Ideas for Hardscaping a Backyard in Arizona

Desert Design

• A xeriscaped rock garden accessed by paved pathways is a practical and attractive landscape design for Arizona's water-challenged landscape. Varying the boulders and plantings and curving the paths keeps the design looking natural and fluid rather than stilted and perfunctory. Paths of sandstone pavers that wander through a desert landscape of juniper shrubs and desert willow trees are flanked with "gardens" of smooth, variegated river rocks and yellow-flowered blue fescue and purple Aristida purpurea grasses planted around ornamental boulders. The yard becomes a romantic desert setting with the added value of savings on annual water bills, without a single cactus in sight.

Cool Pool

• Don't give up the pool. Just give up the thirsty velvet lawn that can never get enough care. A wide, paved deck around a pool is low maintenance and very user-friendly, especially when designed using shade sails to create moving areas protected from the intense sun. The sails can cover a lounge area with chaises and lean over the pool as well to make those daily laps UV-free. They come in an assortment of colors and shapes, which you can layer to cover more area attractively. Keep feet as cool as heads with pale pavers around the pool. Forgo the deep blue slate and heat-magnet brick for light-colored limestone or sandstone pavers that multiply the shade effect of the sails and offset the irresistible blue of the water on a sunny afternoon. Pave the backyard from house to fence but soften the look with containers of drought-resistant native plants and a pond-less waterfall that recirculates water from a buried chamber hidden beneath a rock garden of ornamental pebbles and stones.

Backyard Barbecue

• If you have a big backyard, or tolerant neighbors, turn the space into a party platform with a stone barbecue pit, outdoor work island and large paved deck. You can have a gazebo faced with the same stone as the pavers or the cooking pit; place a table under it, permanently shaded and ready for the daily grill. Concrete planters painted in desert colors are easy-care ways to "green" the landscape -- add some self-irrigated planters to grow veggies for the salads to go with those burgers. A stone terrace off the house with planters for small trees and steps leading down to the barbecue patio makes the backyard as interesting as the rest of the house and sets the cooking smoke and smells apart.