Kevens Landscape provides landscape design in Arcadia, Phoenix, AZ for homeowners remodeling an established yard or finishing the grounds of a newly rebuilt home. We design in 3D and build with our own crews, with a plan that protects what makes an Arcadia lot valuable in the first place.
Arcadia began as citrus groves at the foot of Camelback Mountain, watered through underground pipe laid in the 1920s. When the groves gave way to ranch homes in the 1950s, the trees and the irrigation stayed. That is why Arcadia looks nothing like the rest of Phoenix: deep green lawns, orange and grapefruit trees, tall shade canopies and lots of a quarter acre, a half acre or more.
Those mature trees cannot be bought at any nursery. Our first step on every Arcadia property is to map what is worth keeping and design around it.
Many Arcadia lots are still flood irrigated. Water arrives on a schedule and spreads across the yard, held in by low berms. That system keeps big trees and lawns healthy at very low cost, but it puts conditions on a design:
Design starts with how water moves across your lot today: where it enters, which basins fill first and how long it stands. The valves, berms and basins are the owner's to maintain, so the plan has to leave them working. Often the answer is to split one large basin in two, or shift a berm a few feet, so a new terrace lands on the dry side. Patios beside a flooded lawn get a raised edge, gravel stays out of the basins, and lighting connections sit above the water line. Our guide to yard drainage solutions covers how we keep water away from buildings.
If your lot is not flood irrigated, as is common in Arcadia Lite, we design a conventional efficient system instead.
Most tree damage on a job site happens underground and does not show for a year or two. We plan against it early:
If a tree's health is in doubt, we suggest an arborist's assessment before you design around it.
Arcadia is in constant renewal. Original ranch houses are being opened up and expanded, and many are replaced with new modern-farmhouse and transitional homes. Construction is hard on a landscape. We work with your architect and builder early to fence off root zones, plan equipment access and set finished grades, then install the new landscape as the house wraps up. For a remodel without major construction, we can rework a yard in phases while you live there.
On a rebuild, the best time to bring us in is while the architect is still placing the house on the lot. Floor height, door locations, pool position and the driveway all decide what happens to the yard, and they are easiest to change on paper. A shared site plan lets sleeves, gas and electrical stubs and drain lines go in while the house is being built.
A ranch-home refresh runs differently. We design the whole property once, then build in stages that each stand on their own: often the back patio and pool first, the front yard and driveway next, planting and lighting last. Sleeves and conduit for later stages go in during the first, so nothing is torn up twice. Qualified homeowners can also finance the work and build it in one pass.
A tall canopy takes two kinds of light: uplights at the base to show the trunk and branches, and small fixtures mounted high that shine down through the leaves and lay soft shadow on the lawn. Citrus needs less, usually one low fixture under its dense canopy. We use warm LED on separate zones, keep glare out of neighbors' windows and place transformers outside the flood basins.
We work across the area: Arcadia proper between Camelback Road and the Arizona Canal, Arcadia Lite to the west and Lower Arcadia to the south. There is no master HOA, but city rules still apply. Properties along Camelback Road east of 44th Street, for example, fall under specific City of Phoenix standards for street-side planting and wall height. We check what applies to your address before design.
Arcadia proper, from 44th Street to 68th Street, is the original grove land, where flood irrigation and old citrus are most likely to shape the plan. In Arcadia Lite, between 32nd and 44th streets, design more often starts from privacy, shade and a conventional irrigation system. Lower Arcadia runs from 44th to 56th Street between Indian School and Thomas roads, where we confirm how each property is watered before assuming either pattern.
Kevens Landscape is a family-owned Arizona company founded in 1987. We are licensed and insured (ROC #327865 and #110489) and rated 4.9 on Google by more than 100 clients. Our designers, superintendents and crews are in-house, and our hardscape is backed by a two-year workmanship warranty. See more on our Phoenix landscape design page.
Every project is modeled in 3D first, so you can see new work under your existing trees before it is built. Irrigation and lighting are warranted for one year.
That is the goal. We design around healthy mature trees and protect their roots during construction. If a tree is declining, we tell you early.
Yes. The pool and deck are set above the irrigation grade and the berms are reshaped so water still reaches the lawn and trees. Pool equipment goes on a pad outside the basin.
Usually not for established lawns and large trees, which depend on deep watering. Many yards use both. Drip handles new beds, pots and anything planted outside the basins.
Yes. We coordinate grades, utilities, tree protection and the pool location with them during design.
Yes. We draw one plan for the whole property and build it in stages, with sleeves and conduit for later work installed up front.
Yes. City of Phoenix zoning and permit requirements still apply, and some addresses, such as those on Camelback Road east of 44th Street, have their own standards.
An Arcadia yard comes with things no new lot has: grove-era citrus, tall shade trees, deep lawns and, on many properties, the flood irrigation that keeps them alive. Good landscape design in Arcadia, Phoenix, AZ protects those first, then fits the pool, patios, lighting and outdoor rooms around them, whether the house is being refreshed or rebuilt.
The consultation is free and takes place at your property. A designer walks the yard with you, looks at the trees, grades and irrigation, and explains how design and construction would be staged around your remodel or build. Call (623) 535-7654 or request a landscape design estimate to meet a designer at your home.
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Built on family values and decades of experience, we treat every project with care, integrity, and pride in our work.
With over 40 years in the industry, our team delivers precise, high-quality builds that reflect true attention to detail.
From design to completion, we focus on clear communication, reliable service, and results that stand the test of time.