Design Ideas
25 Front Yard Xeriscape Ideas for Serious Curb Appeal
25 front yard xeriscape ideas that trade lawn for curb appeal: boulder groupings, bloom drifts, dry creeks, hell strips, lighting and the layout moves that make a yard look designed.
The field guide
Latest guides
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How-To Guides
Soil Prep for Xeriscaping: What to Amend (and What Not To)
Xeriscape soil prep isn't "add compost everywhere." Garden perennials want some amendment; natives want lean soil. How to test your soil, how much compost to add, and when to leave it alone.
How-To Guides
Xeriscaping a Slope: Erosion-Proof Design
Xeriscaping a slope solves the two things hills do worst: shedding water and shedding soil. Terracing, keyed boulders, deep-rooted plants, erosion netting and drip that doesn't run off.
Regional Guides
Xeriscaping in Austin: Native Texas Style
Austin Water pays up to $3,000 to convert turf to a WaterWise landscape. The local guide: Zone 9a Hill Country natives, Conservation Stage watering days, Texas HOA law, and flood-and-drought design.
Regional Guides
Xeriscaping in Dallas–Fort Worth: Beating Clay and Heat
Xeriscaping in Dallas–Fort Worth means solving blackland clay and summer heat at once. The local guide: Zone 8b prairie plants, Dallas's twice-weekly watering rule, irrigation incentives and HOA law.
Xeriscaping Basics
The Pros and Cons of Xeriscaping: Costs, Upkeep and Trade-Offs
Real water and maintenance savings on one side; upfront cost, a demanding first year, HOA paperwork and heat from rock done wrong on the other. Both sides of xeriscaping, at full strength.
Regional Guides
Xeriscaping in San Antonio: The Complete Local Guide
San Antonio is under SAWS Stage 3 watering rules, and SAWS pays to swap grass for native beds. The local guide: Zone 9a plants, $150 Fall coupons, irrigation-removal rebates up to $5,000, and HOA law.
Design Ideas
Xeriscaping Ideas & Inspiration for a Beautiful Low-Water Yard
Proof that low-water doesn't mean low-interest: 16 xeriscaping ideas with proven plant combos, season-long color, hardscape moves and five styles to borrow.
How-To Guides
What Is Xeriscaping? A Beginner's Guide
New to xeriscaping? A plain-English guide to what it is, how it saves water, what it costs, which plants to start with, and how to plan your first low-water bed.
How-To Guides
Why Xeriscaping? The Case for a Landscape That Works With Your Climate
Xeriscaping isn't rocks and cactus. It's a smarter way to design a colorful, low-water yard that cuts your water bill, frees up your weekends and holds up through drought restrictions.
How-To Guides
Understanding USDA Plant Hardiness Zones
What USDA hardiness zones mean, how the 2023 map was made, what it doesn't tell you about water and heat, plus a free ZIP-code zone lookup.
How-To Guides
10 Steps to Xeriscaping Your Yard
A practical, order-of-operations guide to designing and installing a low-water landscape, from the first sketch and rebate application to the final layer of mulch and first-year watering.