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Beginning of the New Year Furry Neighbors
BEGINNING OF THE NEW YEAR
By Randy Zellers SDL, Director of Operations
It is time to reflect on the year and improve on things that didn’t go your way in 2021. The same can be said for your landscape. Landscapes are a lot like life, in that, you get out of them what you put into them. Winter gives you the time to evaluate your landscape while not having to deal with the triple digit temperatures of the summer in Arizona. Water usage will be a hot topic in 2022 with Stage 2 and Stage 3 tiers possibly coming into play for Arizona.
Many of you know that the Phoenix valley obtains its’ water from Lake Mead and Lake Powell through the Central Arizona Project and its’ labyrinth of canals. Both lakes are at roughly 33% capacity as of September 1, 2021 and unless snowpack melt from higher elevations replenish the lakes, we are at a major crisis of having cutbacks instituted by municipalities in 2022.
We have often mentioned that turf areas are the largest water user in your landscapes and require roughly three times more water over the course of the year than plants and trees need. Having said that, Scottsdale Ranch Community Association is positioned nicely with very small amounts of turf located in the common areas and will not be drastically affected as some other master planned communities throughout the Valley. If you have turf at your home, now would be the time to evaluate if it is needed or not. Turf should always be functional and esthetic and if it does not meet that criteria, it should be on the table for removal. Poor designs of turf with lots of curves will make it difficult to irrigate efficiently and water is wasted by not getting irrigation to its’ intended target. The best designs are squared off to allow the use of nozzles that will efficiently water the turf with full circle, half circle and quarter circle spray heads.
Most nurseries in town have desert adapted plants and trees for your landscape. In older communities, it is time to start to change the plant palette and adjust to plants that are more efficient in your landscapes. Again, Scottsdale Ranch has been proactive with the plant palette and has been updating the plants and trees for the past decade to bring more color and lower water use plant material into the landscape. A plan was put in place to eliminate Eucalyptus and Olive trees throughout the community and replace with trees like Southern Live Oak, Chinese Elm, Desert Willow, Palo Verde, Mulga and Mesquite. These variety of trees fit the spaces along the right of ways far better and allow growth without constant pruning to clear walls and streets, thereby, reducing labor costs for the community.
Plants that have been incorporated into the landscape for color are Texas Yellow Bells, Coral Fountain, Orange Jubilee, varieties of Lantana species, Sage species and Emu bushes. All these plants bloom more prolifically and give The Ranch seasonal color throughout the year. Hard cutbacks allow plants to thrive to their normal growth pattern and allow more blooms from the tips of the plants. Shearing of plants does damage to the normal growth patterns of the plant and usually is the result of the wrong plant in the wrong space, which requires controlling the growth due to space limitations.
Based on the topics above, evaluate your landscape and see where you can save water, time (labor) and money in maintain your landscape. Planning with better choices will result in a more fulfilling experience with your landscape and be the best it can be.
AmenitiesWant a Record-Breaking Sale on your Home? Call the Mona Team!
JUST SOLD! JUST SOLD!
Scottsdale Ranch recent sales at FULL PRICE OR MORE!!
ADDRESS BED BATH SQ. FT. LIST PRICE SOLD PRICE COE DATE
10186 E Bayview Dr 3 2 2240 $1,378,000 $1,392,500 9/30/2021 9473 N 110th St N 2 2.5 2157 $799,500 $800,000 10/15/2020
