About Xeriscaping.com

Xeriscaping.com helps homeowners build yards that look good and use a fraction of the water a lawn needs. We publish plain-language guides, a plant finder built around what actually survives in dry climates, and free tools that answer the practical questions: what zone you're in, what your lawn costs to water, and which rebates will help pay to replace it.

A xeriscape isn't bare gravel and a lonely cactus. Done well, it's full of color, texture, and pollinators, and it works with your climate instead of fighting it. We think the best-looking yard on the block can also be the one that uses the least water, and we want to show you how to build it.

Who's behind Xeriscaping.com

Xeriscaping.com is run by Xeriscaping.com LLC, a Colorado company founded in Denver in 2023 by Tim Woodring.

Tim also owns Xeris Landscaping, a design-build company that designs, installs, and maintains low-water landscapes across the Denver metro and the Colorado Front Range. At Xeris, Tim leads design, sales, and marketing. He started the company after working through a series of landscape contractors and seeing the need for a simpler way to get a beautiful xeric yard designed and built. Xeris designs are based on Colorado's own plant communities, including the high desert, foothills, prairie, and alpine tundra. They combine native plants, well-adapted plants from similar climates, and a strong emphasis on pollinators.

That day-to-day work shapes what you read here. When our guides talk about planting in heavy clay soil, surviving Front Range hail, or how much water new plants really need in their first summer, that comes from designing and installing real yards, not just from reading about them. You'll see it in the From our installs notes throughout our articles.

About the Xeris Landscaping connection

We want to be upfront about this. (Xeris Landscaping is owned by Xeriscaping.com's founder.) That ownership is a strength, because it's where our first-hand experience comes from. It's also a potential conflict of interest, so here's how we handle it:

• Xeris Landscaping appears in our pro directory under the same rules as every other business, and its listing carries an ownership disclosure.
• Our guides never tell you to hire Xeris, and Xeris gets no paid or preferred placement in our articles.
• Whenever an article mentions Xeris Landscaping, it includes the same ownership disclosure.
• Photos from Xeris projects are credited "Photo: Xeris Landscaping."

Editorial standards

How we research

We back factual claims with sources we'd trust ourselves, and we link to them so you can check our work. Those sources include:

• university extension services such as Colorado State University Extension, Utah State University Extension, NMSU, University of Arizona, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Texas A&M AgriLife
• Plant Select, the Colorado program that trials and recommends plants for the high plains and intermountain West
• water utilities and agencies, including Denver Water, the Southern Nevada Water Authority, and EPA WaterSense
• the Xerces Society for pollinator value

We don't cite a number we haven't seen on a live source.

How we choose plants

Plants earn a place in our guides and the Plant Finder by how they perform in low-water landscapes, not by how well they sell. We rank them on four things: toughness across zones and conditions (drought, heat, cold, wind, lean soil), beauty and length of season, availability at mainstream and specialty nurseries, and value to pollinators and wildlife. When sources disagree on a hardiness zone or water need, we use the more conservative figure. We never use AI-generated images to show a plant, because a plant photo has to be accurate enough to help you identify it.

How we verify rebates and prices

Rebate programs change often, so we treat every rebate figure as perishable. We take each amount directly from the utility's or agency's own program page. We name the program, show the amount as currently published, and add the month we checked it ("as of September 2026"). If we can't confirm a current amount, we say so and link to the program instead of guessing. We re-check rebate figures every February, before spring planting season. Whatever a program pays, the rule is the same everywhere: get approved before you remove any lawn.

Pros in the directory

Our directory lists landscape companies that do low-water work. Most were added from their own published information and are marked Listed. That means we haven't checked their licensing, insurance, or work. A listing is not an endorsement. Businesses can claim their profiles for free, and pros who complete our course, pass the exam, and agree to our Code of Conduct can become Certified. See our terms for exactly what each tier means.

Corrections

If you spot an error, whether it's a wrong zone, an outdated rebate, a broken link, or a missing photo credit, email hello@xeriscaping.com with "Correction" in the subject line and a link to the page. We review every report, fix confirmed errors promptly, and update the date on the article. If a correction changes the substance of our advice, we note it on the page.

How we make money

Xeriscaping.com is free to read, and we want you to know exactly how it pays for itself:

• Affiliate links. Some "where to buy" links on plant pages and in articles earn us a small commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. See our affiliate disclosure.
• The certification program. Landscape pros can pay for an annual Certified Xeriscaping Provider subscription ($99 a year for solo contractors, $299 a year for companies). Certified pros appear above other profiles in the directory, and we say so openly.
• Merchandise, coming later. We plan to open a small merch store. It isn't live yet.

What we don't do: no one can pay to be included or ranked in our articles and guides. Not nurseries, not product makers, not landscapers, and not Xeris Landscaping.

Free tools

Everything below is free, with no sign-up needed to use it:

• Plant Finder: filter proven low-water plants by zone, sun, water, and bloom color
• Zone lookup: find your USDA hardiness zone by ZIP code
• Water savings calculator: estimate what your lawn costs to water, and what you'd save by replacing it
• Rebate finder: turf-replacement and xeriscape rebates by state and water utility
• Gravel and mulch calculator: cubic yards, tons, and bags for your area and depth
• Find a pro: low-water landscape companies in 23 Western metro areas
• The Complete Xeriscaping Guide: our free 48-page guide with 80 ranked plants, shrubs, and trees, plus a step-by-step plan

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Questions, project photos, or an idea for a guide? Get in touch.