Xeriscape - One Yard's Story

Before picture of my awful, weedy lawn

Xeriscape - One Yard's Story

Special Guest - Suzanne Matthews

I predict that within ten years, front range lawns will be unsustainable. Don’t take me too seriously; I also predicted that pot would be legal 50 years ago.

Water is scarce, temperatures are rising and that lush green lawn sucks off more water than a melon. Plus, many homeowners in the metro area are seniors. Do we want to continue to pay exorbitant water bills? Do we want to mow every week?

I have wanted to xeriscape my front yard for a decade. The catalyst was a health scare that rendered me immobile for 10 months. When I recovered, my first priority was to get rid of that lawn. I called three landscaping companies for bids; $20,000 (yikes!) for an average front yard. Definitely NOT in our retired budget. Immediately, I pivoted to DIY.

My neighbors, who had removed their grass in order to xeriscape, recommended Resource Central. They have step-by-step instructions for removing the grass and replacing it with a beautiful, sustainable landscape.

Here’s how we did it. On Father’s Day, 2023, I began killing the grass. I did two chemical applications, a week apart.

As the grass was browning, we covered it with cardboard. If you haven’t kept all your delivery packaging, there are dumpsters everywhere that recycle cardboard. The best time to pilfer; early morning.

We ordered pea gravel and covered the cardboard. My husband placed river rocks along the sidewalk to prevent the gravel from washing off.

Spreading the mountain of gravel took us 3 or 4 weeks. We’re old (70+) and we didn’t work 8-hour days. I’d already warned my neighbors that my yard might look awful for a while. They were very gracious about our mad venture. I bought stepping stones and laid out four pathways.

I had mapped out the sun in the yard, using garden stakes and yarn. The ground was a brick because I hadn’t watered for over a month. My lovely (and younger) neighbor told me to place stakes where I wanted to plant, and he would dig the holes. Yes. He is my hero. He dug 50 holes for me. I had ordered 42 plants from Resource Central. They would arrive in 4” containers, so the holes only needed to be 8” x 4”. But still. Fifty holes!

The plants arrived at the end of August. I also had existing plants in my yard that fit the criteria for xeric landscape. I divided some yarrow, rabbit brush and caryopteris to move into the new project.

The mountain of gravel

Planting Day!

I had two friends who had offered to help me plant. It took the three of us about 4 hours to get these plants in the ground. I used a combination of existing soil, compost and kelp for root stimulation.

I watered the plants twice each week through September; once a week through the fall. In the winter I took a water meter out and measured by the roots of each plant during dry spells, then watered only as needed.

Spring came and the plants had exploded. The yard was lovely beyond my wildest expectations. We did have an unusual amount of rain that May which couldn’t have hurt. We had bees, birds and butterflies in abundance. All of my neighbors were cheering!

My water bill is ½ of what it was. My husband doesn’t have to mow. The lawn requires my attention, maybe once per week or less. I now sit on my front porch to admire the view. (and receive compliments from folks passing by). This project was easier, by far, than expected. It helped tremendously that we weren’t in a hurry. We started on Fathers Day and were done by Labor Day. The total cost including gravel, stepping stones and plants, was less than $2000.

If you think you can’t do this - YOU CAN! Don’t use ground cloth (it’s an absolute waste of money and it doesn’t work). Cardboard is free and plentiful. It’s great on a personal and community level. The more expensive our water becomes, the more you will love your yard.

Summer, 2024