it is done right.

Aydan Corkern is a writer of many topics, visit some of her sites, like
colorado water damage restoration and indiana water damage restoration.

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wireless weather station: weathervane

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