How to Design Las Vegas Landscapes
Las Vegas can be a tricky area to garden in. It is a high desert environment with poor soil, minimum rainfall, extremely hot summers and warm winters where temperatures rarely drop below freezing. A successful Las Vegas garden will utilize xeriscaping; that is, using landscaping and plants to minimize the use of water and concentrate on desert or drought resistance plants. Using hyrdozones, which means grouping plants with like water requirements together and placing plants with the highest water requirements closest to your house, will make your garden environmentally friendly and increase the odds of plant survival. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Location of underground utility lines
- Measuring tape
- Notebook
- Lead pencil
- Graph paper
- Architect or engineer's scale ruler
- Eraser
- Soil test
- Plant list
- Tracing paper
- Hose or powdered lime or flour
- Colored pencils
- Butcher's paper or sketching paper
Instructions
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Have your utility company mark the location of underground power, water and telephone lines. If you have an irrigation system, have the location of that marked also. Doing this will define the areas of your property where you cannot place plants, patios or outdoor structures.
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Measure your house, driveway, property lines and any outdoor structures like garages or potting sheds. You need the length and width of your property, how far structures are from the property lines and each other, and the length, width and height of outdoor structures. If you can use architectural plans of your house and information from your local property assessor's office for these measurements (both may have exact measurements of your property line, house and outbuildings and the distance between them).
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Write the measurements down in the notebook. Use the architect's or engineer's scale ruler to convert the measurements to a 10:1 or an 8:1 scale. These scales are the easiest to use and most graph paper has squares that match the 10:1 or the 8:1 scale.
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Using the graph paper make a plot plan for your property. Mark one side of your graph paper as north and orient the buildings and structures accordingly. At the top of your plot plan write the scale you are using. Using the scaled measurements indicate where your property lines are, your house, driveway, outdoor patios and structures. Use the grids in the graph paper as a guide to help you mark the boundaries of these items. You will actually draw in your house, driveway and the other structures. If you have trouble visualizing where everything is on your property go to Google Earth or check with your assessor's office for overhead images of your property. Be sure to include the location of underground pipes and utilities and the location of shrubs and trees (use circles for trees and shrubs) you want to keep as part of your landscaping. Mark views you want to hide or views you want to enhance on your plot plan. When finished your plot plan should be an accurate reflection of your property with a discernible house, driveway and other structures. Refer to the Southern Nevada water district landscape plans for examples of plot plans and finished landscape plans.
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Go outside at different times over several days and write down which parts of your property are shaded and when they are shaded (for example, "northwest corner, full shade until 3 p.m."). This will give you an idea which areas on your property receive full or part shade and which are in full sun. Also note the direction of drainage on your property. Does rainwater runoff onto a neighbor's property or does it pool in an area of your yard? Or do you receive water runoff from neighboring property? All of this will help you determine what kind of plants are suitable for your yard and where they should go.
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Do a soil test on your property. You local extension office or the Nevada Department of Agriculture can test your soil for you. This will give you and idea of the type of soil you have, the pH of the soil and any missing nutrients. The information on the soil test will help you shape your landscaping. Use raised beds or place patios in nutrient-poor areas and plants in nutrient-rich areas.
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Take a walk around your neighborhood and visit your local arboretums and parks. The gardens at the University of Nevada Las Vegas campus have won several awards and feature native plants. The gardens at the North Las Vegas desert demonstration garden is all about xeriscape landscaping using native, desert and drought resistant plants. For pictures of Las Vegas area gardens, native plants and plants suitable to the Las Vegas area use the link provided for the Southern Nevada Water District. This website is focused on xeriscaping and drought tolerant and native plants. Take pictures of landscaping you like and landscaping you don't. This will give you an idea of plants suitable for your area and may spark ideas for landscaping, plant placement and outdoor structures like arbors or patios.
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Decide what kind of garden you want. Do you want a kid-friendly yard with lots of space for entertaining? Or do you want to attract wildlife with plants native to the Las Vegas area like chaste trees, red yuccas and desert willows? Having a clear idea of what you plan to do with your space will make landscaping much easier. The most successful gardens leave space for outdoor entertaining, have a space that provides privacy, and combines flowers, trees and shrubs. You must also decide how much time you have to spend with your garden. If you need something low maintenance limit the variety of plants you use.
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Make a list of the trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals you would like to include in your garden. Refer to the plant list in the reference section for plants suitable for a desert garden. Las Vegas is in zone 9A. Zones are the USDA classification of plant hardiness. Hardiness is measured as a plant's tolerance to sunlight intensity, summer drought tolerance, and cold tolerance.
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Place a sheet of tracing paper over your plot plan. Draw in the hardscaping features you want to include in your garden. Hardscaping is any feature that can not be easily moved like ponds, raised beds, play areas and patios. If you have trouble visualizing the dimensions of hardscaping features go outside and use powdered lime, flour or a watering hose to mark the boundaries of these features. This also works for marking the boundaries of flower beds and vegetable gardens.
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Use the same piece of tracing paper you used for the hardscaping elements to place plants in your yard. Use colored pencils to represent different species or types of plants; for example; use blue for pine trees and pink for climbing roses. Be sure to make a key. Crayons will also work for this. Design several different gardens on several different pieces of tracing paper until you have a design that works for you.
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Transfer your plot plan with the hardscaping and plants onto a piece of butcher or drawing paper. This will be the final design you will be working from. Be sure to include all keys and scales you used to make your final plan. Be sure you indicate which way is north and all elements are spaced and oriented correctly.
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Tips & Warnings
Don't rush the landscaping process. It may take one to two years before you find the design that works the best for your home and lifestyle. Place plants that will require a lot of water closer to your house and plants that need a minimum amount of water towards your property lines. If you want to plant trees or build hardscaping features that change the amount of shade or drainage to a neighboring property get permission from the affected neighbor before planting or building. This may prevent a future lawsuit or feud. If you are determined to grow plants that do not do well in your zone 9 garden, like daisies, hollyhocks or Japanese maples, build raised beds just large enough to contain the plants. Include plants native to your region to provide food and habitat for the local wildlife. If you want a low-maintenance garden, use shrubs and trees for most of the landscaping and only a few species of perennials and annuals. Las Vegas is a desert region so you should minimize the amount of grass you grow on your property. Limit grass to play areas close to your house and use drought tolerant plants everywhere else.
Do not plant trees near your home whose mature growth will be more than twice the height of your home. Doing so could endanger your home during high winds and will make your home look smaller. Always know the cultivation requirements of plants before buying or planting.
