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Anyone who has ever lived in the Phoenix Valley can tell you that creating memorable landscaping in a desert home isn’t always easy. Besides that brutal summer heat that can wilt even the heartiest of plant life, there’s also the issue of limited water.

To do an end run around the sizzling desert sun, homeowners in this part of the country have embraced their environment and made the desert part of their landscaping designs. This style of home exterior decorating utilizes red rocks and cactuses to create a landscape that’s both memorable, and easy to care for. The challenge is to strike a balance so that your desert home looks like it’s part of the environment, not something that fell off of a spaceship.

Here’s a few tips to help desert homeowners create outdoor spaces that really work.

Keep it Open

Open space is abundant in the desert, so why not make the most of it? Homeowners who fence in their desert homes are really missing out on what the desert is all about. Now we understand the need for privacy, but why not install a nice shrubbery instead of a wooden fence?

Shrubs not only require less maintenance maintenance than wooden fences (assuming you’ve chosen a desert-friendly shrub) they also look a lot better. If you absolutely, positively, have to have a fence around your yard, at least pick a vinyl fence that’s going to keep its color through the harsh Sonoran summer.

Keep it Cactus

If you’ve ever driven through the Arizona desert, you’ve no doubt noticed that there aren’t a lot of trees growing there. Cactus are the only plant life that really thrives in the desert and that’s why it’s an obvious choice for desert landscaping.

Not only do cacti require almost nothing in the way of maintenance and care, they’re also very affordable.

Take Back the Night

Night life in the suburbs of Phoenix is more active than you’ll find in other suburbs simply because it’s too hot during the day to do much of anything else. For that reason, a well lit deck or patio is a must-have accessory for almost any Phoenix home owner.

Now we’re not just talking about a couple of tiki torches, or flood lights here.

Think of the Environment

The Phoenix landscaping ideas we’ve share in this article don’t just incorporate the desert environment, they’re actually good for it, too. Planting a cactus instead of Kentucky bluegrass; or planting shrubs instead of building a fence; won’t drain the environment of precious resources that are better needed elsewhere. (After all, there’s a reason you don’t see green trees in the desert - it’s because there’s hardly any water there.)

Homeowners will also be pleased to find that these are also some of the most cost-efficient landscaping options available in any part of the country.

Finally

Desert landscaping is so maintenance-free and easy to handle that there’s just no point in trying to make anything else work there.

Brian Hobbs is an experienced garden designer. True Phoenix outdoor lighting designs make the most of the environment, while providing plenty of light for even activities and cookouts.