Desert Landscaping: Let The Sun Shine In
You live in a hot, dry climate where water is both scarce and expensive. But you are a nature lover and would be lost without an outdoor area to tend. Your solution? Desert landscaping which will be easy on the local water supply and still give you that touch of natural beauty which brings such enjoyment to your life.
Desert landscaping lets you work with the most obvious features of your climate--its heat and aridity. Desert landscaping uses heat-loving, drought-tolerant plants and decorative features to unify your yard, and will require minimal upkeep from you once it is established. It will slash your water bills and give you maximum effect with just a few plants and flowers.
What are the charter members of the of desert landscaping plant club? The cacti, of course. Cacti will add green to your garden in a variety of heights and interesting shapes, and many of them have glorious, if short-lived, blooming seasons. Some of them, like the prickly pear, also have delicious fruit, which can be eaten or crushed to produce a vibrant cerise dye. And the aloe plant will thrive alongside your cacti, giving you a perfect antidote for sunburn if you overdo it enjoying your yard. That’s desert landscaping with a health benefit!
Your desert landscaping will have its own unique alternative to a traditional thirsty lawn of green grass. By incorporating lots of rack and sand into your desert landscaping, you can create dunes with inviting rocky paths meandering among them, for visual interest which, while it is not traditional, is certainly compelling.
You may even have, as part of your desert landscaping, your own “dry stream”--a channel cut into a layer of gravel rocks to resemble a stream bed. It will evoke pictures of cool flowing water, without the corresponding hike in your water bill.
If you can, when you’re planning your desert landscaping, try to keep a visual picture of your entire yard in mind so that each part of your design will blend in to a harmonious whole. Harmony is one of the most important elements of desert landscaping; it is an attempt to mimic the way in which the desert mountains, gulleys, and open spaces all flow together. If you achieve this same unified effect with your desert landscaping, you will have a yard which you can both enjoy and take pride in!