TEMPE, Ariz. - The City of Tempe is offering free workshops on xeriscape landscaping. Water is precious in our desert climate and it can be expensive to grow non-native grasses and plants. At the workshops, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., participants will learn how to plant and care for hardier, drought-resistant landscaping called xeriscape:

* Saturday, Sept. 29 - Basics of designing and converting to a xeriscape landscape.
* Saturday, Oct. 6 - How to choose xeriscape plants and how to maintain them.
* Saturday, Oct. 13 - Drip irrigation design, installation and maintenance.

Every participant will receive a free comprehensive xeriscape workbook, xeriscape brochures and information on drip irrigation and maintenance.
The first workshop will be held in the conference room of the Water Utilities South Water Treatment Plant, 6600 S. Price Rd. The last two workshops will be held in the Community Room of the south Tempe police substation, 8201 S. Hardy Dr. Registration is required by calling Richard Bond of the City of Tempe Water Conservation Office at 480-350-2627.

The city offers a rebate of up to $500 for Tempe residents who install or convert their existing lawns to low water-use landscape, xeriscape or artificial turf. The rebate is $250 for converting a front yard and $250 for converting a backyard. Download an application at www.tempe.gov/conservation/landscaperebate/program.htm

City of Tempe offers free xeriscape workshops

Xeriscape landscaping is being encouraged in the city of Mesa.

New rebate to encourage Xeriscape landscape instead of grass

Mesa water customers that replace their water-thirsty grass with low-water using plants will now be rewarded with cash back. The new Grass-to-Xeriscape Landscape Rebate, approved by the Mesa City Council on June 25, will encourage the use of landscape plants appropriate to our Sonoran Desert climate. The current owner of a single-family home can apply for a rebate of $500 for removing at least 500 square feet of grass. The new program takes effect July 25, and customers must qualify, which includes receiving prior approval from the City before removing the grass. A yearly budget of $50,000 has been set aside for the program, to be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Since more than half of the water used by homeowners can often be spent on outdoor watering, converting from grass to an attractive low-water using landscape is one of the best ways to conserve water and energy, save money on your water bill, and create a landscape that is much easier to maintain. Local studies show that a Xeriscape landscape can use 50 to 60 percent less water than turf-style landscapes.

Xeriscape (zeer-a-scape) is a term that defines a creative approach to landscaping that includes the use of well-adapted plants, efficient irrigation, careful design and proper maintenance. Xeriscape also creates or replaces habitat needed by wildlife, and helps to create shade for people, our homes and our communities.

The new Grass-to-Xeriscape Rebate program replaces City Ordinance 5-17-8 (E), which provided a rebate of 10 to 25 percent of the water impact fee (paid at the time of construction), when specific low-water using landscapes were installed. The impact fee rebate was only available to customers whose homes were built in 1984 or later, so it did not offer any incentive to residents with older homes. Performing a landscape renovation, especially when it involves grass removal, is typically more costly, complex and difficult to accomplish than simply constructing a new landscape or replacing existing plants.

The City offers a number of publications to assist customers in their conversion from grass to Xeriscape, including Converting to Xeriscape, Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert and Xeriscape: Landscaping with Style in the Arizona Desert. For a complete listing of available publications or to find out how to qualify for the Grass-to-Xeriscape Rebate, visit www.cityofmesa.org/utilities/conservation/ or call (480) 644-3306.

Xeriscape landscaping Phoenix

Free Msa Arizona Landscape Watering Workshop

Take the mystery out of landscape watering at free landscaping workshop

The easiest way to save thousands of gallons of water around your home is in your landscape, because plants don’t save water, people do. The City of Mesa will take the mystery out of landscape watering by offering a free workshop to explain landscape plant water needs, how to create a watering schedule, and how to program an irrigation timer. Hands-on instruction with the timers will be provided. Proper outdoor watering and timer programming can save residents 30 to 50 percent on their landscape watering this season.

The workshop, Landscape watering by the numbers: water scheduling and controller programming, will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on April 18, at Mesa Community College at Red Mountain, Mesquite Building Community Room, 7110 E. McKellips Road. Advance registration is required. To register, call (480) 644-4400 or e-mail your name, mailing address and the workshop name to conservation.info@cityofmesa.org. A map and confirmation letter will be mailed approximately one week prior to the workshop. For more information about the workshop, contact Donna DiFrancesco at (480) 644-3334.

Residents are also encouraged to visit www.wateruseitwisely.com for dozens of landscape water saving ideas. Click on “Monthly planner” to find the tools you need to keep your watering on track and your plants looking great all year long. Mesa encourages all residents to use water wisely.

Tags: phoenix, mesa, arizona, watering, landscaping, landscape, workshops, AZ, water, plants

A recent study called “The North Desert Village Landscaping Experiment” looked at how human behavior is affected by landscaping. This was reported in Seed Magazine.

The researchers, “transformed 24 identical family housing units on the Arizona State University campus in the Sonoran Desert, creating five mini-neighborhoods, each with a different landscape style. The multidisciplinary project, encompassing everything from sociology to ecology, allows scientists to observe how people’s behaviors and attitudes vary in response to different environmental characteristics.”

The new landscapes were designed to represent typical landscapes in the Phoenix, Arizona area. Not surprisingly, after some initial interviews with the participants, researchers found that people preferred the greener views.

It’s great to see this kind of research taking place. Landscaping isn’t just about improving the value of your home or making something look nice. A beautiful home and surrounding area including gardens, patios, pools, etc. can have a direct impact on your behaviors and feelings — for the better!

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Tags: seed magazine, phoenix landscaping, home improvement