Create Your Outdoor Plan for Spring Utilizing Free Classes and Resources

It’s that time of year when thoughts of spring start swirling, which means it’s also the ideal time for outdoor planning. To help you in your spring preparation, the AMWUA cities offer a wide variety of resources including free classes and workshops to help you design, plant, and maintain a lovely, drought-resistant yard.

These events are held throughout the Valley to provide the opportunity to learn more about various landscape topics, including designing and creating sustainable desert landscapes, tips for pruning and maintaining your yard, caring for your trees, rainwater harvesting, and creating pollinator gardens. There are classes about proper plant selection and placement, composting, growing vegetables, and desert edibles. Learn how to manage your irrigation controller water efficiently, find and fix leaks, and unravel the mysteries of your irrigation system. This type of knowledge can lead to beautiful and 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.

For additional assistance with designing your ideal yard, 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 over 200 desert-friendly plants through high-quality photos, making planning your yard much easier. 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.

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

Now is an ideal time to start planning for the planting season and looking at options for transforming your yard. The final product will be worth it. After all, a desert-adapted landscape will save you time, water, and money while playing a valuable role in building a sustainable future for all of us. And utilizing the expertise of your local water conservation pros at these workshops empowers us all to be a little more water-wise.

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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 .