Temperatures are falling in Tucson, and that means winter is just around the corner. But unlike lots of other places in the country, wintertime in Southern Arizona can still be quite sunny and warm, which means there’s still plenty of opportunities to enjoy your lawn. Unless you want to look at a dry, patchy lawn for the next couple of months, you should think about planting a winter lawn. A landscaping company in Tucson can help plant and maintain your winter lawn, but here are some important things you should know upfront.

Mowing Height

Before seeding rye grass for the winter, scalp your lawn to a height between ¼ and ¾ of an inch. Scalping helps the new rye seedlings absorb maximum sunlight, water, and fertilizer nutrients. You can start mowing a rye winter lawn when it’s two inches high. Perennial rye laws should be mowed to a height between ¾ of an inch to 2.5 inches.

Watering a Winter Lawn

As a general rule of thumb, water your lawn every three to 10 days for about 15 minutes. You don’t want to overwater a winter lawn; in reality you should underwater to slow its growth and encourage stronger and deeper roots. You can tell if you are overwatering by using a screwdriver to measure soil penetration. After watering, push the shaft of a long screwdriver into the soil. If the screwdriver goes deeper than six inches easily, you’re watering too much and should cut back on how long you run the sprinklers.

Winter Lawn Fertilization

Winter lawns should be fertilized every three weeks with a 21-7-14 fertilizer. This fertilizer formula is high in nitrogen, which promotes blade growth, and potassium, which promotes cell function and helps roots absorb trace elements in the soil. Fertilization can be tricky, so consult with your landscape maintenance company for more tips and advice.

If you care enough your landscaping to plant a winter lawn, you obviously take great pride in how your landscape looks—and so does Santa Rita Landscaping, Inc. Our goal is to make your outdoor living space unique, personal, and one that you’ll be proud to show off to friends and family. Call us at (520) 623-0421 to learn more about our custom residential landscape design services in Tucson.

Throughout the various ecosystems of the world, there exists a multitude of exotic plant life, much of which is threatened by human activity and development. Tropical regions are among the most highly threatened, as tropical ecosystems hold a number of valuable resources that attract human intervention. The Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is a unique botanical garden in the Miami area with the mission of saving tropical plant diversity and researching the sustainability of the amazing plant life that thrives in tropical climates. The garden is a huge tourist attraction with more than 45,000 members and 1,200 volunteers.

Forming the Fairchild Garden

The Fairchild Botanical Garden was established by Robert H. Montgomery in 1936. It was named for Montgomery’s friend, David Fairchild, who was a plant explorer and collector, who brought more than 20,000 plant species to the United States. The garden was first opened to the public in 1938, and it has grown to cover 83 acres of land with a variety of tropical plant life.

Extensive rare collections

One of the distinguishing features of the garden is the rarity of the plants within the collections of palms, cycads, flowering trees, and vines. The garden’s newest exhibit, the Wings of the Tropics, shows off the exotic butterflies that dwell in tropical regions.

Research and conservation

While garden is a privately owned attraction, it also serves as a conservation center for tropical plants facing extinction. The garden maintains active partnerships with Florida International University, University of Florida, University of Miami, and Miami Dade College to facilitate active research and conservation programs.

The best landscape design is one that utilizes trees and plants which are native to the surrounding area. Native landscaping in Tucson not only ensures that your home or business will reflect the natural beauty of Southern Arizona, but also that the trees and plants you select are equipped to survive harsh desert conditions. A landscape design company in Tucson can help you select the best trees for your home or business, but in the meantime this blog post will help you start thinking about some of the best and most popular native trees for an authentic and drought-resistant Southern Arizona landscape design.

