Temperatures are starting to cool down (okay, there are still some hot days ahead), but it's time to get ready to dive into your fall garden and landscape projects!

Read our September Sustainability Savings Tip [PDF] for all the ideas and tips you need to get your yard looking beautiful. You'll find:

🌿Where to find your free copy of our popular and updated Landscape Plants for the Arizona Desert guide.

💸How to qualify for up to $2,100 in grass removal incentives.

🌼Tips on planting wildflowers, overseeding, vegetable gardening and more.

Get inspired and start planting!

👉🏼 Don't miss our watering workshop! Keep those new plants thriving with the right watering know-how. Join us this Saturday - details👇🏼 💦

Learn when, how often, and how much to water using simple techniques from the newly updated Landscape Watering by the Numbers guide.

You’ll discover how to measure your irrigation system’s output, make seasonal adjustments, and water more efficiently to keep your landscape healthy while saving water and money. Whether you’re new to desert gardening or simply looking to fine-tune your watering practices, you’ll leave with practical skills and resources and the confidence to water wisely.

Bonus! All attendees will get a free packet of wildflower seeds and will be entered into a drawing to win a signed book by Arizona Plant Lady (Noelle Johnson) or a $50 gift card to a local nursery. Free! Learn more.

📍Mesa Main Library, Saguaro Room, 64 E 1st Street.

Want a landscape that’s both beautiful and resilient? This fall, check out Water – Plant It Wisely, a seasonal microsite from Water – Use It Wisely.

The site showcases low-water use plants, design ideas, how to plant, sowing wildflowers for spring bloom, helpful videos, demonstration gardens, local workshops, and a listing of fall plant sales. You'll also find a link on how to hire a landscape professional. It’s everything you need to start your fall planting off right. Visit the site and dig in!

Take advantage of our incentive of up to $2,100 to replace your grass with a low-water-use Xeriscape!

The Grass-to-Xeriscape Incentive with Tree Bonus aims to help our single-family residential customers reduce their landscape water use by half or more by replacing water-thirsty lawns with landscape plants appropriate to the Sonoran Desert Climate. Xeriscape provides wildlife habitat and helps to create shade for people, homes, and communities.

Ready to transform your outdoor space? Check eligibility details and apply at the link below. Incentives are for future projects only.

Residential Grass-to-Xeriscape and Tree Bonus Incentive Program.

Tue., Sept. 29, 5-7 p.m. Join Audubon Southwest and the City of Phoenix for the launch of Bird-Friendly PHX this fall migration season!

Spend an evening at the Rio Salado Audubon Center with refreshments, time to explore the grounds, and a special screening of Birds on the Move: Desert Rivers. You’ll also learn about the new Bird-Friendly PHX program and simple ways you can help birds during fall migration.

🌿 5 p.m.–6 p.m. Mingle, refreshments, & explore the Rio Salado Audubon Center

🎥 6 p.m.–7 p.m. Film screening & Bird-Friendly PHX program

Love the poster? Take the Bird-Friendly PHX pledge, and be among the first 1,000 to receive a beautiful poster designed by local artist Ariana Enriquez.

📍 Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center, 3131 S Central Ave., Phoenix. RSVP here.

Energy efficiency means using less energy to do the same job. Energy-efficient products and home improvements can lower energy bills, reduce energy waste and pollution, and help maintain your home’s comfort and performance. Energy efficiency uses technology to achieve the same results with less energy, such as installing a more efficient appliance; in comparison, energy conservation is about changing behaviors to reduce energy use, like turning off lights or unplugging devices when not in use.

Why should Arizonans care about energy efficiency? It’s a total game changer for our desert lifestyle!

• Slash your bills: Save money by reducing high home cooling and heating costs
• Support our grid: Reduce peak-hour demand to prevent strain on local power systems when the temperature spikes
• Smart power: It’s one of the most cost-effective and dependable energy resources we have in Arizona

If you’re unsure where to start, use this home energy savings checklist to discover ways to reduce your electric and gas bills. And check out Mesa’s Facebook page Oct. 5-9 for daily tips and resources.

