Phoenix area yards

[Bates419]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

Palm trees are far from hassle free!

Yes, a slight trim a few times a year is right up there a lawn.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by Burning Madolf

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.

Another variable is the landscape blowers. When the crushed rock gets even more crushed by walking on it, my landscapers "donate" some of my rock to my neighbors or on the road. It's the 1st place that thins out on my lot. In fact, the rock delivery company rounded up my last truckload to the point where I could not find a place to put it. So I gave a few tons my next-door neighbor. Fast forward 6 months later. It's thinning out some between our houses where the landscapers walk (crushing the rock and pushing it in the ground).
Next, they blow the small pieces into my neighbors. Now I see some thinner spots that have to rake like a balding comb-over. I might need to rack some of those neighbor rock donations back in my yard.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by Bates419

Yes, a slight trim a few times a year is right up there a lawn.

You must have a slow growing palm. Mine needs a trim more often than twice a year and once it's too tall to reach you need to hire someone to do it. Plus the hassle/mess when it goes to seed in the spring. If you ever want to remove one, you'll learn that the roots are very aggressive and nothing can be planted in that spot without a LOT of labor to remove the roots. Many landscapers won't even do it because it's so difficult.

[Movn-on]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

You must have a slow growing palm. Mine needs a trim more often than twice a year and once it's too tall to reach you need to hire someone to do it. Plus the hassle/mess when it goes to seed in the spring. If you ever want to remove one, you'll learn that the roots are very aggressive and nothing can be planted in that spot without a LOT of labor to remove the roots. Many landscapers won't even do it because it's so difficult.

I didn’t know this about the big palms. We only have the littler ones. They are hassle free and add a nice tropical element to the yard.

[Burning Madolf]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

Another variable is the landscape blowers. When the crushed rock gets even more crushed by walking on it, my landscapers "donate" some of my rock to my neighbors or on the road. It's the 1st place that thins out on my lot. In fact, the rock delivery company rounded up my last truckload to the point where I could not find a place to put it. So I gave a few tons my next-door neighbor. Fast forward 6 months later. It's thinning out some between our houses where the landscapers walk (crushing the rock and pushing it in the ground).
Next, they blow the small pieces into my neighbors. Now I see some thinner spots that have to rake like a balding comb-over. I might need to rack some of those neighbor rock donations back in my yard.

Yep, the gas blowers are so powerful I'm sure some of your rocks end up in not only your neighbors yard but in the landscaper's dump truck.

[hikernut]

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!?)

We're in the process of re-doing our graveled areas, using a pick and shovel to dig out the gravel that's compacted into the soil. There are places where it's close to a foot deep. I guess the prior owners just kept piling more and more gravel on top.

I really hate gravel as a landscaping material. If I were starting out with a bare yard I'd shoot for using none at all.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by hikernut

We're in the process of re-doing our graveled areas, using a pick and shovel to dig out the gravel that's compacted into the soil. There are places where it's close to a foot deep. I guess the prior owners just kept piling more and more gravel on top.

I really hate gravel as a landscaping material. If I were starting out with a bare yard I'd shoot for using none at all.

WOW! A foot deep! I wonder why people don't use a perforated landscape fabric in AZ?

[hikernut]

Originally Posted by MN-Born-n-Raised

WOW! A foot deep! I wonder why people don't use a perforated landscape fabric in AZ?

Yeah, good question on the fabric.

It's not that deep everywhere, thankfully. On flat areas I'd say it's 3-6 inches deep. But there were a couple of mounds that were added as accent points, and around the edges of those mounds the gravel was very deep. I assume the gravel on top washed downhill, and then instead of re-grading the previous owners just kept piling gravel on top of the mound. They must have done this several times.

[macluffy]

Originally Posted by veritased

Don't get a lawn in AZ, it's irresponsible waste of water. Artificial grass is pretty nice, and to my surprise, seems to weather the intense withering irradiation by the sun very well.

Gravel is just fine, it doesn't seem to particularly absorb and store heat all that much, especially compared to black asphalt. Cement does absorb heat, and it emits that heat all night as the sun goes down, keeping your house nice and hyper toasty.

Hey it depends on the grass! There's a grass here, that many call a "weed" (darnit, I can't remember the name of the grass to save my life) it sprouts up wherever a drop of water falls, it's impossible to kill. I was breaking my back trying to remove it from my front yard area, til I gave up and bought a lawn mower (I'm in a rental house) and treated it just like a lawn. I don't water it, I only water the plants I've planted around the perimeter of the yard, but it seems to flourish just on "waste".



Gardening here has been a real learning experience. Ive found what seems to thrive and what dies here. I have lived ALL over the US and overseas- and let me tell you, Phoenix AZ is the worst for trying to grow anything that comes up out of the ground. The soil is nothing but desolate gravel. If you manage to improve the soil, the wind whips your plants to death, then the sun and heat bake them to a crisp.

[Melanie53]

We build and use raised garden beds out of redwood and cedar and have them full of edible produce. We fill the beds with good organic soil. It’s a good solution.