• Mesquite Trees – Mesquite trees are among the most easily recognizable and widely used trees in Tucson. Native mesquite trees like the Velvet Mesquite and Screwbean Mesquite are multi-trunked and provide excellent shade beneath their canopies, making them ideal garden trees. Mesquites develop deep roots, which means you don’t need to worry about these trees blowing over during monsoon season in Tucson.
• Acacia Trees – Acacias are another popular tree species native to Southern Arizona. Native acacia trees such as the Cat Claw Acacia and White Thorn Acacia grow between 10 and 20 feet tall. Because of the sharp thorns found on acacia trees, they work very well as security trees along a perimeter fence.
• Palo Verde Trees – Native palo verde trees like the Foothills Palo Verde and Blue Palo Verde grow up to 30 feet tall and produce edible flowers and seeds. The colorful bark of the palo verde tree is even more striking come spring when the flowers turn yellow. Like mesquites, palo verde trees are multi-trunked and make for great shade trees, especially in a garden or common outdoor seating area.

These are just a few of the native trees that can be used around your home or business. To learn more about these and other Southern Arizona trees, contact the Tucson landscape design experts at Santa Rita Landscaping, Inc. Our mission is to provide extraordinary results for our customers. Contact us online or call us at (520) 623-0421 to learn more about our landscape design and maintenance services.

As you explore heat and drought-resistant plants to incorporate into your Southern Arizona commercial or residential landscape, you may be surprised at the abundance of different plant life that you have to choose from. There are, however, some plants that you should be wary of, since they are invasive species that can take over your landscape and cause problems throughout the local ecosystem. Below you’ll see some of the most common invasive species used in Arizona landscape design that you should avoid on your property.

Periwinkle

The beautiful flowers of the periwinkle, or vinca major, plant are deceptive. While small flowers might seem like an appealing addition to your landscape, these plants will take over with aggressive roots that can compete with native plants for resources in drainage areas. More favorable flowering alternatives include summer snow, desert verbena, and desert four o’ clock.

Aquatic plants

Many Tucson homeowners have pools or ponds in the backyard, and these may welcome plants like the parrot feather and giant salvinia, which can threaten endangered riparian areas.

Bermuda grass

Bermuda grass is one of the most aggressive invasive weeds seen in yards and gardens. It has an extensive underground root system, which may reach up to 1 feet deep in soil. If you are seeking desert-friendly grasses, blue gramma and curly mesquite are drought-tolerant alternatives that won’t take over your outdoor space.

Fountain grass

Not only is fountain grass an invasive weed that chokes out other native plants, but it is a fire hazard to homes and wildlife areas. Grasses that will offer similar aesthetic appeal for accenting rocky areas or flat terrain include Arizona cotton top, bull grass, and desert spoon grass.

Working with the responsible and eco-friendly experts of Santa Rita Landscaping for your residential or commercial landscape design will help you make the best plant selections for a sustainably beautiful outdoor space. To begin your landscape project with us in Tucson, give us a call at (520) 623-0421.

The Summer Garden is a historical park located on an island between the Fontanka, Moika and the Swan Canal in Saint Petersburg. The property also contains the Summer Palace of Peter the Great, which was originally designed in 1704 by Czar Peter in conjunction with renowned architect, Domenico Trezzini. Today the palace and garden are leading attractions in the city, offering a romantic atmosphere that may inspire your own landscape. Keep reading to get a closer look at the history of the Summer Garden and the unique features of this quiet retreat nestled in the busy city of St. Petersburg.

European inspiration

Czar Peter designed his garden with inspiration from the royal parks he had visited throughout Europe. Because St. Petersburg was already known as “Venice of the North,” the garden and palace borrowed the latest European trends with lavish marble statues and fountains alongside tall trees and flowering bushes. The palace itself was built between 1710 and 1714, and it is a 2-storey building with 7 rooms on each floor. Following WWII, the palace and garden were carefully restored with a number of 18th century artifacts, some of which were personally owned by Peter the Great himself.

Historical artifacts

Throughout the garden, guests can stroll the alleys of the property and view a number of 18th century sculptures and marble structures. For a period in the 19th century, the garden was rearranged and taken away from its original design, but revitalization took place in the later 20th century to restore the historical aesthetics of the palace and park, which is open to the public.