How to create an oasis in the desert with precious little water

I love living in the Phoenix, Arizona area. It never snows here, and if you're an early morning person, the weather, even in the summer, is wonderful. It's especially nice in the fall, winter and spring.

But water is precious here. Phoenix gets very little rainfall, and the plants that the natural climate supports, while I consider attractive from a distance, like cactus, are not the sort of plants that I want to live with in my backyard. I want my backyard to be an oasis. It takes some precision work.

I started, many years ago, with a simple drip system. Back in those days you would take a thin line of tubing, called "spaghetti tubing", and place it next to each plant. It was effective, but didn't last, as the tubing would always get clogged, or lost. But the drip system is still the basis of what I have today.

Actually, you should call it a low-pressure system. It runs through half-inch tubing, which is buried right below the soil level, and there are risers with spray heads. I can very precisely give water to the plants, and nothing goes to waste. You can see a riser with a spray head towards the bottom of the photo. But I also do something else, which is a neat trick.

I also have a misting system. It's the same thing that you see on patios, with misting nozzles, except that I have installed risers to keep the misters out of the dirt. It's a parallel system, and it not only adds more moisture, it also adds some humidity, right there by my tiny plants. It uses precious little water, and the effect is spectacular!

Oh yeah, and mulch. Lots of mulch! And I don't mean rocks, I mean something organic, like the leaves of a tree. Mulch holds in moisture. If you don't have a tree to provide free mulch, it needs to be part of your investment on a regular basis.

An oasis is a tiny place, a cosy place, a welcoming place. I also recommend wiener dogs, but it's up to you!