Today I went to the grocery store and looked at the gardening magazines.
The lush green grass, the beautiful foxgloves, the gorgeous wood deck, I just yearned for a garden that looked just like the picture on the cover of the magazine.
The truth is, these garden designs just simply do not work in the desert.
The reason why, is we do not have the water available to have such a lush green garden and the heat of July kills most of the plants featured in the magazines.
Our dry heat cooks the wood deck and in just a few years it is a splintery mess.
But you can still have a beautiful garden that you are proud of.
A beautiful desert garden starts with a plan and knowledge of what plants grow well in our desert climate.
A visit to your local nursery will give you an idea of which plants will thrive and in what area of your yard they grow the best, full sun, partial shade or complete shade.
Drive around and find yards that you like.
Take pictures of the yard.
After you look at all the pictures, do you see some consistency with what you like? Now start your landscape drawing based on the pictures.
Measure your yard and draw your home and yard on a piece of graph paper.
If you want to have grass, add a patch of grass.
Grass takes a lot of water so don't go overboard.
Bermuda grass grows best in desert areas and it needs to have a curb to keep it contained.
Add the plants that you like.
Do not draw them into the grass because they require a different watering schedule than grass.
What is nice about doing your own design and your own landscape you can add parts as you can afford it.
When I did landscapes for clients, I charged no less than $5,000.
That price included a granite yard, 1 tree and 10 plants.
Having a landscape designed and installed can be very expensive.
But the good news is you can do a lot of it yourself and I am going to help you.