Last week, Mary stood at her window in midtown Tucson watching the monsoon storm roll in. Within minutes, the sky turned dark, the wind howled through her mesquite trees, and rain slammed the patio in sheets. The next morning, her once-neat yard was unrecognizable—fallen branches, puddles, and weeds already sprouting in the soft, soaked soil. Mary isn’t alone. Every summer, Tucson homeowners face the same monsoon mess: broken limbs, debris-strewn yards, and a jungle of weeds

Jeanine, a homeowner in Tucson recently noticed something off: parts of her desert landscape were turning brown, yet her monthly water bill had skyrocketed. The culprit? An outdated irrigation controller running during peak sun hours, combined with leaky drip lines. After replacing the controller with a smart one and repairing the system, she cut her water use by nearly 40%—and her plants bounced back beautifully.

Sunlight filters through the lush canopy of a Mesquite tree. On a scorching June afternoon in Tucson, an elderly couple stepped outside...