Phoenix area yards (Mesa, Scottsdale, Gilbert: for sale, houses, landscaping)

[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?

[DetroitN8V]

I don’t think “there are few grass lawns” is an accurate statement. There are many grass yards. Gravel and concrete do add to the heat island. Houses with dirt backyards are probably in areas that aren’t established and/or lower level new builds, not because landscaping is particularly difficult. Stick to the central core and you’ll have mature landscaping and often times, lawn.

[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.

[hikernut]

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?

I've lived in Phoenix metro for about 15 years and have never experienced outright "water restrictions", unlike when I lived in Colorado. In fact, I consider our water cost in Gilbert to be downright cheap.

With all that said, yes it will require a lot of water in the summer to keep grass alive, and you can argue that's a waste of money and resource. There are plenty of water-friendly shrubs and trees you can grow here instead, and this is universally true of the drier areas in the western U.S.


Personally, I hate cactus for residential landscaping. We tore out the few cactus that were planted in our yard when we moved in. There are plenty of other things you can grow, including flowering plants that attract hummingbirds. Drive around when you get here and see what you like.

[Valley Native]

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?

There are no water restrictions. In fact, there is proof that even despite Phoenix's massive growth, water usage has actually decreased in the last few decades. Yes, rock lawns definitely contribute to hotter temps just as much as concrete & asphalt, especially at night. This can be good or bad depending on a person's heat tolerance. Low temperatures rarely drop below 90 degrees during July & August because of this urban heat island effect. One positive note is that it affects low temps during the rest of the year, including winter. As a result, below freezing temps aren't as common as they used to be (except in the exurban areas), and this prevents tender plants & citrus from being damaged.

Don't listen to those who say that grass lawns don't belong here, and that they're a waste of water & money. The amount of water that lawns & trees demand is a drop in the bucket (pun intended) compared to the amount of water that agriculture uses. This is predominately why water usage in the Phoenix area has decreased over the years: there used to be lots of citrus groves & cotton fields, but now there are very few. Plant whatever you want ... especially if you get a place with an ugly dirt slab of a yard. Spruce it up with whatever you choose.

[Kate2345]

I personally hate gravel backyards. We did our own backyard landscaping with grass and fruit trees. It’s not hard to find grassy lawns here. I’ve heard north Mesa is extra grassy. For the prettiest already completed backyards, I’ve noted historic Phoenix and south Scottsdale.

[JGMotorsport64]

There are no water restrictions and there are a lot of green lawns in Gilbert and the older areas of the metro.

[CLEOPATRAZEUS]

I stand corrected on water restrictions. We can only water our lawns in Florida 2 days a week in the summer and we get a lot of rain. So hot to cut grass here in the summer. Hence, so many lawn services. Good to know if we desired some greenery it is very well possible.

[KurtAZ]

Not sure who told you there were no grass lawns in Phoenix. We are on 1/3 acre, have numerous citrus and fruit bearing trees, elevated garden boxes, roses and (gasp) grass...along with the pool. Everyone thinks Phoenix is this desolate wasteland but it couldn't be further from the truth. Most of the Valley was farmland before it was purchased and developed into neighborhoods.

[veritased]

Originally Posted by Valley Native

There are no water restrictions. In fact, there is proof that even despite Phoenix's massive growth, water usage has actually decreased in the last few decades. Yes, rock lawns definitely contribute to hotter temps just as much as concrete & asphalt, especially at night. This can be good or bad depending on a person's heat tolerance. Low temperatures rarely drop below 90 degrees during July & August because of this urban heat island effect. One positive note is that it affects low temps during the rest of the year, including winter. As a result, below freezing temps aren't as common as they used to be (except in the exurban areas), and this prevents tender plants & citrus from being damaged.

Don't listen to those who say that grass lawns don't belong here, and that they're a waste of water & money. The amount of water that lawns & trees demand is a drop in the bucket (pun intended) compared to the amount of water that agriculture uses. This is predominately why water usage in the Phoenix area has decreased over the years: there used to be lots of citrus groves & cotton fields, but now there are very few. Plant whatever you want ... especially if you get a place with an ugly dirt slab of a yard. Spruce it up with whatever you choose.

Rock lawns absorb and emit as much heat as black asphalt? Uh, no. Basic thermodynamics. Good to learn if one wants to survive in this desert. I am not at all sure they absorb as much as brick tiles or cement, mainly due to the fact that, even assuming the same heat capacity (surprisingly they are in the same ballpark on that), they are not presenting near the same surface area to the sun, and hence can't built up a total amount of heat to absorb or later emit at night.

I've heard that argument about agriculture and commercial use of water is so much that your residential lawn irrigation is peanuts. Great. Multiply every pool evaporation, lawn evaporation, and pool/lawn wetting, and you have a decent amount of water in total. Why not conserve this very precious resource? Why not get agriculture to be more water efficient. Seems insane to promote the waste of water at any level, with decreasing water levels upstream from us. Insane.