Air is one of the four classic elements (also Fire, Water and Earth).  Air as a classical element in the garden can be reflected in several ways namely through wind, sound and movement. Air gives life through its component molecules of Carbon and Oxygen.

Air has a close connection with the “etheric plane”, which is an unseen, unsensed aspect of our surroundings and more associated with the etheric body or the human energy fields represented through the auras surrounding our bodies.  Prana or Chi is the cosmic breath of life in Chinese and Hindu philosophies. Conscious breathing as practiced in meditation and yoga connects this vital energy of our physical bodies to our higher energy bodies.

This is the essence of air albeit a metaphysical description yet as an example of one of many sacred design ideas, air can be used in the garden in a number of ways as explained below.

Sound

Air in the form of wind provides an energy force that has tremendous power. Its slow moving form creates gentle energy for wind chimes. The chimes in turn produce melodic soundwaves which travel through the air. Thus sound is an aspect of air.

Wind

Flags and banners or anything else that captures the wind like swaying bamboo or tall grasses reflect the element air and are easy to include in any garden design. But the symbolism of air and wind reflected in the use of Tibetan prayer flags is most auspicious. It is believed that the prayers inscribed on the surface of the flags when hung outside will transmit the blessings and prayers to all beings of the world carried upon the wings of the wind.

Movement

Kinetic sculpture is another way to reflect air as a classical element in the garden with the design principle of movement being the key. Without the wind, these sculptures become static and stoic always waiting for that little breeze to make them come alive with the spirit of the wind.

A dry rock garden is typically uses boulders, gravel or pebbles to simulate a dry stream bed. The texture and form of the stone is featured so as to convey the theme of the garden. Dry rock gardens typically are not lush with lots of vegetation and are often designed as minimalist requiring very low maintenance. What makes a dry rock garden a type of Sacred Garden you may ask. A “zen garden” is what most people think of when designing a dry rock garden that has a sacred component such as meditation or contemplation. Below is an example of a dry Japanese Tea Garden I designed and built. To read about its construction see my post A Japanese Garden From Design to Completion

Initially designed to have a body of water, this dry rock garden a part of a tea garden ended up being a river rock pebble stream and gravel pond.

ABOVE: This small covered structure is called a Komiachi Machai or “waiting area” in Japanese. The waiting area is part of the experience of strolling through a Tea Garden prior to entering the formal Tea House where the Tea Master conducts the tea ceremony. The Roji or pathway is a key component that leads from the entrance and throughout the garden allowing guests to quiet their minds.

BELOW: This dry rock garden stone arrangement was designed and situated to be viewed from the Tea House. The river rock stones mimic the beach shoreline while the stone represent mountainous island landforms in the ocean. The gravel can be raked to simulate waves on the water and provide an interactive form of meditation. A bamboo fence was used as a backdrop to simplify the view and be more conducive for meditation.

For a more thorough explanation of this Japanese Tea Garden see my post Scottsdale Japanese Tea Garden

Many homeowners are simply unaware of what constitutes “contracting” as it is defined by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors who is the state licensing agency. Anything over $1000 requires that the person with whom a homeowner engages to do work is a duly licensed contractor. Having a license is not an optional way of doing business yet it may seem that way when local classified ads end with the phrase “not a licensed contractor” as if they elected not to get a license. Homeowners also group anyone who does remodeling, building or construction as contractors whether they are licensed or not. However, the Arizona Registrar of Contractors does not refer to such people as contractors as that implies they are licensed. They are referred to as “unlicensed entities”. Referring to them as contractors gives them a form of legitimacy. Just as the classified ad phrase “not a licensed contractor” claims they are a contractor, just not a licensed one. Thus you may have seen the bumper sticker issued by the Arizona Registrar of Contractors to all contractors who just obtained a new license “Licensed Contractors Build Trust”.

Despite the warnings from state agencies, consumer protection boards, Angie’s List or the Better Business Bureau homeowners continue to take risks and hire unlicensed contractors for any number of reasons.

8 Reasons Why Homeowners Do Not Hire Licensed Contractors

• Your neighbor hired them and they were pleased and recommended them;
• They shop for the best price and take a risk as to quality of construction;
• They are willing to overlook the lack of license, insurance and perhaps knowledge and skill to “save money”;
• Everybody wants a “good deal” don’t they? Why pay more if you find a bargain? That bargain may fall apart after 6 months with no way to track down your “lowest price guaranteed” contractor;
• You just need a retaining wall rebuilt to correct some erosion problems and a guy in the local classified ads says they do that kind of thing. You are enticed simply because that person says they can do what you need – to solve your landscape problem. You don’t care about insurance or anything, you just need this done right away;
• They haven’t yet been burned from hiring unlicensed workers.
• They were conned by door to door fly by night guys who took advantage of needed storm damage related work;
• They are elderly and are not as sharp as they used to be especially in areas of judgement and trust.

