Dec28

Yellow Bird of Paradise

by Tami Cascio on December 28, 2012 at 7:49 pm
Posted In: Arizona Desert Plants, Shrubs

Caesalpinia gilliesii – Yellow Bird of Paradise

Yellow bird of paradiseThe Yellow Bird of Paradise is similar to the Red Bird of Paradise with yellow flowers.  It has fern-like leaves, it is semi-evergreen with medium green color with a fine texture.  The Yellow Bird of Paradise has exotic yellow flowers with red stamens, is low water use, and hardy up to 5 degrees.  It has low litter, no thorns, and is non-allergenic.   It attracts birds, hummingbirds, and butterflies.  It has a moderate growth rate and grows to 6′ height X 5′ width.  If the frost hits it, you simply cut it back in the spring and it will come back full in no time.

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Dec28

Mexican Bird of Paradise

by Tami Cascio on December 28, 2012 at 7:27 pm
Posted In: Arizona Desert Plants, Shrubs

Mexican-bird-of-paradiseCaesalpinia mexicana – Mexican Bird of Paradise
The Mexican Bird of Paradise, is a lush, desert plant with yellow flower spikes.  The leaves are dark green rounded leaflets, which contrast with the bright yellow flower spikes that appear on the branch tips during the warm season.  The Mexican bird is a fast grower and can get to 10-15 feet tall and spreads to 8-10 feet wide.  It can be grown as a small tree or pruned to keep it a shrub.  This is a great winter option for color in the Arizona desert and it is a desert plant or xeriscape plant so it doesn’t require much water.  It takes full sun and flowers from spring to fall.  It has moderate litter and has no thorns.  It attracts Hummingbirds and other birds and it is not allergenic.

 

caesalpinia mexicana leaflets

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Nov19

Lady Banks Rose Vine

by Tami Cascio on November 19, 2012 at 3:23 pm
Posted In: Arizona Desert Plants, Desert Plant Guide, Flowers, Vines

yellow-lady-bank-rose Queen Creek, AZThe Yellow Lady Banks is an extremely vigorous, once-blooming yellow climber that will happily cover any nearby tree or structure. Its distinctive clusters of yellow flowers in the spring make it easy to identify.  It is thorn-less and has little to no fragrance.  It grows to 15-20′ high and 8-12′ wide.

Lady Banks Yellow’ is one of the great classic roses. It is the double yellow form of Lady Banks White. It is slightly more hardy than the White Lady Banks rose.  This rose is generally much too large for a small garden, but it will provide spectacular spring displays when allowed to cover an outlying tree, wall or building. The Yellow Lady Banks rose is very long-lived, it is a vigorous climber that will happily climb to the top of any nearby tree, fence or arbor. Although the plant is thorn-less, the long graceful arching canes reach and grow into any adjacent means of support.  The abundant evergreen foliage is small and dark green in color with narrow leaves.   It blooms once in late spring and lasts for about 4 weeks.

In order to thrive, this rose needs a sheltered sunny location, but it will grow fine under a wide variety of conditions. It is tolerant of poor soils and is unpalatable to deer.  The ground around the base should be kept free of competing vegetation by mulching. The blooms occur on the second and third year wood, so dead wood and older growth should be pruned out as required.

 

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Sep21

Arizona Backyard Landscape Design

by Tami Cascio on September 21, 2012 at 9:15 am
Posted In: Fire Pit, Landscape Design, Synthetic Grass, Yard Remodel

Before: Arizona Living Landscape started with a bare backyard with weeds and some rock.
backyard-before-landscape-arizona-living-landscape
After: Arizona Living Landscape & Design created a backyard entertainment area complete with a paver patio, gas fire pit, built-in gas BBQ with a bar sitting area, and a putting green. We installed desert adapted xeriscape plants that will require little maintenance for the on-the-go homeowners who also added a hot tub.

Backyard-landscape-design-Arizona

Built-in gas BBQ with electric and a fridge.

Built-IN-Gas-BBQ Arizona Living Landscape

Synthetic Putting green:

Putting-Green-Arizona-Living-Landscape

Built-in BBQ Bar area with sink, BBQ, electric, and fridge. Ready for entertaining.

built-in-bbq-bar-area-arizona-living-landscape

Putting green, paver patio, desert plants with mounding and rock and a hot tub.

Arizona-Backyard-Design-Arizona-Living-Landscape

Gas firepit ready to turn on and enjoy. No wood to mess with and no smoke to deal with.

gas-firepit-arizona-living-landscape

 

 

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Aug24

August yard guide for Arizona

by Tami Cascio on August 24, 2012 at 7:51 am
Posted In: Arizona Desert Plants, August Plant Guide, Desert Gardening, Desert Plant Guide

It’s time to fertilize!

  • Bermuda lawns: Apply Iron once per month according to the directions on the package to keep the lawn green.
  • Roses: Toward the end of August and into September add an iron supplement if roses show yellowing from iron deficiency.
  • Citrus trees: Apply nitrogen fertilizer to your fall ripening fruit trees (navels & tangerines) to help increase fruit size.
  • Pecans: Apply nitrogen and zinc to pecan trees to produce normal size leaf growth and to enhance kernel development. Pecans also need more water than most other shade trees.
  • Other plants: Late August or early September fertilization will benefit most plants struggling to have a flush of growth before slowing down for the winter. The growth put on before dormancy will store more energy during the winter that will be available to the plant when it pushes growth in the spring.
  • Mulch: Apply mulch to the ground around the base of heat sensitive plants keep the roots cooler and prevent evaporation. Keep the mulch several inches away from the trunk. You can cover the mulch up with the landscape rock to hide it.
  • Iron: Apply chelated iron to bottle brush, pyracantha, silk oak, and other plants with iron deficiency symptoms.
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