Sat., Oct. 10, 5-9 p.m. Join us at the Celebrate Mesa Fall Festival! Dress up in your favorite costume and enjoy live entertainment, bounce houses, carnival rides, food trucks, and more.

Stop by our Environmental & Sustainability booths to talk trees, stormwater pollution and other ways to live sustainably. You can also visit Mesa Recycles, explore alternative transportation options with Mesa Transit, get energy-efficiency tips from SRP, and more!

📍 Red Mountain Multiuse Fields South
905 N. Sunvalley Blvd., near Power and Brown roads

Water Tower at Mesa Main Library Puts Daily Water Use in Perspective Mesa residents can get a tangible look at everyday water use and discover practical ways to save at the Water - Use It Wisely Water Tower, on display through September...

Plant Native, Help Monarchs with Phoenix's New Pollinator Plant Guide Native plants provide important food and habitat for monarch butterflies and other pollinators while supporting biodiversity in our urban areas. And the benefits don’t stop there. Native...

September Landscape Watering Guidelines & Tips Find watering schedules, overseeding details, fall planting, & more.

Plant of the Month (to NOT Plant): Ryegrass or Winter Grass Most Americans love lush, green lawns, and have shown that they are willing to do whatever it takes to have them...

Does Grass Belong in the Desert? What You Need to Know Before Overseeding Homeowners, HOAs, and businesses throughout the valley are replacing grass with more sustainable options that save both water and money. Many are also choosing not to overseed...

How Do Trees Improve Our Health? Trees do far more than beautify the places where we live. They help take care of us by cooling our neighborhoods, filtering pollutants from the air, helping manage stormwater, and creating spaces that support our mental... 

We are excited to offer Mesa Electric customers and Mesa residents TWO FREE desert-adapted shade trees through our Trees Are Cool Initiative! Trees provide cooling shade, can lower energy costs, help clean the air, and create cooler, more resilient neighborhoods.

Sat., Oct. 24, 9 a.m. or 11 a.m. start time. Rotate through five tree care stations before selecting and picking up your trees. The workshop takes about 90 minutes, plus time for tree selection and pickup. Choose from six beautiful, desert-adapted species.

📍 Pioneer Park, 526 E. Main. FREE but registration required. Learn more! Spanish translation is available.

Note: On Sat., Nov. 7, another program will take place at Red Mountain Park.

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SRP Summer Shade Tree Workshop

SRP electric customers can also receive TWO FREE shade trees by attending a Shade Tree Workshop.

Sat., Oct. 17. Learn how the right trees can help reduce cooling costs, improve air quality, and cool our communities. Trees will be available for pickup at a fall distribution event.

📍 South Mountain Community College, Student Union, 2201 E. Vineyard Road, Phoenix.

For SRP electric customers only. Learn more about SRP's Shade Tree Program.

Throughout the 2026–27 season, Mesa will partner with community organizations and volunteers to plant trees across the city. Through the Trees Are Cool Initiative, residents and businesses can also help grow Mesa’s tree canopy by planting, caring for, and recording shade trees.

Get involved at an upcoming event:

• Oct. 24 & Nov. 7 – Mesa Neighborhood Shade Tree Workshops & Tree Distributions. Mentioned above! Mesa residents can learn proper tree care and take home two FREE desert-adapted shade trees. Register and learn more.
• Nov. 21 – Rainwater Harvesting 101. Learn how to capture and use free rainwater for trees and landscape plants at Dobson Library. Learn more.
• Dec. 5 – Mesa Tree Steward Community Tree Planting. Help plant approximately 50 trees at Chelsea Park and in the surrounding neighborhood. Check back soon on our All About Trees page for details.

Plant One. Care for One. Help Plant One.

Already have trees? Proper care is just as important as planting. Visit our Tree Maintenance page for selecting, planting, watering, and other maintenance information. 

No room to plant? Volunteer! Organizations such as Trees Matter and Arizona Sustainability Alliance offer opportunities to help plant and care for trees throughout the community.

📍 Planting a tree of your own? Put it on the map! Add your tree to Mesa’s community tree map and help us track and celebrate our growing urban forest.

Whether you plant one tree at home or help plant 50 in a neighborhood, every tree adds to Mesa’s growing urban forest.