I am in the middle of rebuilding a waterfeature that the homeowner had built by an unlicensed contractor. In fact, he tried hiring a replacement contractor after the first guy stopped answering his phone to fix a leak. Now the second guy did such an awful job and also did not respond to multiple calls to return and fix it. He found me on a list put out by the local homeowners association which several neighbors had mentioned I was a reputable landscape professional. Yet he did not say he hired me because I was licensed but since I am, I am not going to bring it up.

9 Red Flag Warning Signs That you May be Hiring an Unlicensed Contractor:

• You call someone from your local paper and he doesn’t even have his voice mailbox set up;
• He doesn’t have a website or email;
• He doesn’t have an address on his business card or better yet, he spells shrubs as “scrubs”;
• He gives you an estimate on a hand written note pad right then and there;
• He uses a can of spray paint to “design” your backyard instead of putting it to paper or God forbid a computer;
• His cell phone number goes to someone other than himself because the minutes on his phone expired;
• He doesn’t show up when expected or only shows up to ask for money;
• He answers his phone by saying “hello” rather than using a business name or his own name;
• He says he wants to get paid in cash because you will get a better deal that way when the real reason is he has no bank account

Individuals that know they should be licensed but who choose not to be are not only doing business illegally, but who are probably avoiding paying sales tax, getting a city business license, insurance and all the other “paperwork” required to be legal and legitimate. Why support such an individual? You are certainly not contributing to the “keep it local” movement and may in fact be contributing to the flow of money across the border.

That being said, there are many good, skilled workers who are sincere about doing a quality job for their clients who for whatever reason are not licensed, cannot get licensed, but are otherwise good people. The problem is not picking one of these and ending up with a bad apple. Why take the risk? Licensed contractors build trust.

Ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens) is a vase shaped cactus like plant with spiny canes that are covered with small green leaves typically after substantial rains and have a reddish orange tubular shaped flower at the tips in Spring. But most of the time, they are deciduous and look like a clump of thorny dead branches.  Sedona native Ocotillos are also found in the lower deserts and into Mexico.

When I first moved up to Sedona from the Phoenix area, I was surprised to see Ocotillos growing among the pines and junipers. At an elevation between 4200-4600 feet Sedona is probably at the upper level of its range. When in bloom – and when I say bloom, I mean the leafing out period where the green leaves cover the canes, they are striking sculptural features that add an unusual accent to any landscape where you want a bit of a desert flair. Ocotillo is often said to “bloom” due to its on and off leafing out cycles due to the amount of rain. However, some Ocotillos hold their leaves for longer periods between seasonal rains. Otherwise, they take on their deciduous persona which is not the Ocotillo that most clients are looking for when they request a Sedona native Ocotillo in their garden.

Sedona Native Ocotillos

But being patient is what we can learn from them

As a landscape designer and contractor, I am reluctant to suggest the idea of Ocotillos in a design for a few reasons. One of which was recently articulated in an article by the Backyard Gardener, Jeff Schlau of the Arizona Cooperative Extension Yavapai County titled, Native Ocotillos Require Patience. 

Ocotillo is known for its upright slender spiny canes covered with small green leaves.

Most people expect their Ocotillos to look just like the picture, but that’s not what they look like when you buy them at the nursery. Most all Ocotillos are harvested bare root from their native habitat, wrapped tight with wire for easy transport and handling. The roots are severely cut to sometimes to the point where there is not much to go into the planting hole and you wonder what is going to keep it from falling over. The process of taking a native plant from its habitat and putting it into your garden is considered transplanting Ocotillos and what Mr. Schlau is referring to as “patience required” is that some Ocotillos can take anywhere between 6 to 24 months before any signs of blooming or leafing out. Presumably because of the severe root pruning during harvesting from the desert.

I tell clients who are interested in Ocotillos that they will be planted bare root and will not have any leaves. I then tell them it could take years to look like what they expect. I also say they are unpredictable as to when they will leaf out and to be able to appreciate them in their deciduous state because that is what they will look like most of the time. I have had countless former clients complain that their “Ocotillo is dead” or “When is it going to leaf out?” I tell them to scratch a branch with a knife and if its a pale green, that its still alive and to be patient. The problem is, I am the guy with the great idea to plant the Ocotillo which is constantly under performing expectations and makes me look not so cool.

