This corner lot was almost all Kentucky bluegrass before getting a xeric renovation that added water savings and design. The bluegrass was removed and replaced by stone retaining walls that showcase small xeric shrubs, ornamental grasses and flowering perennials. The bluegrass was replaced with a sheep fescue lawn that is mowed only once a year for a native look. Mowing this grass less frequently helps it use even less water by shading the ground and eliminating evaporation loss from cut grass blades. The large medians of this corner lot were re-landscaped to eliminate the bluegrass and add gravel blocks alternating with simple shrub planting beds with drip irrigation. The simple design of this renovation adds Colorado style while decreasing the water and maintenance that bluegrass requires.

This yard was previously all bluegrass and required too much water and maintenance for not a lot of return. While fences and patios can be the more expensive part of a landscape, this home turned unused grass into a fenced-in, gravel patio space that adds function and design. The new grass in this yard is sheep fescue, a well-adapted grass to Colorado, that uses about one-third to one-half less water than Kentucky bluegrass. The grass is mowed only twice a year to give a native look to the design and the ornamental grasses and perennials were chosen for water savings, low maintenance and year-round interest.

This front yard had more shade than Kentucky bluegrass can tolerate so a fine fescue mix was the better option. Fine fescue is a cool season grass, so it doesn't save as much as a warm season native grass like blugramma or buffalograss, but is a great option for shady areas. Fine fescue is easy to grow from seed, just plan on doing some weeding during establishment to get your fine fescue grass off to a good start. Once established, this grass will use about one third less water than bluegrass.

Blue grama was a great solution to a tough problem in this landscape. This yard had too much square footage for the homeowner to easily maintain a traditional landscape while committing to lower water use. Since the grass area had infrequent traffic, and full sun, it was an excellent candidate for seeding a blue grama turf that requires less water and maintenance after establishment. Temporary irrigation was installed in order to establish the seed, and will then be removed and the blue grama lawn will receive natural precipitation and watering from a sprinkler only when needed. However, if a dense blue grama lawn is desired, a sprinkler system is recommended. On the far end of the yard is the DIY patio complete with a berm for planting colorful perennials and creating privacy.

Before this backyard was renovated, the grass was out of control! It was fence-to-fence and took a lot of time and money to hand water. Three quarters of the grass was removed and a large patio and planting beds took it's place. The patio is gravel and recycled concrete from a pathway that was in the yard to keep the outdoor living area renovation affordable. The planting beds are large enough to accommodate trees, shrubs, perennials and raised vegetable beds which are watered by drip irrigation. The new, smaller lawn area was updated with an efficient irrigation system using rebated heads and nozzles.

This downtown backyard was previously fence-to-fence Kentucky bluegrass and required too much water and maintenance. The yard was renovated to add a patio for outdoor living space, a small area of turfgrass for the family dog and a large mulched planting area that accommodates the raised vegetable beds. Drip irrigation waters the plants in the mulched areas on one zone and a separate drip zone waters the raised beds since vegetables need to be watered more frequently than shrubs and perennials. This renovation saved water and time by minimizing the turfgrass and keeping the plan simple.

This renovation eliminated all bluegrass from the plan, and instead took advantage of plants that offered a variety of color and texture. This yard had a few different challenges when considering a new landscape: slope, deer, western exposure and low water and maintenance needs. The rock chosen for this yard is slightly angular so it doesn't roll downhill easily, the plants are selected for deer resistance and heat loving which is necessary for a west facing yard that has a heat-holding rock mulch. In fact, many of these plants actually prefer rock mulch rather than wood mulch that may hold too much water too near the plant. And finally, the landscape is watered with drip irrigation to make best use of water. With drip irrigation, water is applied only where the plants need it, and not in unnecessary areas where only weeds might grow, saving time with maintenance.

Xeriscape is notzero-scape. Even if you'd like to use rock mulch for your yard, there are plenty of plants that grow well with the extra heat. Rock mulch can be great for areas with high winds where wood mulch may not stay put. Rock is used throughout this landscape, and is planted with trees, shrubs and perennials that can tolerate the extra heat. This yard has a slight slope, so a small rock wall was installed in order to flatten out the planting area near the front door. This also helps add dimension and break up the large space.