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 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.