The point of this blog post is to forewarn anyone considering planting Ocotillos in their yard. Not that they should be avoided but to fully understand why they may  not meet your expectations. Ocotillos are great specimens that symbolize the southwest and provide a sculptural element that provides instant vertical height and looks great when lit at night. The otherwise brown deciduous state should be considered as the predominant look most of the year.

Many a garden writer who delves into the more deeper aspects of gardening will tell you gardens can teach you about yourself. Those inner aspects of your being are often reflected in the garden if you pay close attention . Patience is a virtue that can be learned through gardening. The Ocotillo is a wonderful teacher to instill patience. Sometimes it is more enjoyable to one day notice the buds on your Azalea that hasn’t bloomed for three years than to come home to a bountiful display of riotous color in your container garden every day.

There is a common request I get from landscape clients: they want low maintenance, lots of color and don’t want to spend very much – and they want it now, not have to wait three years for everything to look great. Usually after I get a little introspective talking about patience, being in the present moment, allowing things to be as they are, people come back down to earth.

Yes, Sedona native Ocotillos do inhabit our surrounding national forest and is perhaps the best way to appreciate their beauty and elegance. Walking in silence, being at one with nature, not thinking about anything in particular, and then as you come to the top of a crest, you are greeted by an Ocotillo in full bloom as if it was waiting for you.

If you do buy a bare root Ocotillo on your own, check out this publication from the Phoenix Botanical Garden.

Rainwater harvesting in Sedona is a great way to capture and store rainwater for later use in the garden. In this case, I will show you how we recently installed a 5000 gallon rainwater catchment system in a residential landscape remodel in Sedona.

But first let me give you my perspective about rainwater collection and why rain barrels will quickly have you wondering why you didn’t opt for a much larger tank instead after it fills up in about 20 minutes during a good downpour, overflows and you watch all that “wasted” water that you could have captured.

Serious rainwater catchment systems are designed based on your needs. There are a lot of calculations involved based on how much water you will need to supply your garden, your regular landscape shrubs and trees and other uses you may have. Most professionals who deal with rainwater system design and books on the subject recommend buying a tank as large as you can feasibly locate on your property. However, many homeowners considering rainwater harvesting in Sedona think it would be nice and a “sustainable thing to do” to help save water will quickly back off a serious system after finding out the overall cost of the equipment. A 5000 gallon tank alone can cost around $2500-$3000. On top of that you have to have a pump and all the plumbing accessories not to mention the labor to install everything.

Compared to a serious rainwater catchment system, rain barrels are a popular alternative as they are easy to hook up to a single downspout and as long as the height of your rain barrel is higher than what you want to water, a garden hose pressurized by gravity will work and is affordable. But a rain barrel that only holds 50-100 gallons won’t supply the needs of a decent sized garden or trees that are not on a regular irrigation system. People realize the limitations of rain barrels but cannot justify the expense of spending several thousand dollars on a serious system.

So what are the reasons people find capturing rainwater attractive? Here are several possible reasons. Remember, people buy based on emotional reasons and only use logic to back up or to justify their decision.

• Rainwater is pure and plants definitely respond better to rainwater than treated municipal water;
• People are bombarded all the time with educational material from the government about the need to save water – use it wisely as it is a precious resource and thus people already do some form of water conservation inside the home and so why not do so in the landscape?
• To reduce their overall use of water and thus reduce their water bill;
• They are doing it because it is a lifestyle choice and it fits in with their identity as a conscious consumer who values green living, sustainability and is doing their part to save the planet.
• Rain barrels are now stylish and they want to make a statement to their neighbors that they are good citizens that save water and recycle everything possible.

So it’s not so much (or at all ) about saving money. It’s about saving water and feeling you are part of a society that recognizes the scarcity of water, and is willing to not only conserve the use of water, but to capture and save it for later use during dry periods. People that do opt for an expensive rainwater capture system do so not to save money on their water bill as it will not pay for itself anytime time soon. It’s a lifestyle choice in order for them to be able to look in the mirror and feel good about their decision to save water – regardless of whether its on a grand scale like a 10,000 gallon storage tank or a 60 gallon rain barrel.

This thinking is very similar to why somebody will justify spending $100,000 on a Model S Tesla electric car when it may take 40 years to amortize the cost of gasoline that they are “saving”. And again, it’s not the cost of gasoline; it’s the non-reliance on fossil fuels and using free energy of the sun which is akin to the free water from the sky.

Rainwater harvesting in Sedona is just as popular as driving a Tesla, only people opt for a Toyota Prius and a rain barrel too boot. Maybe I should give away a free rain barrel with the purchase of every landscape package…hmmm… maybe there is something to that idea.

Watch us off load a 5000 gallon rainwater tank and set it into place on a recent landscape remodel job we did in Sedona: