One of the benefits of living in the Sonoran Desert is the winter and summer rainy seasons. You may be surprised to learn that we have five seasons in our region of the Southwest: winter, spring, dry summer, wet summer and fall. The second part of summer is first felt around the beginning of July, with increased humidity and clouds on the horizon. Gusty winds, dust storms and microbursts can also occur at this time of year, which lasts through September.

If you have lived in Arizona for a few years, you know that monsoon season is hit or miss. We can experience one season with plentiful precipitation and those with little to no rainfall. High winds and higher moisture levels in the air often come even if rain is absent. This seasonal phenomenon can be unpredictable, so it’s wise to prepare your garden for the winds and rain when they do occur.

While going outdoors during this time is uncomfortable with the extra humidity, your plants love it. Our most stressful time of year for trees, shrubs and ground covers is May and June, when it’s hot and dry. So, the moisture in the air that comes with our “wet summer” is welcome, and plants perk up and look better. Even if rains fail to arrive, the more humid air benefits them.

Torrential rains and high winds can cause damage to your trees and plants and cause flooding around your home. Here are tasks you can do to reduce the risk:

• Prune back long, overhanging branches of trees to reduce the weight and likelihood of them breaking off. Consult with a certified arborist who will help create a more wind-resistant branch structure. You can find one in your area at treesaregood.org/findanarborist.
• Water trees to a depth of 3 feet to encourage deep root growth and prevent them from blowing over in high winds.
• If your irrigation controller has a battery backup in case of a power outage, replace it with a new one to ensure your watering schedule is saved.
• Hard surfaces, such as your driveway and patio, should drain away from your home. Ensure that the ground around these areas gently slopes outward, so that water can flow out to the landscape, not to any structures.
• Clean out drains and weep holes (the openings at the base of concrete block walls that facilitate water drainage). This helps to prevent water from backing up and allows it to move away.
• Collect water from your roof by placing buckets under the roof line, or consider adding a rain barrel to enable you to collect and save precipitation for watering plants later.
• Create swales for water collection. They will drain away from the house and redirect rainwater to nearby trees and plants.