Phoenix area yards (rental, buying, live)

[Voebe]

Originally Posted by CLEOPATRAZEUS

I do not live in Arizona but may move to the Phoenix area in the future. (from Florida) With the water restrictions there it is understood why there are few grass lawns. Does all the gravel or cement used for yards, add to the hotter temperatures? I notice a lot of homes for sale have pictures of plain dirt backyards. Is it hard to plant cacti and trees or shubery for some greenery?

Seems to me that there are tons of green lawns. Much more than there should be.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by Bates419

And I hire no one. No water to pay for either

You don't have a landscaper for 6 months while you are in Canada? Plants grow like MAD in the summer! Excluding grass, my HOA would fine me for overgrown shrubs and my neighbors would be rightfully upset. So when my tree blew over during a storm, the landscaper shored it up. When some plants were drying up, my landscaper changed a broken valve.

My broader point was that grass isn't a hassle when you hire a landscaper. I hire it done in MN as well. Now if your point was you refuse to hire someone and therefore it is a hassle, I understand your POV.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by asufan

Houses with xeriscape sell for significantly less in my neck of the woods due to lower curb appeal and cost to remodel landscaping and I think the yards look like hell. I could see it work in an area where xeriscape is the norm and that may be the case in your neighborhood, but in my area the market seems to prefer at least a little grass, lots of trees, palms, flowers, potted plants, etc.

As you know, several artificial turfs look very nice and add the green element. Xeriscape done right looks rather nice to my eyes. Topography plus perfectly placed boulder accents bring a yard up several notches. If N xeriscape yard is professionally done, I appreciate the look. Obviously bringing in color helps too. Potted plants and trees certainly take a neighborhood to the next level. But you are right, green is nicer to look at.

[vfrpilot]

I gave my riding mower to the family that bought our home in CO thinking we will probably have a lawn the size of a postage stamp when we bought here. We ended up with about 18000 sq ft of natural grass. I had to buy another rider. I trim and mow year around. I try to do the majority of the work early, but sometimes am out working all day. I love having the large yard. It feels like we live in a park.
We also have flood irrigation for the yard, which makes watering that amount of grass affordable.

[Bates419]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

You don't have a landscaper for 6 months while you are in Canada? Plants grow like MAD in the summer! Excluding grass, my HOA would fine me for overgrown shrubs and my neighbors would be rightfully upset. So when my tree blew over during a storm, the landscaper shored it up. When some plants were drying up, my landscaper changed a broken valve.

My broader point was that grass isn't a hassle when you hire a landscaper. I hire it done in MN as well. Now if your point was you refuse to hire someone and therefore it is a hassle, I understand your POV.

I have a guy who cleans up every few months as needed for $60. I have turf so still for the green. Do you have to over ccx seed that grass each fall? Having a yard is a hassle whether you mow, water, fertilize, and whatnot it yourself or pay someone else. The extra costs alone would be a no go for me.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by Bates419

I have a guy who cleans up every few months as needed for $60. I have turf so still for the green. Do you have to over ccx seed that grass each fall? Having a yard is a hassle whether you mow, water, fertilize, and whatnot it yourself or pay someone else. The extra costs alone would be a no go for me.

I overseed every year. The "hassle" is the landscaper always texts me asking if I want it done. Every year, my response is "Yes, and next year and the next year." he will text again next September. lol The other "hassle" is I need to walk out when the landscapers are out and say "add some more seed here and here" or "don't sculpture those plants. I like it more natural". Billing happens automatically. If I have a grand total of 1 hour annually what I just described, I'd be shocked.

The real hassle is when you have to replace a plant, coordinate buying rock because it disappears somewhere (where the heck does it go!?), fix sprinkler lines when they leak because builders use that cheap black pipe (we swapped it out for white PVC which tore up the yard), adjust the timers for different times of the year so that you don't under or over water. Or jazz up the back yard with pavers, more plants, water features, accent lighting, etc. But you have these hassle too. So in the end, the difference between us about $600 a year plus an hour a year to micro-manage the landscaper. Of course, another hassle is finding the right landscaper. That took three rounds to find the right company which was definitely a hassle.

In the hierarchy of a hassle, owning a 2nd home as a whole is much more of a pain. Not so much the stuff you can write a check out for. But the hiring process. Basically, it's the stuff that consumes your bandwidth (paperwork, coordinating, opening and closing the house etc). For me, those are where the hassles are. The day I get down to one house will be a happy day. Feezing my butt in the winter or roasting in the summer isn't an option. But when houses raise in value, it costs so much less to buy. I digress.....

[wase4711]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

The real hassle is when you have to replace a plant, coordinate buying rock because it disappears somewhere (where the heck does it go!?)

in my 3 years here, I have had to add rock 3 times..where the hell DOES it go?? Do reptiles/coyotes eat it, or does the nuclear sun cause it to disintegrate?

Inquiring minds need to know..

[Burning Madolf]

Originally Posted by wase4711

in my 3 years here, I have had to add rock 3 times..where the hell DOES it go?? Do reptiles/coyotes eat it, or does the nuclear sun cause it to disintegrate?

Inquiring minds need to know..

There is a huge landscaper/crushed rock conspiracy here where dozens upon dozens of pennies are swapping hands.
Seriously (as if I wasn't being serious), I find 2 things happen with my and my neighbor's (and HOA's for that matter) crushed granite. 1) it gets crushed (I know it's in the name) and 2) it gets buried and mixed in with yard waste and the underlying dirt and eventually with rain followed by summer heat it becomes part of the ground, a lot like brick making (anyone who has dug a hole here in the summer knows).
This is why for small jobs like replacing a plant. I'll move the stone away from the area first, throw the dirt on a tarp, before finishing up with putting the rock back. Raking also helps.

[wase4711]

YOU, not being serious??? wow, I am surprised!

I pretty much follow the same procedure as you do, when it comes to replacing/planting stuff..

Its just weird how the other areas, that I don't plant anything in, needs to have the rock "refreshed" all the time..
When I lived in Illinois, I used lava rock all around, and that too had to be "refreshed" every year, but I knew there it was due to rain/snow/cold whatever..here, I thought I was done with that, but, when you have all those pennies changing hands all the time, I guess anything goes..

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Bates419

I must be a weirdo as a Northerner with an AZ home, I couldn't wait to have a house without the hassle of grass. Give me hassle free palm trees and cacti anyday. I so enjoyed the cleanliness of no grass that I did turf around my pool up North. Win win

Palm trees are far from hassle free!