It may surprise you, but this entire yard is xeriscape! The plants in this landscape are all well adapted to Colorado and grouped according to water need which makes the best use of water in the landscape. The turfgrass is a dwarf tall fescue and looks great with 2/3rds the water of traditional grass. A tip for large yards like this one is to plant in groups to create unity and interest and to choose larger xeric shrubs where possible to help reduce maintenance.

This front yard is a nice balance between contemporary and native using buffalograss as a natural looking grass area with shrubs and perennials that add color and texture to the landscape. These plants are low to very low water use and require maintenance only one or two times of year, making this yard low water and low maintenance. Since buffalograss grows less than 6 inches tall, this front yard could even go without mowing.

This large backyard backs up to a golf course and was previously over 3000sqft of Kentucky bluegrass. Since the backyard received little use, the high water-using bluegrass was converted to Colorado's state grass, Blue grama, and saves about 60% of the water. Many of the plants in this landscape are xeric plants that compliment this native turf well and fit right into the surrounding Colorado backdrop.

With higher water using plants like Kentucky bluegrass, it's important to make sure that the ground is level where it's planted to prevent the water from running right off when watered. The stone walls in this yard help make a flat place to plant and add interest and texture to the front yard. Because this yard is so big, much of the grass was removed from where it was not useable, and shrubs and low maintenance perennials were planted instead. Wood chip mulch helps the soil from drying out in the heat of the summer and also helps to prevent weeds from growing around the plants.

This front yard gets creative with landscaping without bluegrass. The dry streambed and various mulch areas help break up large spaces and create areas to leave unplanted and other areas to plant. The plants in this landscape are trees, shrubs and ornamental grasses that need very little maintenance and only a few flowering perennials that need a little more maintenance. This yard creates a unified look by repeating mulch and plants on both sides of the driveway and the parkway, giving this mountain xeriscape a complete look.

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.