Even if you don’t live in a drought area where water is scarce – and perhaps especially so – xeriscaping your lawn or garden will create a unique and beautiful landscape. Some people view xeriscape as just a bunch of rocks and dry, colorless plants, but the truth is there is much beauty to be found in the desert. Blending the vivid and muted colors as well as the sharp and soft textures of the flora can be both intriguing and delightful.
Limit lawn grass by creating a rock base layer on the ground. Choose contrasting colors of rocks to create paths between “islands” of desert foliage. In larger areas, you may want to consider making a rock garden, placing larger boulder-sized rocks intermittently throughout the yard area. Use these as anchor points for plant clusters, or simply leave them as solitary focal points in the landscape.
Plants that will beautify and enhance your xeriscape without requiring much water or specialized care include yucca, various aloe plants and other succulents, prickly pear and other cacti, willow trees, oleander and sage, and ornamental grasses. The array of colors offered by some of these plants may surprise you. The grasses can be red, green, yellow, purple and blue. There are red, orange and yellow species of aloe. For even more color and a softer texture, choose from common wildflowers that grow freely in the west: pansies, marigolds, poppies, hollyhocks and petunias, for example.
To give a more western or southwestern feel to your xeriscape, you can accent the area with old buckboards and wagon wheels, terracotta or clay pots with native designs, or hang windchimes or chile ristras nearby. Xeriscape can be challenging, but the result can be quite rewarding. Create beauty, conserve water. It is a win-win endeavor for you and the environment.
