Desert modern, tropical oasis or manicured elegance, planted to thrive in Arizona heat, framed around your pool and lit for the evenings you spend outside.
Planting, grade, lighting and irrigation decide whether a backyard feels finished. Our landscape designers work alongside the pool team from the first sketch, so the yard reads as one composition.
We start with structure: where shade is needed, which views to frame and which to screen, and how people move from the house to the water, the lawn and the side gate. Trees and larger shrubs go on the plan first because they shape everything else, from deck temperature to privacy from a two-story neighbor.
Then the palette. Desert-modern designs lean on sculptural agaves, native shrubs and decomposed granite. Tropical oasis designs layer palms and flowering color for a resort feel. Many East Valley yards land in between, with a lush pool zone near the house that steps down to low-water planting toward the walls.
Every plan includes drip irrigation zoned by plant type, landscape lighting and a realistic maintenance picture, because the best landscape still looks right three summers later. Our guide to designing for monsoon, dust and summer heat covers the climate side in depth.
Most of our landscapes start from one of two styles, then blend to suit the house and the way you use the yard.
Sculptural, low-water planting and clean hardscape, our signature Arizona look.
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Palms, layered greenery and color that make a pool feel like a private resort.
ExploreDesert-adapted trees placed to cool the patio and the west wall, chosen so their litter stays out of the pool.
Zones grouped by water need, so cacti are not soaked to keep a lawn green.
Uplights on trees, path lights and soft wall wash make the yard usable and beautiful after dark.
Synthetic turf for play and pets, or natural grass where you want it, sized to the space you will use.
Decomposed granite, river rock and boulders that control dust, hold soil in a storm and tie planting to the hardscape.
Hedges, tall shrubs and privacy screens that soften block walls and hide neighbors' second stories.
Bring photos of yards you love. We will show you how to make the look work in Arizona.
Book a Design Call or price it yourself in the Dream CenterArizona landscapes succeed or fail on a handful of conditions most national guides ignore.
Caliche can trap water around roots and drown plants in the middle of a desert. We break through it or drill drainage for trees and larger shrubs so roots can grow down.
A plant that thrives on an east wall can scorch on a west wall. Placement by exposure, plus fall planting so roots establish before summer, makes the difference.
Monsoon downpours move soil, mulch and gravel fast. Grading, rock-lined dry washes and swales send water where it can soak in, away from the pool and the house.
Frost-tender favorites like bougainvillea can be damaged on the coldest winter nights. We place them near walls that hold warmth and mix in hardier plants.
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Legacy Living pairs palms at the water's edge with flowering shrubs in gravel beds, hedges that soften a slatted privacy screen, and desert planting along a curved paver drive out front. Each zone gets the planting that suits its use and its exposure.
At the site visit we note exposure, soil, drainage, existing trees and the views to keep or hide.
Renderings show plants, lighting and materials in place, and a detailed proposal follows within a week.
Grades are set and drip lines are run by zone before plants and rock go in.
Trees and specimens go in first, then shrubs, groundcover, rock and lighting, adjusted on site.
Fall suits most desert and adapted plants, because roots establish through the mild winter before summer heat arrives. Spring planting works with more careful watering. We schedule installation around the plants in your design.
Yes. Concentrate lush planting where you will see and enjoy it, usually near the pool and patio, and use desert-adapted plants farther out. Drip irrigation zoned by plant type keeps water use efficient.
Anything that drops heavy litter, and anything with sharp spines near walkways. Palo verde blossoms, mesquite pods and bougainvillea bracts all end up in the water if planted too close, so we keep them at a distance.
For many families, yes. Turf stays green without irrigation and handles play and pets, though it gets hot in direct summer sun. We place it where shade helps or where it is used mornings and evenings.
Yes. Lighting is part of every landscape plan: uplighting for trees and specimens, path lights for safe walking and soft wall wash for depth. Wiring is planned with the planting so fixtures sit cleanly in the beds.
From new-build yards in Queen Creek and San Tan Valley to established lots in Mesa and desert properties in Cave Creek, we design for the conditions on each street.
Tell us what you want to build, your budget and timing, then pick a time for a free 30-minute call with our design manager.
