Tucson 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 Tucson 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 Tucson 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 Tuscon 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.