Making your Tucson garden a comfortable space

When I first became interested in gardening, I always visualized an idyllic, green summer garden. You probably know the type — wisteria blooming over your head, a wicker chair in the sun and various colorful blooms all around with bees buzzing nearby and a cat curled up on the porch. In the desert, it can be difficult to imagine such a romantic, relaxing space. Our climate extremes and thorny plants can make one despair of ever having a garden that we can sit in and enjoy.

I’ve discovered, over the years, that it’s possible to have a comfortable, calming, idyllic space in our desert gardens, too. You just need to adapt your strategies a bit. Maybe you won’t want to sit there when it’s 112 degrees outside, but you can’t sit in an English garden when it’s pouring buckets of rain, either. Every climate and locale has its own challenges, and each of our gardens can become a relaxing retreat with some planning and effort.

Some of the bigger challenges in desert gardens are the sun and the wind. This is one of the reasons I strongly encourage people to get to know their site before they plan their garden. It’s easier (and cheaper) to make a sitting area on the north side of your house comfortable than to build porches and pergolas on the south or west side, for instance. Microclimates in your yard will help to dictate where you want to place a seating area, so it’s important to take note of them before designing your hangout space.

Shade is going to be key for most desert gardens. How you provide that shade depends on your personal preferences, budget, and patience. The cheapest way to get shade is to plant a tree, but you will need to wait a few years for the full benefits. You can also build a shade structure. The tree will provide you with more benefits — it will cool the soil under it, provide organic matter, help absorb rainfall and provide habitat for local wildlife. You may also choose to do both — build a semi-temporary shade structure, like a shade sail, or use a large patio umbrella to give you shade while your tree is growing.

I also recommend limiting your hardscaping in the sunny parts of your yard (the south and west facing aspects). Hardscaping will get very hot in the sun, and then reflect that heat up towards anything (and anyone) in the yard. It will also continue to radiate the excess stored heat throughout the evening. This can make patios on the south and west sides of your yard uncomfortable even after sunset. Shading these areas during the day will help, but having mulch and plants there will help even more.

To deal with wind, you will need to figure out what direction it chiefly comes from. This may vary during different seasons. Again, you have the choice of using built structures like walls, or plants, such as large shrubs and trees to block the effects. If you have the room, I recommend the plants, but again, you may need both depending on your yard’s layout and your personal preferences.

If, on the other hand, your yard is stuffy, consider investing in some outdoor ceiling fans to help move air around your outdoor sitting space. There are lots of options and styles out on the market.

Many people new to the desert also don’t realize how cold it can get here in the fall and winter nights. If you want to spend pleasant evenings in your yard during our cooler months, you may want to consider some type of heat source. Options are numerous, and include chimeneas, fire pits, and gas fireplaces. You will need to figure out your budget, but you may also have constraints in your yard — such as lack of access to a gas line — that will limit your options.

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The plants you choose can also contribute to your comfort. Having visually soft or lush green plants around you can add to the feeling of comfort and relaxation. You may choose to go with thorn-free plants in some areas of your yard, and save the native thorny ones for the periphery. And don’t forget about smell — it’s great to have nice-smelling plants around you. Options include desert lavender, creosote bush, rosemary, and lavender, just to name a few.

For me, the sound and look of water — even a little bit — can make a big difference in how relaxed I feel outside. You don’t need to have a huge pool or fancy, expensive fountain — even a small plug-in fountain in your sitting area can make a soothing, soft sound that helps you unwind. It also won’t use much water.

Adding light to your space will also make it more usable, and will add to the safety factor. You can check out my recent article on outdoor lighting design for more information.

We don’t usually have many bug problems in Tucson, but mosquitoes are a definite detraction and can make your yard unpleasant to use. There are a number of things you can do to reduce the mosquitoes in your yard, and to discourage them from biting you — check out my article on mosquito prevention.

Last but not least, comfortable furniture to sit in is key. If you’re on a budget, you will need to shop around a bit. However, I’ve been able to find pretty comfortable stuff at big box stores without spending too much money; you can also purchase your furniture a little at a time to help with cash flow.

Used garden furniture can be a great way to save money. I have found great second-hand garden furniture on sites such as Craigslist. I also look around second-hand furniture stores in town. If you can get something sturdy second hand, you can buy (or make) new cushions for it and turn it into a new-looking and comfortable piece. Don’t forget to ask relatives and friends if they are getting rid of anything — that may be a good source of a garden umbrella or sitting chairs.