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The [Best] Low Maintenance Desert Landscape Backyard Ideas
Landscaping in the desert can be challenging because of the intense heat, lack of rainfall, and hard-packed clay soil. But with some planning, you can have a beautiful, functional, low-maintenance desert landscape backyard.
Low-maintenance desert landscape backyard ideas include using drought-tolerant plants that don’t need irrigation or water regularly. You’ll also need to choose heat-tolerant materials that can withstand the harsh sun.
What is a low-maintenance desert landscape backyard?
Low maintenance does not mean no maintenance. It means no lush lawns, flowerbeds, or vegetable gardens for a desert landscape. It means creating outdoor spaces that require little maintenance, such as rock or gravel pathways, stone or gravel patios or decks, and small areas of low-water landscaping.
Since desert plants are accustomed to arid, dry, and hot conditions, they can be pretty low-maintenance. You can create garden beds filled with drought-tolerant plants and low-water landscaping. Even so, the low-water landscaping areas still need to be watered regularly.
You can also add container plants, which can be moved to a cooler, shadier location when summer temperatures soar.
What are the best ideas for a low-maintenance desert landscape backyard?
The best ideas for a low-maintenance desert landscape backyard include a splash of color and landscape rock. Homeowners have done this in the southwest for hundreds of years.
By adding splashes of color, you can dress up your backyard even with low-maintenance landscaping ideas. One way to do this is to add planters or containers with succulents. These plants are low maintenance and add many characteristics to a landscape.
Another way to add splashes of color is to add cobalt blue glass bottles or jars to the landscape. Cobalt blue glass will reflect the sun’s heat and still offer a bold color that will be noticeable in any terrain.
The best low-maintenance desert landscaping ideas include using natural rock and stone to fill any bare areas. This low-maintenance and low-cost idea can make a big difference in your landscape design.
Why is it essential to have a low-maintenance desert landscape backyard?
Even if you have the time to keep up with a desert landscape, making your backyard a low-maintenance desert oasis is essential. The more that you can do to include vibrant color, the better. This can consist of flower beds or items like a pottery or painting studio that bring bright color to your space.
Even if you don’t have the time or energy to keep up an entire backyard, try to bring some year-round color to your home. It is much easier to keep a few containers vibrant than a whole yard, which you can move around as needed.
A desert backyard can be a special place for solitary relaxation, with a meditative quality that other types of yards do not have.
How can you create a low-maintenance desert landscape backyard?
One of the most popular plants in the desert landscape is the desert marigold or chia. This plant blooms in late summer and produces the same brilliant, cobalt blue color that the seeds are known for. Chia is a trailblazer for the other plants in your garden, growing first and creating a lush green canopy for the other plants to follow.
The desert ruellia is an excellent choice for low-maintenance gardens. It is a wildflower that grows in a range of colors. It can be a perfect plant for hedges. The flowers look great in late spring.
Golden barrel cactus is another great plant to consider. It’s round and squat and has beautiful golden spines. It’s an excellent choice for low-maintenance gardens. This fast-growing species can produce fruit within three to five years after germination.
Hedgehog cactus is another great plant that can be grown in low-maintenance gardens. This plant is native to the central and eastern portions of the American Southwest and Mexico. The hedgehog cactus is a low-growing and low-maintenance plant, often only growing a few inches per year. It does not need much water or fertilizer, and it does not produce many flowers.
Colorful flowers are critical to a low-maintenance desert landscape. The desert is home to many brightly-colored flowers, like the scarlet and yellow roses of the Sonoran desert, the bright red and pink flowers of the cholla, and the brilliant yellow blooms of the brittlebush.
What are the benefits of having a low-maintenance desert landscape backyard?
A low-maintenance desert landscape backyard can be a surprising source of enjoyment. Even if you are not a garden lover, a burst of color in the form of desert landscape design elements like cacti and other succulents can be a special treat.
The first step in creating a low-maintenance desert landscape is to select plants that are well-suited to your climate. Dry climates with low rainfall and humidity are ideal, but many plants can survive in arid environments with more rain and moisture.
Plants that are native to your area are always a good choice. Green foliage in the form of grasses, drought-tolerant plants, and wildflowers will also brighten up the landscape.
How can low-maintenance desert landscape backyard ideas save you time and money?
Many desert landscaping ideas are pretty low maintenance. This is especially true for water features, which require much attention in most parts of the country. But a water feature in an extreme climate like the desert takes more time and money than in more moderate areas.
The same is valid for planting yellow flowers. Most yellow blooms need more water than other colors to stay vibrant, making the garden look more weedy than wild. In an arid region, yellow flowers may not be low maintenance at all.
The key to low-maintenance desert landscape backyard ideas is to focus on the elements native to the climate to the best of your ability. This includes the plants and even the rocks if your area is low maintenance.
Consider a desert landscape design if you’re looking for low-maintenance backyard ideas that will still make your outdoor space look fantastic. With minimal watering and upkeep, you can have a beautiful backyard that is easy to care for. Use these desert landscape backyard ideas to start your low-maintenance backyard oasis.
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