Drought-Proof Xeriscaping Project
This xeriscaping project was for a front lawn near 86th and Kipling near Standley Lake in Arvada. The project was completed in the fall of 2019.
This homeowner had a huge blue spruce tree and a bunch of dead grass as their front lawn. It wasn’t the most attractive front lawn from aesthetics standpoint.
The customer wanted a front lawn that was both low maintenance and great looking. So we had a tree company come in to remove the blue spruce and got down to work.
As you can see in the photo, we installed a raised berm where the giant blue spruce used to be. On this berm, we installed mulch, a large granite boulder and plants with low water requirements. You can see there is a dwarf spruce on the berm along with a yucca plant, ornamental maiden grasses, burning bushes, and spirea.
The plants were chosen for their low water requirements – but also for their bloom schedule. The plant selection strategy was to try to ensure that at least one plant was blooming at a time – meaning that there would be blooms throughout most of the summer enhancing the overall look. In particular, the spirea turns red in the summer and burning bushes turn red in the fall.
Xeriscaping and Weed Control
Surrounding the berm are 1.5 inch granite rocks. Underneath these rocks is weed fabric. This fabric allows water to flow through, but does a great job preventing weeds from taking root. One thing to note about this weed fabric is that you should always keep it covered. The UV rays in sunlight can actually break down the weed fabric making it much less effective.
Planter Box with Retaining Wall
Still in the front of the house, but on the other side of the driveway is a blue flagstone (bluestone) planter . These are very narrow bluestone blocks that are glued together to keep everything in place. The planter area contains mulch along with iceberg rosebushes. These rosebushes bloom white – and they also bloom often in spring and summer.
