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Welcome
to the City of Peoria
Water Conservation Page |
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Xeriscape
Landscaping
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Nature
usually knows best.
When it comes to landscaping our yards, we can all emulate nature
by using xeriscape techniques to create a lush, attractive, and
water saving yard. The word xeriscape is a combination of the Greek word "xeros,"
which means dry, and landscape. Put together, xeriscape means
"dry landscape." Xeriscaping does not mean letting your
yard go untouched and growing weeds. |
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Instead, xeriscape takes
advantage of naturally occurring, water frugal plants that happen
to be extremely attractive. Landscapes can use large amounts of our drinking water. As
valuable as drinking water is in the Valley of the Sun, it makes
sense to use plants that minimize water use and water waste.
Arizona’s hot and dry climate causes extremely high evaporation
rates. Combine that with the low average rainfall in the Phoenix
area and its obvious why xeriscape is the way to go. Xeriscape is
not zero-scape (rock/granite only).
Click Here to view Xeriscape: Landscaping with Style in the Arizona
Desert,
A step-by-step guide for planning, installing and caring for your
landscape. |
Average Rainfall
and
Maximum Evaporation Rates in Inches
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MONTH |
AVG.
RAINFALL |
MAX.
EVAPORATION RATE |
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JANUARY |
.67 |
3.6 |
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FEBRUARY |
.68 |
4.5 |
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MARCH |
.88 |
6.5 |
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APRIL |
.22 |
8.4 |
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MAY |
.12 |
10.9 |
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JUNE |
.13 |
11.4 |
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JULY |
.83 |
11.8 |
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AUGUST |
.96 |
8.4 |
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SEPTEMBER |
.86 |
8.7 |
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OCTOBER |
.65 |
7.0 |
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NOVEMBER |
.66 |
4.8 |
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DECEMBER |
1.00 |
3.1 |
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TOTALS |
7.66 |
91.2 |
Source of data:
U.S. Weather Service;
Arizona Department of Water Resources
Xeriscape
makes sense.
It’s attractive, it conserves water, and it requires
little maintenance.
The ADWR Phoenix AMA
Drought Tolerant / Low Water Use Plant List is a list of native,
drought-tolerant and low water-use plants, trees and shrubs suitable
for the Phoenix area. This list and a supplemental list are used as a regulatory document by
many cities to decided which plants are considered to be drought
tolerant and suitable for the Phoenix area.
Click Here to
view Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert. All plants featured are approved
low water use. Not all Phoenix AMA approved plants are featured. For the entire list click on the link below
Click
Here to view or download a list of Adobe Acrobat PDFs
of the Phoenix AMA Drought Tolerant / Low Water Use Plant List,
and lists for other Arizona cities and counties
For more information
about xeriscape, call the City of Peoria Water Conservation Office at (623) 773-7286
or refer to the University
of Arizona’s Cooperative Extension for gardening and landscaping tips in Maricopa County.
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If you have questions or comments
concerning the presentation and content of this web site, please E-MAIL:Webmaster@peoriaaz.gov
This Page was last updated on
12/01/08
© City of Peoria, Arizona. All Rights Reserved.
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