Desert backyard in a sea of concrete

So, we bought this house and it came with a pool. Absolutely one of the reasons we bought it, as we house hunted in 100-something-teen degree weather, but we knew we had to do something with the landscape out back as it was just pool, concrete, and a not judicious use of gravel. (Not to mention more overgrown bougainvilla and oleander.)

Most people living in Arizona will tell you that it gets hot, and that walking on asphalt or concrete with bare feet is not just folly but downright dangerous. You actually CAN cook an egg on the sidewalk here midday in the summer and yes, the roads do get soft. It's gets frakkin HOT people!

And all the heat radiating off the concrete walls, concrete pool deck, concrete slabs that make up the ground in our backyard, and the lava rock gravel just made it hotter. The pool would get to 90+ degrees with all that solar radiance by early June and not cool down until September or later.

Although I had great success with gardening and landscaping in Seattle, I had much trouble growing things in the Montana glacial till that passed for soil around our house there, and no time to plant/grow things in Iowa, so it'd been awhile since I planted, cultivated and/or maintained growing, living things (other than my children).

So I dreamed, plotted, read about desert plants and xeriscape gardening, watched the light in the backyard, and all the other things you're supposed to do, over a year or so--the equivalent of 2 seasons here in Arizona.

Luckily, the drip irrigation was already in so it was just a matter of putting some plants in the ground... well not that simple really, but you get the idea. We finally decided to go with a lush tropical look/feel using plants that, once established, would not require copious amounts of water, and would help shade and cool the area down.

So far, I'd say we've been about 50% successful. We have had to replace plants that simply could not take the heat and direct (and unrelenting) sun. Even though they were purported to be sun lovers! Can take direct sun!! 6+ hours per day!!! Hogwash. Those pansies folded after the first week of 100+ weather.

We also ran into a problem with the DE (diatomaceous earth) from the pool filter back washes stunting the plant growth in part of the planting beds. DE is the fossilized remains of diatoms, a type of hard-shelled algae. It's like pumice and is great for pool filtration but not for plant roots.

(A moment please, I just realized how ironic that is: we're using algae to filter algae. HA! Okay, moment's over.)

Anyway, we haven't yet solved that problem. We'll probably have to amend the soil with lots of bovine excrete and other things, but that means pulling the plants (such as they are) and adding stuff and then putting the plants back. We don't backwash into that area, it was owners prior to us but they must have done it for a LONG time. The build up is heavy and the dirt is hard like concrete, so digging it is difficult.

Oy, so much work.

Here's the before - next post will show in progress: