DIY Network

I wrote a letter last week asking why DIY never comes out west. I live in Tucson Arizona, recently had back surgery, and my backyard is nothing but gravel and a pine tree. I desperately need help. My yard is small and I would like to get a lap pool and new spa, and cannot seem to find room. I too would like some help. Thanks,djsbug2@live.com

It's best to treat the home improvement shows as a bit of luck, not a plan to get your project done. Some shows travel all across the country, some are more local or regional. In any event, all you can do is apply - if enough people apply from your area with good potential projects then MAYBE a show might schedule a trip to your area. DL is a little different inthta most of the projects are picked up on the spur of the moment.

Desperate Landscapes does the visible yard... front, showy sides. they don't do back yards.

Yard Crashers is an ambush show... picking folks out of the parking lot for a project, and typically in the back yard.

Indoors Out is back yard high-style remodelling.

I haven't seen any of these shows do a pool. a lap pool is not a little one day project, it's more like a week's work to excavate, backfill, plumb and wire, pour concrete or set an aluminum or plastic pool, and do the finish work. figure the cost of a cadillac for starters.

your backyard is correctly designed for the environment in tucson, aka the "high desert." you want seriscape. if the tree is a desert pinon, leave it. otherwise, do rock garden stuff with some succulents, cactus, plants that store up water like a stainless steel tank. there have been three inches of rain in tucson this year, and that's over one inch more than usual. acres of green are not only going to die on a 140-degree weekend, they will cost you more than your a/c bill in watering them until they DO die.