Create an outdoor plan for spring with free conservation classes and resources

After an unseasonably warm winter, now is the ideal time to do some outdoor planning before the early arrival of summer. The AMWUA cities offer a wide variety of resources, including free classes and workshops, to help you create and maintain a beautiful, drought-resistant yard.

Free Classes and Workshops

These workshops and events  are held throughout the Valley to provide opportunities for participants to learn about various landscape topics, including designing and creating sustainable desert landscapes, tips for maintaining heat-resilient yards, benefits of desert trees, and how to care for them. Participants can also learn how to efficiently manage their irrigation controller, identify and repair leaks, and navigate the complexities of their irrigation system.

This knowledge can lead to beautiful, water-efficient outdoor spaces. You can check with your city’s conservation offices  for more information or view the complete list  on the AMWUA website. It pays to have a plan before it’s time to grab your gardening hat and gloves, and these workshops will help set you up for success.

Pick the Right Plants

For additional assistance for the spring planting season, a valuable interactive resource is also available for homeowners, businesses, and anyone looking for a little extra desert-adapted flower power. The Plants for the Arizona Desert  website highlights desert-friendly plants, making planning your yard much more manageable. The desert offers a surprisingly diverse selection of low-water-use landscape plants. Blending this distinctive palette of colors, forms, and textures allows you to create plant combinations to suit any landscape situation with creative options that ensure year-round color, seasonal interest, and a wealth of other possibilities.

The newly updated printed version of Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert can assist your planting efforts. The healthiest landscapes are diverse, and the revised version features over 215 plants broken into helpful and expanded categories for easy browsing. Contact your local water conservation office  for a free copy of the new edition, or download a complete digital version from www.amwua.org/plants .

Rebates and Incentives

Each AMWUA municipality provides its own unique blend of water conservation programs, including rebates and incentives tailored to meet its customers' needs and best address their water management goals within each municipality. In the last couple of years, the AMWUA cities have added more than 35 new or expanded rebate programs targeting landscape conversions, efficient indoor fixtures, water-efficient technologies and smart irrigation systems, water use monitoring equipment, and neighborhood grants to help residents decrease their water use and increase savings for the long term - indoors and out. 

Various rebates are also available to non-residential customers, including businesses, commercial properties, and HOAs, that want to increase their water efficiency through large-landscape grass removal and smart controllers. Many also offer water-efficiency check-ups.

Cities budget a limited amount for these programs, so it's wise to fill out an application soon. Visit the rebates section  for the most up-to-date information and appropriate links to learn how to apply for the current rebate programs in your city. 

Additional Resources

When designing your landscape, it’s essential to consider your preferences and goals, such as the appearance you wish to achieve, how you will use your yard, the time you want to devote to its maintenance, and your budget as you create your unique plan. Establishing this plan is crucial because a beautiful yard starts with a solid plan, yet many individuals are unsure where to begin when it comes to crafting that blueprint. To help with all phases of planning and building your yard precisely how you like, there are resources and tips to help design, install, and maintain your landscape on the Xeriscaping: Landscaping with Style in the Arizona Desert .

As you plan your landscape, don't overlook one of the best design resources—local xeriscape demonstration gardens . Arizona’s many gardens, including those in the Valley, provide practical information and showcase mature examples of the diverse array of trees and plants that thrive in our environment. 

Now is the perfect time to begin planning for the planting season and considering ways to transform your yard. The outcome will be rewarding. A desert-adapted landscape can save you time, water, and money while contributing to a sustainable future for everyone. Leveraging the expertise of local water conservation professionals at these workshops and utilizing the abundant resources available enables us all to become more water-wise.

For 55 years, the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association has worked to protect our member cities’ ability to provide assured, safe, and sustainable water supplies to their communities. For more water information, visit www.amwua.org .