Outdoor Oasis

Our new house had been a rental for many years before we bought it. And the backyard looked like it. A common ground cover for yards in Phoenix is rock and bermuda grass. Neglected yards are rocks and clay dirt. We’d just come from the lush Mid-east and longed for our old massive yard and deep green lawn. Instead we had a concrete block fence, and sun-baked dust.

First order of business, amend the soil so water would actually drain. Have you ever had a monsoon come through and dump water on clay? It doesn’t get soaked into the soil, it runs in rivelets and puddles until it evaporates. Oh, yeah, we had one tree. A poor little lime that looked new because it was so small. The next door neighbor had been keeping it alive with occasional showers. It was just a sad, sad yard.

Next order of business, get some shade. Trees take time but covered porches can grow within a week. The husband and I decided to first extend the concrete, and then hired a crew to install an alumawood porch structure. Alumawood because metal and concrete are about the only things that can handle 120 degree summers, drenching monsoons, and termites.

Once the weather got cool enough to want to be outside again, the husband got all the sprinklers working. Then we tilled up the ground, and laid “winter grass.” Arizona has seasonal grass, beautiful lush winter grass, and awful, rough, can’t-kill-it-if-you-tried bermuda.

Whenever I got a spare hour I was walking around nurseries trying to decide what plants to add to give us some shade and privacy. Whoever decided that backyards that face the community walking trails (green spaces that are really just rocks and maybe a bush or tree) need to have fences people can see into, needs to be forced to live in said houses.

Anyway, I discovered climbing bougainvilla, a super thorny, but vibrant, drought-tolerant queen. I took four. Add some Red Push Pustach (because they turn colors and lose their leaves, which makes us nostalgic for 4-seasons) and a couple more citrus trees and we gave it a start.

I’ve since added some lavender and roses, and a little spot to try to grow vegetables.

Now that everything is filling out, our backyard has become a bit of an oasis. And better yet, it mostly takes care of itself.