Eco-Friendly | Phoenix Landscaping Design & Pool Builders, Remodeling

February 26, 2020

How To Keep Your UNIQUE Outdoor Living Space Bug Free NATURALLY

Bordering your outdoor living space with small planter is the perfect way to keep bug repellant plants close to you as you relax outdoors.

While we are fortunate enough to be able to enjoy our Phoenix outdoor living spaces year-round, one of the most significant benefits to the cooler winter months is the lack of bugs. But as soon as the weather begins to warm up, the unwanted flying and biting guests start to arrive. Bugs sprays, candles, and even bug zappers can only do so much. However, you can create a bug-free zone around your yard by adding plants that are known to repel bugs. You can learn more about natural bug repellant plants and how they can be incorporated into your landscape by calling 480-969-1911 for a free consultation or CLICK HERE to complete the online form.

Herbs And Essential Oils

These sprigs of rosemary make a great natural bug repellant, herb for cooking and a fragrant centerpiece for your dining table.

You will be happy to learn that the natural bug repellants are far more pleasant than the chemical smells of most bug sprays. You might even decide to dry some of these plants to add their fragrance to your home.

Rosemary: Rosemary will grow indoors or outside in the Phoenix area. And this plant offers many uses inside and outside your home. Most people are familiar with its fragrance and use in the kitchen, but only a few know that this aroma will keep ticks and fleas away. It is also useful to repel mosquitos. For this application, you need to boil the rosemary and then use the water, once cooled, in a spray bottle to repel this annoying insect.

Lavender: Lavender provides a beautiful bouquet of pale purple flowers with a pleasant and relaxing aroma. And while humans enjoy this fragrance, flies, moths, and mosquitos find the odor to be repulsive. And because of the essential oil in this plant, the aroma from even cut lavender will last for several days to help keep the bugs away. This makes lavender perfect for a cut flower centerpiece on your outdoor dining table or indoors as well. Placing a few of these plants near your outdoor living and dining areas will help you to avoid mosquito bites year-round without having to coat your skin with bug spray.

Lavender is a beautifully ornamental plant as well as a bug repellant. And the wester monarchs will enjoy the lavender in your yard as much as you do.

Basil: The basil plant offers many benefits from a tasty herb to try in the kitchen or on the grill to a repellant of pesky mosquitos and flies. This easy to grow plant is excellent in window boxes and along your patio to keep bugs away, and a bonus is that the oil in basil will kill mosquito eggs.
Peppermint: The fragrance of peppermint is familiar to most people. And while most find it to be a pleasant aroma, some find it to be strong and pungent. But the good news, if you like the fragrance, is that ants, spiders, and mosquitos can’t stand the smell. Peppermint can be grown in the ground or in pots to be strategically placed throughout your outdoor living space or inside your home.

Adding small planters around your pool is a great way to keep bug repellant plants close when you are enjoying a dip in your UNIQUE swimming pool.

Larger Plants For A Larger Repellant

Eucalyptus: Eucalyptus trees have a powerful fragrance due to their size. A screen of these trees along a property line will provide a bug deterrent to a large area and keep the scent from becoming overpowering in your outdoor living space. These trees do get quite large, and the foliage does create some debris. But the payoff of a bug-free zone is well worth the need to tidy up leaves once in a while. In addition, the essential oil in the eucalyptus can be used to make a spray that will kill aphids, mites, earwigs, whiteflies, and sand flies on contact.

Include some large pots or planters near your swimming pool so that you can enjoy the bug repellant benefits of rosemary, lavender, and basil as well as the wonderful fragrance.

Camphor: Camphor trees work much like a giant citronella candle. The fragrance of these trees repels mosquitoes from the entire area. And the rich green foliage is a beautiful backdrop for any outdoor living space.

