The suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona, are home to a variety of landscapes, including this European villa. After designing this unique property, BDG Maintenance, based in Phoenix, took over the maintenance tasks to uphold the owners’ high standards. Their efforts led to them earning a 2024 Gold Award of Excellence.
“We celebrated this award by recognizing the hard-working crewmen who care for the property,” says Jared Morris, vice president of BDG Maintenance. “We also created a custom book with select photos of the property and gardens. BDG presented this book to the owners so they can share the seasonal changes with their families and guests. Additionally, we kept a copy for the team to enjoy next to the plaque. We’ll continue to strive for excellence and exceed our client expectations.”
Each week, a team of four to five staff members work on the property. One of their main tasks is shrub pruning, which is done by hand at the client’s request.
“We’re responsible for hand-trimming nearly 12,000 plants to create the feel of a classic European estate,” Morris says.
Some of these shrubs include boxwood, Japanese privet, and iceberg rose.
“We also maintain over 30,000 square feet of vines on the home and walls of the property,” Morris says. “Many of those vines are trimmed to form an espalier.”
To keep the vines attached, the crew uses custom clear wall anchors that are nearly invisible.
Visitors to the site arrive on a pea gravel driveway, which is raked frequently. Along the driveway is a 2,500-foot-long hedge of sour orange trees. At 10 feet tall, the hedge provides a perfect screen for the homeowner. Since the fruit is inedible, the trees are handpicked to avoid a mess. And it’s not just the oranges that need to be picked.
“The site has 11 olive trees, and each of them is 140 years old,” Morris says. “Handpicking the olives is another big task for us.”
Additionally, the arbor crew cares for several live oaks, Italian cypress, and magnolias. Weeding is another task that is done by hand throughout the three-acre site.
As you’d expect, irrigation plays a key part of this landscape.
“Everything on this property requires irrigation/fertilization and amendment supplementation to thrive,” Morris says. “The system has almost 70 valves, and the irrigation runs 24 hours a day in the summer and 50% of the time in the winter.”
The water comes from an on-site well that is supplemented with city water.
“All the water runs through a fertigation system that lowers the pH of the water and injects organic fertilizer throughout the year,” Morris adds.
The lower pH helps plants absorb nutrients to remain green. Special care is taken to maintain healthy foliage in the intense heat. One example is near the pool, where foliar protectant is used on the privet topiaries.
Much of the plant palette is green, but the owner also enjoys having pops of color. Around 300 flats of annuals are planted each year. These mainly consist of white flowers, such as geraniums, alyssum, and tulips. Those plants are the perfect backdrop for drifts of mystic spire salvia and bougainvillea, which are common on the site.
The property’s formal look comes together with expansive lawns, which are cared for by BDG. In the fall, the Bermuda grass is overseeded with a mixture of annual ryegrass seed to keep the turf lush.
From a quality standpoint, BDG continues rising to the challenge.
“The client is thrilled with the performance of the garden and has made no changes in the last year as we’ve created a property they don’t want to leave,” Morris says.
Interested in participating in the Awards of Excellence? Enter your projects by July 31, 2025.
