Changing from Lawn to Desert Landscape

Q. After 6 years of trying to have a beautiful lawn in Las Vegas, I finally give up. The water company has offered me $3/foot to convert to water smart landscaping. What should I do? Do I add more rocks and plants? Artificial turf? What trees should I use, if any?

A. If you do nothing else after removing the lawn, plant some trees or large shrubs that shade to the West and South exterior walls and windows of your home. This will help reduce air conditioning costs during the summer. These plants should be deciduous, in other words drop their leaves for the winter.

Shade South and West Walls

            Select trees that grow to about the same height as your home. Avoid trees that grow huge. They use more water and don’t really provide any extra savings in air-conditioning costs. A two-story house can handle bigger trees so in your case these should be deciduous trees so they drop their leaves in the winter and allows sunlight to warm the house. I will get back to you with some recommendations on some plants.

Sometimes just a vine on a trellis is enough to shade a wall or entrance from the hot sun.

Choose Desert Trees

I would steer you towards trees that are adapted to desert environments, in other words, “desert trees”.Regardless of the trees you select, plant them a distance from your home no closer than half of their mature height. Plant them no closer together than this either. Dig the holes for the trees at least 3 times the width of their container and no deeper. Smaller trees establish more quickly and grow more rapidly in the beginning than larger trees. Irrigate the soil around plant roots no closer than 3 foot away from the foundation of the home.

Many desert trees have excellent form and good looks like this Mesquite in this desert landscape.

Fake Grass Has Pluses and Minuses

            Personally, I don’t care for artificial grass unless it’s used for a specific purpose other than just covering the ground. It gets terribly hot during the summer if it’s in the sun and requires upkeep. If you go in that direction, start asking some questions because it is not maintenance-free. I wouldn't use artificial turf unless you have a reason to put it in. Aesthetics, or just looking at it, is not a good reason to install it. It's in the sunlight it gets exceedingly hot during the months of about April through September. It starts cooling down sometime in mid-to-late October for the fall months. If the air temperature is about 105° F, and the sun is shining directly on it, the surface temperature of your artificial grass will be about 165° F. I know because I've measured it.

Some artificial lawns look very realistic but they will be also more expensive.

Suggestions

Start appreciating open spaces. That's what concerns water deserts is open areas. Don't fill the entire landscape area with plants. Learn to appreciate what is called "negative space".

Shade the walls and windows of your home on the south and west sides. With a two-story home this requires trees 25 to 40 feet tall.

Don't plant anything closer to the house than 3 feet from it. Apply the irrigation on the side of the plants away from the house or any cement surface such as patios, driveways, sidewalks, etc.

Think of your landscape plants in multiple layers; the tall ones, the medium-sized once, small ones and groundcovers and vines.

Odd numbers of plants are usually more appealing to the eye than even numbers up to about 7 plants. Above that number, the eye doesn't seem to notice the difference.

Repeat plants through your landscape to provide some continuity and rhythm. There is no need for every plant to be different from each other. Repetition or repeating plants is a good thing and landscape design.