Other Important Tips

You can also avoid bug infestations in your yard by:

Eliminating standing water or puddles of water
Keeping food and drinks covered
Keeping lids on your trash receptacles

To learn more about adding some of the bug repellant plants to your landscape and outdoor living area, call 480-969-1911 to schedule a free consultation with a UNIQUE landscape design specialist. You can also CLICK HERE to complete an online request, and a designer will contact you to set up your appointment.

February 11, 2020

A UNIQUE Message About The Western Monarch Butterfly

Once abundant in the southwest, the monarch butterfly is now bordering on extinction due to a severe reduction in its natural habitat.

Due to the mild climate we enjoy in the Valley of the Sun, we share the region with some very UNIQUE creatures such as the western monarch butterfly. But sadly, these beautiful creatures population has dropped substantially in recent years. Once abundant, numbering as many as 300,000 just a few decades ago, it is estimated that the monarch population has dwindled to fewer than 30,000 in late 2019. This severe decline could be the beginning of the end for monarchs in the wild. But as a resident of Phoenix, you can help the monarch population by merely adding a few specific plants to your landscape. To learn more about landscape designs with a purpose and plants that will help save the monarch population, call 480-969-1911 to schedule a free consultation with a UNIQUE landscape design specialist or click here to complete an online request.

Monarchs Depend On Milkweed

The bright flowers on this tropical milkweed make it the perfect addition to your landscape and a haven for migrating monarchs.

Milkweed plants are the lifeblood of the monarch population. Their eggs are attached to the leaves so that the caterpillar has an immediate food source once it escapes the egg case. The caterpillar continues to consume milkweed until it is ready to create its chrysalis in preparation for its transformation into a monarch butterfly.

Unfortunately, many natural areas where milkweed once grew prolifically have been consumed by the cities and towns throughout the southwest. And without any other options for their habitat, the monarch population has dropped to near extinction levels.

How You Can Help Prevent Extinction

The long narrow leaves of the tropical milkweed create a nice contrast to the small foliage of most desert shrubs.

The solution to saving the monarch population is as simple as restoring its natural habitat. And while we cannot remove the sprawl of our cities and towns, we can replace the plants that once grew here naturally. Adding varieties of milkweeds to your landscape will provide the breeding area and food source needed for this species to repopulate the southwest.

Varieties Of Milkweed

Tropical Milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) is a favorite of the monarch. And though it is not a native to the area, it has been adapted to thrive in the area as a perennial. The plants range from two feet tall to about four-plus and offer very showy orange and yellow blooms. In most areas of Phoenix, the plants remain green year-round and will reseed, making it great for a green barrier or backdrop in your landscape.

This desert milkweed adds a splash of bright white to your landscape and is the perfect place for monarchs to begin to repopulate the region.

Arizona milkweed (Asclepias angustifolia) is a native variety that offers small white flowers from spring to late summer. This variety is more adapted to a dry, rocky area. It will require less water and care than the tropical variety. Desert Milkweed (Asclepias erosa) is native to the region and can be found from California to western Mexico. Most people view this variety as a weed and will pull it or spray it with weed killer. But when allowed to remain in a landscape, the plants grow to about two to three feet tall and have large clusters of small white flowers. This plant will thrive in an arid area and requires little to no supplemental watering. It is an excellent addition to a space where you want a natural desert look. Adding a few plants to a cactus and agave planting will add texture and foliage without requiring irrigation.

This desert landscape is the perfect place to add a few milkweed plants to attract the monarchs. Imagine the added beauty to your landscape when it is painted with these striking orange and black butterflies.

It can be very easy to forget that as our city grows, we are reducing the natural areas that provide a habitat for many creatures of the southwest. But with a little bit of planning and research, you can learn how to help recreate a habitat for the western monarch before it becomes endangered or extinct. To learn more about plants that will enhance your landscape and promote the natural ecosystem in our area, call 480-969-1911 to schedule a free consultation with a UNIQUE landscape design specialist or click here to complete an online request. Not only will the butterflies benefit, but you could discover

September 26, 2019

Are You Concerned About The Environment? Learn How The UNIQUE Design Team Can Create An Environmentally Friendly Landscape For You

This landscape palette focuses on native plants to add interest and color to a very environmentally responsible landscape. Low water plants are always a good selection near a pool or patio as well.

