With a yard this big, designing for low maintenance and water conservation can be a real challenge. But this homeowner and garden enthusiast was up for the challenge. A large patio was installed to both accommodate outdoor entertaining needs and stay in scale with the large size of the backyard. The beds surrounding the patio are planted with flowering perennials adapted to our climate, watered with drip irrigation and mulched to retain moisture. Because the grass in this yard has only occasional foot traffic from visiting grand kids, part of the Kentucky bluegrass (darker green) was kept and the rest was converted to blue grama (lighter green). However, after experiencing the benefits of blue grama for a few years, the homeowners have decided to convert the entire grass area to the native blue grama. To access the gate to the alley, they mow a path in the tall blue grama.

The owners of this landscape are in the process of shrinking the bluegrass and replacing it with plants better suited for Colorado. The front yard of this north Colorado Springs residence has been modified by renovating the parkway to feature a small tree, a couple shrubs and flowering perennials that give instant curb appeal. The backyard is in process with an end goal of shrinking the turfgrass area and creating large planting beds along the perimeter of the yard that will feature xeric plants. This is a great example of working in phases and thinking through the project a little bit at a time.