Living in Arizona, residents learn very quickly that the environment we enjoy here is perfect for outdoor living. However, that benefit won’t last forever, unless we decide to live more in harmony with the nature that we so appreciate. One of the most significant impacts that all homeowners can easily control is the landscape of their own home. However, it can be a steep learning curve if you are not well educated on the concepts of environmentally friendly landscape design.

Fortunately, Phoenix residents can contact the professional design team at UNIQUE when they are interested in creating a luxurious and environmentally friendly outdoor living space. With decades of experience working in the valley, each designer has the skills, knowledge, and expertise needed to assist you in creating your own private oasis, however, in a manner that will also be respectful and beneficial to the planet. As a full-service landscape company, UNIQUE is fully licensed to build any outdoor structures that you might be interested in as well as installing all of your hardscape and plantings. A single call to 480-969-1911 is all that you need to do to schedule a free design consultation. You can also click here to request a consultation online.

Planning Is Key To A UNIQUE Environmentally Friendly Landscape Design

This ramada is the perfect place to relax in the shade in the summer. The UNIQUE team will meet all your needs as the premier full-service landscape company in Phoenix.

While most homeowners have a general idea of the function and style of their dream backyard, most are not aware of the essential strategic locations for many of these features. Everyone loves to look out the window and see lush, beautiful trees. But did you know that strategically locating trees outside of windows can reduce your energy cost when cooling your home in the summer? Also, those same large trees can be used to shade your pool and keep it cooler and more comfortable in the summertime. Likewise, expertly locating a covered seating area near your home can provide shade and a cooling effect inside your home as well as outside. Your UNIQUE design professional is the perfect person to help you apply many environmentally conscious design features to your dream outdoor living space. These tips will save you money on future energy bills and help protect the planet.

Water Is Not An Unlimited Resource

*Not all shade structures need to have a solid roof. This pergola offers shade at the BBQ island without obstructing the amazing view.*

Here in Phoenix, we all know abstractly that water is not unlimited. However, we don’t always consider that fact in the way that we live our daily lives. Your UNIQUE designer will assist you in blending your desire for the perfect outdoor oasis with an environmentally responsible design. This does not mean giving up on a lush and beautiful yard. It simply means knowing the correct plants to use for water efficiency and beauty. With decades of experience and thousands of delighted customers, the UNIQUE design team works diligently to stay up to date on the latest planting and design information needed to create environmentally friendly landscape designs. Concepts such as installing artificial turf rather than natural grass, and using only native, drought-tolerant plants will significantly reduce the amount of water that you are using to keep your outdoor living space beautiful year-round. Call 480-969-1911 to schedule your free consultation to learn more about these great tips and more for designing your perfect outdoor space.

Added Benefits Of UNIQUE Environmentally Friendly Landscape Design

These drought tolerant plants combined with natural boulders create the perfect landscape around this desert pool.

The design pros at UNIQUE know that homeowners want to have a beautiful yard in addition to having one that is environmentally responsible. Each designer uses his or her talent and knowledge to create only the most inspiring and fabulous designs for UNIQUE clients. Plant selection focuses on far more than just water conservation. Our designers select plants that will provide a variety of colors, blooming seasons, textures, and sizes to ensure that your yard is always nothing short of a showplace. Also, our designers place equal effort and skill into the design of your irrigation system. Almost every plant palette will require some supplemental watering because of the infrequent rain in the valley. The design team at UNIQUE knows the water requirements of your plants as well as the latest in irrigation technology. This allows UNIQUE to install the most water-efficient system possible. You will be saving money on your water bill and conserving a very precious natural resource at the same time.

When you are ready to create a stunning outdoor living space that is as friendly to the environment as it is to you and your guests, click here to set up your free consultation with a UNIQUE design professional.